As a young Christian in 1971, I was told by a well-meaning so-called ‘deeper life’ teaching Pastor that I had to ‘die to self.’ At that time, I had no idea what that involved. Now I know that, actually, every believer has already died as to their Old ‘Self,’ that is to their “Old Man,” as Paul here refers to him.

⁶ Knowing this, that our Old Man IS crucified with him [Christ]… Romans 6:6a (KJV)

Paul’s “gospel of the grace of God,” which works by the Cross-work of the Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf, says our “Old Man” has already been crucified dead... with Christ.

The exact phrase “dying to self” is not found in the Bible, but there are many verses which tell believers they have died “with” or “in union with Christ.”

 ²⁰ I AM CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST: nevertheless I Live; Yet Not I, but CHRIST LIVETH IN ME: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (KJV)

Our “Old Man” is our original soul-person. This is that self-serving, independent SOUL-life that we had before we first believed. We as a living SOUL person were influenced and dominated by the fallen Nature of “Sin in the flesh” of our bodies (cf. Rom. 8:3, 7:17-18). The Bible tells us we were conceived and born in Sin as a sort of viral infection that was passed from Adam to all his lineage. So, we were born inherently self-absorbed, thinking ‘What about me?’ Paul here describes his past dilemma in this regard;

¹⁷ Now then it is no more I that do it, but SIN That Dwelleth In Me. ¹⁸ For I know that in me (that is, IN MY FLESH,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. Romans 7:17-18 (KJV)

We can all admit that our self-Soul, our very person, often has its wayward ‘mind,’ with its deceived and deceitful ‘emotions’ by which we may make foolish choices by our God-given free-will.’ Looking at our lives we know that we at times may have been out of control. Actually, our born human nature is to be self-centered, and this is more prevalent than we realize or care to admit. We have acted-out our unwise self-centered choices made by our Soul’s self-Will … even when our ‘conscience’ was present to give us a co-perception that told us otherwise. 

As Paul expressed in Rom. 7:17-18, before we were saved and came to “the knowledge of the truth,” we were powerless to overcome these self-serving Sinful impulses that were prompted by the Sin-nature in our flesh. Paul wrote the remedy of God has provided US for overcoming the dominion of “Sin in the flesh,” which is that the very moment we first believed to be saved, our Old Self-Soul-person DIED with and in Christ.

³ Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized [reset] into Jesus Christ were baptized [reset] Into His Death? ⁴ Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death [NOT WATER]: [so] that like as Christ was Raised Up From The Dead by the glory of the Father, even so We Also Should Walk In Newness Of Life. Romans 6:3-4 (KJV)

¹⁷ Therefore if any man be in [union with] Christ, he is a New Creature: old things [concerning our person] are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)

We died with Christ; what’s more… we were simultaneously Risen To New Life as a “New Creation” (2 Cor. 5:17) by our spiritual union with Christ’s resurrected “Spirit of life.” Also, in that moment we became indwelt by “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (cf. 1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 1:13-14), and yet we also are “in Christ.” Christ’s Overcoming Life overcame sin and death and He can also do the same in us in our practical daily living. God’s plan for “Christ in us” is the one time… secret plan of God, that Paul calls “the Mystery.” Paul says we can become established, made stable with the knowledge of and reliance upon this truth of Christ in us as our new life.

²⁷ To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery [secret plan of God] among the Gentiles; which is CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory: Colossians 1:27 (KJV)

²⁵ Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my [Paul’s] gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation [knowledge] of The Mystery [secret plan of God concerning the Cross and the indwelling Christ], which was Kept Secret Since The World Began, Romans 16:25 (KJV)

By our Old Man’s death “with Christ” (Rom 6:3, 7:4) we were liberated from the Power and Dominion of “Sin in the flesh,” which had dominated us all our lives. “Sin in the flesh” had always influenced our minds and this manifested itself in the form of our self-serving interest being our foremost concern. We never realized that our self-serving mindset that was emanating from of “the flesh” was in opposition to God’s will, His purposes for us and all men. In actuality, our “Old Man” was not the root of our problem – it was “Sin in the Flesh” who was behind our “Old Man.”

⁷ … the carnal [i.e., fleshly] mind [the mind of Sinful flesh] is enmity against [hostile toward] God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Romans 8:7 (KJV)

The self-serving nature of “the flesh” is the diametric opposite of the new life of Christ in us, which has the ‘Self-GIVING’ Nature of God, as seen by this verse.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he GAVE his only begotten Son, [so] that whosoever believeth in him should not perish [Gk. apollymi, Be Utterly Destroyed], but have [Christ’s] Everlasting Life. John 3:16

⁴ Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the Divine Nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:4 (KJV)

We must see that the death our “Old Man” has experienced is a Spiritual Reality that changed our Position or Status before God as well as our innermost Nature. Thus, we can expect that changes will begin to take place in our lives even while the “Old Man” seems to still try to insist on its way.  Know this… the fact is that until we physically die or are Raptured alive to heaven … we will still live in our flesh body … with Sin still close at hand. “Sin” still “in the flesh,” though now powerless in we who have died with Christ, will still try to deceive us with impulses in the form of thoughts that Paul calls “firey darts.”

Those “firey darts” could be thoughts of temptation to gross sin or thoughts telling us we are failures as Christians and that we should give up this idea of being a Christian. We must realize that the “Sin-nature in the flesh” is nothing less than the manifestation of the Devil who was “the father of lies. Thus, the Devil as “Sin in the flesh” often gives us thoughts and impulses to sin and then … he accuses us saying you are rotten for having that idea or thought – yet, it wasn’t us, these were the thoughts of “Sin in the flesh.”

In Summary;

1. Now Being Dead with Christ, we are liberated from “Sin in the flesh” … we do not have to Sin because the ‘Sin-nature in the flesh’ No Longer has Power over us.  “Sin in the flesh” has been rendered ‘powerless’ toward dominating us … so long as we KNOW and Believe as to our “Old Man” died with Christ. Paul puts forth the fact of our liberation very succinctly;

⁷ He That Is Dead Is Freed from [The Dominion of] Sin. Romans 6:7 (KJV)

Though we as believers still live in our Sinful “body of this flesh,” we by our co-death with Christ at the Cross are … No Longer subject to Sin’s Power or Dominion.

2. Additionally, we have risen to New Life In Christ. Through our death and rebirth with Christ, we have had a Transfer of Race; from the Adamic race to the Race of Jesus Christ as ‘Christians.’ We now have the indwelling “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” in our spirit… giving us His Life-Power to deny the ‘impulses of “Sin in the Flesh.” Paul says now it is for us to deny ‘The Flesh’ and its impulses.

Paul says we can Mortify (put to death) The ‘Deeds’ or ‘Acts’ of The Body of This Flesh (v 13 below). The thought of those impulsive ‘Deeds or Acts’ of the flesh DIE by the Power of the “Spirit of truth” when we Know and Trust In the TRUTH of our being free from Sin’s dominion.

¹⁰ And if [Since] Christ Be In You, The Body Is Dead Because of Sin; but the Spirit is life because of [Christ’s] righteousness.

¹¹ But if [since] the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead Dwell In You, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken [enliven and empower] your mortal bodies By His Spirit that Dwelleth In You. ¹² Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

¹³ For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do MORTIFY THE DEEDS OF THE BODY [of flesh], ye shall live [Gk. zao, enjoy the power of His life]. ¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the [matured] sons of God. Romans 8:10-14 (KJV)

We have the power of Christ to deny “the flesh” and its sinful impulses. We are enabled by the power of our New Indwelling Life … which is “Christ IN YOU the hope of glory” (Col 1:27). This ‘glory’ actually means ‘expression.’ This life of Christ in us is our only hope that we have of giving expression to Christ’s righteous, loving, life and nature.