In conversation with historical and systematic theology, Macaskill argues that the union between God and his people is consistently represented by the New Testament authors as covenantal, with the participation of believers in the life of God specifically mediated by Jesus, the covenant Messiah.
Grant Macaskill's Union with Christ in the New Testament is a must-read for all with scholarly interest in the topic of union with Christ. The primary value of Macaskill's study lies in the fact that he takes into account the entire NT, rather than just the Pauline corpus (as is the case with most treatments of union with Christ) or the Pauline corpus and the Fourth Gospel. While the richest and most explicit treatments of union with Christ are to be found in these two bodies of Scripture, the rest of the NT has much to say as well, offering both additional insight as well as demonstrating coherence with the writings of Paul and John. Because NT scholars tend to focus on Jewish and Graeco-Roman contexts and backgrounds and neglect examining the context provided by the wider NT, the fact that Macaskill skillfully does the latter makes this volume a valuable read that provides a good model to follow for all students and scholars of the NT.