Nothing will prove so helpful for a Christian as the knowledgeable appreciation for Christ’s death and all that it accomplished on our behalf.

• First, at the Cross Jesus Christ shed His royal blood to take away all our sins (acts of sinning,) dying the death that was due us for our sins. Jesus suffered the just penalty due for “the sins of the world (mankind),” forgiving us of all unrighteousness.
• Then in addition to the Cross of Christ dealing with our sins as the 'acts of the Sin-nature in the flesh for us there is a 2^nd very important blessing of the Cross. By His Cross-work Jesus Christ disabled the ‘Sin-nature’ that remains in the believer’s flesh and the flesh of all men so long as they physically live. By the verses to be noted below we can see exactly how it is that the ‘Sin-nature’ was disabled, “made of no effect” and how we are thus able to ‘overcome ‘Sin in the flesh’

The Apostle Paul’s thirteen epistles in the Bible teach what we need to know as members of the Gentile “body of Christ” in order to 1) be ‘counted as righteous in God’s eyes’ and also to 2) ‘live righteously.’

1. The Cross of Christ stands between the believer and his Sins (that is his acts of sinning). These sins are the wrong things we do, and are inclined to to do, in thought, word and deed. Christ’s Cross reconciled us to God once and for all time when we believe this as truth… by faith. We are thus “saved” from God’s judgment and from “everlasting death.”

“And you, that Were sometime [at one time] alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works,

Yet Now hath he [Christ] reconciled ²² In the body of HIS flesh through death to present you [as being] holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:” (Colossians 1:21-22 (KJV)

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)

2. The Cross of Christ also stands between the believer’s soul-self and the ‘SIN-nature’ in his flesh, which cannot be denied by any man, including ‘saved believers.’ For the Sin-nature is the ‘root provocateur of our acts of sinning.’ A ‘provocateur’ is “the one who engages in provocative behavior as an undercover agent who incites unsuspecting persons to partake in or commit criminal [or sinful] acts.” (Wiktionary).

Whereas men’s ‘sins [their ‘acts of sinning’] if not forgiven, will keep them out of heaven, “Sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3) [a noun, for the ‘Sin-nature’ as the ‘root of all sinning’] works to have dominion over every individual including those who are “saved.” For believers still live in this “body of sin” (Rom. 6:6) having “Sin in the flesh.” This has everything to do with the unrighteous acts what we have ‘done,’ and also what we might do according to the “lusts of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16).

So, concerning “Sin” as a nature we are not merely talking about sins as “the deeds of the flesh” (Rom. 8:13), but rather the ‘Sinful nature’ in the flesh of all men as the offspring of fallen Adam, so long as they live. It was by Adam that “Sin” as the ‘self for self-nature’ of Satan entered the human race, and it is passed on virally.

Here then the focus is not only Christ dying ‘for our sins,’ but now also we see how that Jesus Christ died ‘as us’ dealing a death blow to our “Old Man [our old self-soul]” (Rom. 6:6). Christ’s ‘Death As Us’ has forever disabled Sin, the very ‘root’ of all men’s sins. For it is only by our ‘Old Man’s’ death with Christ that we are freed from the power and dominion of “Sin in the flesh.”

“Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] SIN entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men [as the Sin Virus In The Flesh], for that all have sinned:” (Romans 5:12 (KJV)

“But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto any.” (Romans 5:15 (KJV)

“For he that is dead is freed from sin [from sin’s dominion]. ⁸ Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him [His life]: ⁹ Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him [who knows and believes].” (Romans 6:7-9 (KJV)

“That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:21 (KJV)

“For he [THE FATHER] hath made him [His Son Jesus] To Be Sin For Us, who knew no sin; [so] that we might be made the righteousness of God in [our spirit-union with] him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 (KJV)

Thus, the Cross of Christ ever stands between the believer and SIN forever, every day. How exactly did we die with Christ? Again, there are facts we need to KNOW as seen below.

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? ² God forbid. How shall we, that are DEAD TO SIN, live any longer therein? ³ Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized [set] into Jesus Christ were BAPTIZED INTO HIS DEATH [not baptized into water]?” (Rom. 6:1-3 (KJV)

This unique ‘baptism’ into “His Death,” of which only Paul writes, occurred the very moment the believer first believes at which time we by the Holy Spirit were “baptized into [His] one body,” “into Christ” who died and rose again. Thereby we as to our OLD ‘independent self-serving soul-selves’ Died With Him at Calvary’s Cross. Thus, we are made free from the ‘power’ and the ‘dominion’ of the Sin nature in our flesh. We still live in the presence of “Sin in the flesh” but we are not subject to the ‘dominion’ of “Sin in the flesh.” By the work of the Cross that was applied to ‘Christ as us.’

“For by one Spirit are we all Baptized ‘Into One Body,’ whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into ‘one Spirit.’” (1 Corinthians 12:13 (KJV)

“Knowing this, that our [sin-laden] Old Man IS [remains] crucified with him [Jesus], [so] that the ‘body of sin’ might be destroyed [Gk. kartargeo, rendered powerless], [so] that henceforth we should not serve [the] sin [nature in the flesh].” (Romans 6:6 (KJV)

“[Therefore] Let Not sin [the sin-nature] therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts [desires] thereof. ¹³ Neither Yield ye your [body] members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but [rather] yield yourselves unto God, as those that are [now] alive from the dead, and your [body] members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” (Romans 6:12-13 (KJV)

Note that the “sin [nature] in the flesh” has not been removed from us, but it has been “made of no effect,” or ‘rendered powerless’ since we’ve ‘died to Sin’ with Christ. We are “dead to Sin” (Rom. 6:12 above], but “Sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3b) may still tempt us believers with Sin’s lying enticements, but “Sin” no longer has dominion or power over us. The assured way of choosing to not listen to the lying one’s enticements… is to maintain our union with Christ. Thus, Paul wrote of the place of the soul’s mind in overcoming “Sin in the flesh.”

“For they that are after the flesh do mind [set their mind upon] the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit [are mindful of] the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For to be carnally [fleshly] minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8:5-6 (KJV)

“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. ¹⁵ Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:14-15 (KJV)

The Temptations of ‘the flesh’ appeal to our soul’s mind, with lust, anxiety, fears and all sorts of sinful thoughts as enticements to draw us away from our union with Christ within our human “spirit of man.” Only when the mind is set properly, trusting the truth of our union with Christ, we have the power of Christ’s resurrection working in us… to overcome “Sin in the flesh.”

Thus, we are being trained in the reality of the truth of His powerful Cross that…  we might reign with Hin in “the heavenly places.” Paul wrote: “If we suffer [endure in faith], we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us [from reign with Him]:” (2 Timothy 2:12 (KJV)

Nothing will prove so helpful for a Christian as the knowledgeable appreciation for Christ’s death and all that it accomplished on our behalf.

• First, at the Cross Jesus Christ shed His royal blood to take away all our sins (acts of sinning,) dying the death that was due us for our sins. Jesus suffered the just penalty due for the sins of the world (mankind), forgiving us of all unrighteousness.
• In addition to the Cross of Christ dealing with our sins as the 'acts of the Sin-nature in the flesh' for us there is a 2^nd very important blessing of the Cross. By His Cross-work Jesus Christ disabled the ‘Sin-nature’ that remains in the believer’s flesh and the flesh of all men so long as they physically live. By the verses to be noted below we can see exactly how it is that the ‘Sin-nature’ was disabled, “made of no effect” and how we are thus able to overcome Sin.

The Apostle Paul’s thirteen epistles in the Bible teach what we need to know as members of the Gentile “body of Christ” in order to 1) be ‘counted as righteous in God’s eyes’ and also to 2) ‘live righteously.’

1. The Cross of Christ stands between the believer and his Sins (that is his acts of sinning). These sins are the wrong things we do, and are inclined to to do, in thought, word and deed. Christ’s Cross reconciled us to God once and for all time when we believe this as truth… by faith. We are thus “saved” from God’s judgment and from “everlasting death.”

“And you, that Were sometime [at one time] alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works,

Yet Now hath he [Christ] reconciled ²² In the body of HIS flesh through death to present you [as being] holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:” (Colossians 1:21-22 (KJV)

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)

2. The Cross of Christ also stands between the believer’s soul-self and the ‘SIN-nature’ in his flesh, which cannot be denied by any man, including ‘saved believers.’ For the Sin-nature is the ‘root provocateur of our acts of sinning.’ A ‘provocateur’ is “the one who engages in provocative behavior as an undercover agent who incites unsuspecting persons to partake in or commit criminal [or sinful] acts.” (Wiktionary).

Whereas men’s ‘sins [their ‘acts of sinning’] if not forgiven, will keep them out of heaven, “Sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3) [a noun, for the ‘Sin-nature’ as the ‘root of all sinning’] works to have dominion over every individual including those who are “saved.” For believers still live in this “body of sin” (Rom. 6:6) having “Sin in the flesh.” This has everything to do with the unrighteous acts what we have ‘done,’ and also what we might do according to the “lusts of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16).

So, in the of “Sin” as a nature we are not merely talking about sins as “the deeds of the flesh” (Rom. 8:13), but rather the ‘Sinful nature’ in the flesh of all men as the offspring of fallen Adam, so long as they live. It was by Adam that “Sin” as the ‘self for self-nature’ of Satan entered the human race, and it is passed on virally.

Here then the focus is not only Christ dying ‘for our sins,’ but now also we see how that Jesus Christ died ‘as us’ dealing a death blow to our “Old Man [our old self-soul]” (Rom. 6:6). Christ’s ‘Death As Us’ has forever disabled Sin, the very ‘root’ of all men’s sins. For it is only by our ‘Old Man’s’ death with Christ that we are freed from the power and dominion of “Sin in the flesh.”

“Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] SIN entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men [as the Sin Virus In The Flesh], for that all have sinned:” (Romans 5:12 (KJV)

“But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto any.” (Romans 5:15 (KJV)

“For he that is dead is freed from sin [from sin’s dominion]. ⁸ Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him [His life]: ⁹ Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him [who knows and believes].” (Romans 6:7-9 (KJV)

“That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:21 (KJV)

“For he [THE FATHER] hath made him [His Son Jesus] To Be Sin For Us, who knew no sin; [so] that we might be made the righteousness of God in [our spirit-union with] him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 (KJV)

Thus, the Cross of Christ ever stands between the believer and SIN forever, every day. How exactly did we die with Christ? Again, there are facts we need to KNOW as seen below.

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? ² God forbid. How shall we, that are DEAD TO SIN, live any longer therein? ³ Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized [set] into Jesus Christ were BAPTIZED INTO HIS DEATH [not baptized into water]?” (Rom. 6:1-3 (KJV)

This unique ‘baptism’ into “His Death,” of which only Paul writes, occurred the very moment the believer first believes at which time we by the Holy Spirit were “baptized into [His] one body,” “into Christ” who died and rose again. Thereby we as to our OLD ‘independent self-serving soul-selves’ Died With Him at Calvary’s Cross. Thus, we are made free from the ‘power’ and the ‘dominion’ of the Sin nature in our flesh. We still live in the presence of “Sin in the flesh” but we are not subject to the ‘dominion’ of “Sin in the flesh.” By the work of the Cross that was applied to ‘Christ as us.’

“For by one Spirit are we all Baptized ‘Into One Body,’ whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into ‘one Spirit.’” (1 Corinthians 12:13 (KJV)

“Knowing this, that our [sin-laden] Old Man IS [remains] crucified with him [Jesus], [so] that the ‘body of sin’ might be destroyed [Gk. kartargeo, rendered powerless], [so] that henceforth we should not serve [the] sin [nature in the flesh].” (Romans 6:6 (KJV)

“[Therefore] Let Not sin [the sin-nature] therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts [desires] thereof. ¹³ Neither Yield ye your [body] members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but [rather] yield yourselves unto God, as those that are [now] alive from the dead, and your [body] members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” (Romans 6:12-13 (KJV)

Note that the “sin [nature] in the flesh” has not been removed from us, but it has been “made of no effect,” or ‘rendered powerless’ since we’ve ‘died to Sin’ with Christ. We are “dead to Sin” (Rom. 6:12 above], but “Sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3b) may still tempt us believers with Sin’s lying enticements, but “Sin” no longer has dominion or power over us. The assured way of choosing to not listen to the lying one’s enticements… is to maintain our union with Christ. Thus, Paul wrote of the place of the soul’s mind in overcoming “Sin in the flesh.”

“For they that are after the flesh do mind [set their mind upon] the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit [are mindful of] the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For to be carnally [fleshly] minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8:5-6 (KJV)

“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. ¹⁵ Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:14-15 (KJV)

The Temptations of ‘the flesh’ appeal to our soul’s mind, with lust, anxiety, fears and all sorts of enticements. Only when the mind is set properly, trusting the truth of our union with Christ, we have the power of Christ’s resurrection working in us… to overcome “Sin in the flesh.”

Thus, we are being trained in the reality of the truth of the cross that we might reign with Him in “the heavenly places.”

“If we suffer [endure in faith], we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us [the opportunity to reign with Him:” (2 Timothy 2:12 (KJV)