Part 5 - The Facts of Our New Identity “In Christ”:

This Article is part of a multi-part Study Series called The Nature of Man.

Part 5 - The Facts of Our New Identity “In Christ”:

During today’s age of “the grace of God” salvation comes to those who do not work for it. Rather those who believe, looking to the Cross of Christ as their source of the liberty from Sin’s power and as the root source of the of resurrection life… flows to those who receive His life by grace through faith alone.

Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Every Christian needs to know and trust the Pauline doctrinal facts of Christ literally lives in their human spirit as the new, legitimate, and overcoming life and nature in their being. This fact is remains true, even in the face of our inadvertent failures.

Romans 8:8b-10 … ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if

any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10And if Christ be in you, the body is dead (lifeless, useless) because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

1 Cor. 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

Galatians 2:20 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.

Col. 1:26-27 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (glory – expression, for expressing His life and nature):

The fact is that we now possess Christ and His overcoming, limitless, life, never to be lost. We need to see Sin as the powerless squatter in our flesh bodies of sin,” (Rom 6:7), who actually has been overthrown, rendered powerless. We have Sin as a nature, Sin is in the flesh. Sin, as a noun here, is as a personality, a nature that has dominion over man (Rom 6:14), it lords it over every human (Rom 7:18). “Sins” are simply the automatic and normal fruit or outworking of the Sin-nature. I capitalize “Sin” here to accentuate the fact that this is the nature of a personality, of the Devil, the one “that sinneth from the beginning (1John 3:18)”

Though Sin has usurped all mankind as the offspring of Adam through whom the infection of Sin has passed to every generation. Sin, by our co-death with Christ (Rom. 6:3, Gal 2:20), has been rendered powerless in every man who receives Christ and lives by His spirit (Rom 8:13).

Yet, some ask, “If Sin is powerless, then why do we still hear to the inner voices that tempt us to Sin?”

Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned Sin In The Flesh:

The Sin-nature remains in the believer’s body of flesh until the physical death of his body… and its glorious resurrection, incorruptible, at the Rapture (1Cor 15:51-55). We need to know, believe, and trust the truth of Scripture. Consider this as a way to explain why we still may hear the voice of Sin within us. It is as though the old captain of our being, Captain Sin, is now condemned and restricted to “the brig” the prison of our body, where he now has no more authority over us. Yet, he can still try to bark out orders by the thoughts he imparts to us as “vain imaginations.” Paul says we ought to be;

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of (the truth of) God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:5)

Since Old Captain Sin has no more authority or power over us, we need not to listen to his barking; we know the truth that he is powerless over us and that Christ is our real life (Col 3:4a).

The faculties of our fallen minds as well as our emotions, and our self-loving will have been twisted. So, Paul tells us we need to be “renewed” in soul’s mind, to do the will of God. Eph. 4:23 be renewed in the spirit of your mind; Rom. 12:2 be not conformed to this world (aion, age): but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

How Sin Was Rendered Powerless Toward Believers? Please carefully consider these Scriptures.

Romans 6:6-7 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed (kartargeo, made of no effect), that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Romans 6:3-4 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized (immersed) into Jesus Christ were baptized (set into or immersed) into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: 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.

Galatians 2:20 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.

What I’m about to share here is a FACT of Bible truth that applies to all who have received salvation in Christ. The fact is we are crucified with Christ (Rom 6:6, Gal 2:20a) and now we are now alive by our unbreakable union with the life of Christ – now Christ is alive in us, as us. Contrary to the mistranslation of the word “kartargeo” in Rom 6:6 rendering it “destroyed,” when ‘kartargeo’ should be rendered “made of no effect” or “nullified,” please know that Captain Sin is not yet “destroyed,” or in the pit of hell. Captain Sin is alive in our flesh, in our “members” (Rom 7:23). We are the one, as our old independent self, who is dead, crucified with Him. We who are dead in Christ have the benefit of thereby being freed from the power of sin, from Sin’s dominion (Rom 6:7). Satan cannot rule a dead person. Captain Sin can lie and try to deceive you into thinking you are an independent self, but you cannot make it on your own, by your own effort, you are no longer your own (1Cor 6:19), you have been bought with a price,” the precious blood of Christ. “You are dead and your life is with Christ in God” (Col 3:4a). Do you see it? Sin does not have dominion over us any longer, because we, as to our Old-Self are dead, we belong the Him as Lord!

Jesus did a thorough job on our behalf. Jesus Christ died to pay for the penalty of the sins that were actualized in and through us, while we were deceived. Now also we see from Romans 6 that Christ died also “as us,” to free us from ‘the power of Sin. One day, at the rapture, we will be freed from the presence of Sin, when we exchange these corruptible bodies for incorruptible bodies (1Cor. 15:51-55).

We’ve seen how Adam was created natureless, but we were born into this world with the Sin-nature dwelling in our members. After we are saved, Christ is our life and Lord (governor) So, we could say, there’s never been a you ruling you. We have been a victim of Satan who wants us to think we are a self-ruling self, while he was behind all our self-interested doings.

Yet, because of Christ dying for the sin of the world while we were yet sinners, we may now freely receive Christ and to have the very life of the resurrected Christ united with our spirit to our new and overcoming life and righteous nature. Previously, being impotent and nature-less, we had no strength against Captain Sin, but now being dead with Christ and trusting His “Spirit of life” (Rom 8:2a), we know who we are by our union with Christ as our real life. We overcome the lies of Captain Sin by simply knowing and believing the truth of who we really are – sons of the living God.