Definition (house style)
Identificatio cum Christo (Latin: “identification with Christ”) describes the calling of the believer not merely to follow Christ (imitatio Christi) but to become one with him in his way, his truth, and his life. The term has been introduced on apokatastasis.wiki as an analytical concept drawn from Warnock’s christology, but the reality it describes is broadly scriptural: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6); “I have been crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20); “He who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him” (1 Cor. 6:17).
The distinction from the imitatio Christi tradition: imitation presupposes an external behaviour pattern, while identificatio aims at an ontological union. Not “doing as Christ” but “being as Christ” through participation in his life via the indwelling Spirit.
Usage per author
Warnock
Warnock formulates the difference between imitatio and identificatio sharply through his exposition of John 14:6:
“Jesus is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE — not merely the way-shower, the truth-giver and the life-imparter. In other words, He doesn’t just tell us what to do, explain to us what He means, and give to us a portion of His own life. We must become ONE with Him in all three areas.”
[Warnock, The Hyssop that Springeth Out of the Wall, hyssop1.html]
This identification carries ecclesiological implications in Warnock: the community walking in the Way is “the People of the Way” (cf. Acts 9:2) — people who do not merely follow Christ but live and move and have their being in him.
Noordzij
Noordzij cites Gal. 2:20 as the basic formulation of the identificatio in the context of the cross-path as following:
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. The Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
[Noordzij, Moses and the Way to Sonship, §55 — translated from Dutch]
In Noordzij the emphasis falls on the path that leads to identificatio: through kenosis, humiliation, and glorification — the path Jesus walked first, and on which believers as sons of God follow.