WE DIED IN CHRIST

2Corinthians5

14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;

15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

When Jesus died on the Cross, He died for everyone and took into himself all the sins of all men for all time. As a result God views that you died in Christ at the Cross.

At the point when we believe and become born again the Holy Spirit makes Jesus’ death and our participation in it a reality in us immediately. We come in Him right there. We partake of His death at the Cross right there.

Let us illustrate this with a story.

Imagine that while crossing a highway in the night you fell and broke your legs and hands so severely that you couldn’t move. And as bad luck would have it, a drunk trailer driver was headed your way driving at breakneck speed. As you struggle to get up you scream, cry, shout and cry out for help but no one can here you. Meanwhile the truck driver cannot see you and just keeps driving toward you. Suddenly, out of nowhere, right before the trailer crushes you Jesus appears from nowhere and snatches you out of harm’s way but because of the speed of the truck only one of you can be saved. So He sacrifices Himself for you and the trailer crushes Him instead of you. All of this is wonderful and this is usually how the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross is taught. However a more true representation is this;

As the truck approaches you and as you scream and try to crawl out of its way Jesus appears suddenly and rushes towards you. Instead of carrying you out of harm’s way He lays next to you and hugs you so tightly that there is no way you can escape anymore. He holds you in His bosom tightly and the trailer comes and crushes both of you beyond recognition. He dies on the spot and you die in Him on the spot. You identify with Him in death. This is what happened at the Cross.

One man died and all of us died in Him. We were crucified with Him. We are dead in Christ to our old carnal identity. The flesh.

 “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.” 2Cor5:16

Now because Jesus died for us and we died in Him we know nobody after the flesh anymore. Why? Because we all died in Christ. We should not regard ourselves or others after the flesh (our old identity) any more. We have all died in Christ.

Do not identify yourself on the basis of your physical appearance, capabilities, failures, sins etc.

God is not identifying or judging you after the flesh. Flesh has been taken away from His presence. God doesn’t know or deal with any of us according to the flesh and according to who we are in the flesh.

God deals with us according to who we are in Christ. He knows no man after the flesh anymore. And He wants this to be the way we know our selves and the way we know other people.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2Cor5:17

When we believed in Jesus, we became a new creation. One translation says we became a species that has never existed before.

All the old things passed away. Our old nature, our old identity, our old man passed away. Who we were naturally according to the flesh is no more.

The old nature is no longer who I am. I am no longer in Adam’s image.

Everything has become new. Our identity has become new. We have a new nature. A new spirit. A new heart. A new spiritual mind. The mind of Christ. And everything is of God.

When a person believes in Christ they are no longer the same old person they used to be. Something life changing happens to them. Old things pass away, the old life passes away and in its place a new life comes. Everything on the inside of them becomes new. Look at what The Living Bible translation says;

 “When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun!” 2Cor5:17 TLB

There is a change that takes place on the inside of us that makes us a brand new person. All the inner corruption, perverseness, impurity and sinfulness that is true of us is taken away by the taking away of the old man at salvation.

God does a work in us in an instant that takes away that which we have tried to take away from us for all of our life and yet failed miserably. The corruption and inherent badness and sinfulness that all of us are aware of. That undeserving, unworthy nature that all of us are always condemned about is taken away when we have faith in Christ. This is what all religion tries to do and yet always fails at miserably.

In its place we receive a brand new righteous and holy nature which is exactly like God. We receive a new heart, a new purity, righteousness, holiness and goodness that is completely of God. We become righteous on the inside. We receive a new spirit which is exactly like God.