Grow 02: Romans 6:5-6

Romans 6:5-6

⁵For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;

Identity Theft

There is a great deal of information being put out regarding “identity theft.”  This is when somebody steals another person’s financial identity through a credit card or a social security number and then steals massive amounts of money from them.  When we look at the case of the believer we see that we have a new identity in Christ.  Our old identity is gone forever.  However, there is a tragic case of “identity theft” that can still occur.  Through misinformation, or a lack of faith in God’s word a believer can be convinced that his identity in Christ is not his actual identity.  This is the chief aim of the sin nature in the life of the believer.  Trying to convince the believer that what God’s word says is true of him is not true.  The only logical way to strike back is exactly what Paul describes: knowing the truth of the word of God and believing it.  That is what these verses are about…knowing who the believer really is in Christ Jesus all by God’s grace…all through faith.

An Origin’s Issue

The first thing to notice is that Paul uses an important word as the subject of his sentence: WE.  This is something that Paul shares with the believers at Rome, and every other believer in this age who places their faith in Jesus Christ.  This word is related to the word for “birth” and talks to the origins of a thing.  This “becoming” is in the perfect tense.  That is, it is something that has been done in the past and has ongoing effects into the present time.  A human birth is a great example of this concept.  A child is born and that completed past fact is the beginning of their life outside of the womb.  This is the way that Paul is talking about what is true of the believer in Jesus Christ.

United

This is one of the key words that shows us our identification with Christ.  When two things are united they were separate at one point and then were brought together.  Here we are said to have been united with Christ as a past completed fact.  But how and when we were united with Him becomes the great issue.  The first place that believers were united with Him was in His death.  This is something that we don’t have a physical recollection of.  It was done for us, as a spiritual reality, by God at the moment we placed our faith in Jesus Christ.  Because God is outside of time completely He is able to account certain events as happening together.  This is what has happened to the believer.  When a person places their faith in Christ God takes that person and unites them to the death of His Son Jesus Christ on the Cross.  It is because this person is united with Christ in His death that the saint also is united with Christ in His resurrection life.  This is the spiritual life that courses through the immaterial portion of the believer. 

Resurrection Life!

This resurrection life is the day to day operating life source of the believer.  However, there is also a future reality in store for every believer.  As we look forward to our final state we find that we will be given a new body, which is like the Resurrection Body of Jesus Christ.  Paul writes to the Corinthians:

 ⁴²So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; ⁴³it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44

John writes about the same reality when He tells us:

¹See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. ²Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 1 John 3:1-2

For Paul the two realities were inseparable.  Our unity with Christ in His crucifixion and resurrection are the source of the believers day to day operating source of control, and it also looks forward to the ultimate fact that we will be glorified with Him, in a body that is like unto His.  These two realities could not exist apart from one another.

Knowing

Again, Paul pulls out this very important word: to know.  We may well say: “You have to KNOW to GROW.”  What we know, and believe (trust in) affects the choices that we will make.  Often people struggle with controlling their weight. They KNOW what they have to do, but they don’t act in accordance with what they know.  The knowledge that Paul is talking about is not just intellectual knowledge, but activated, trusted knowledge.  For Paul every believer must KNOW the facts in order to act in accordance with that knowledge of the truth of God’s word.

What we are to be “knowing”

Every believer is to “know”, that is to say, be fully assured of the fact that our “Old Man” (all of who we were in Adam) was crucified with Christ on the cross.  It is important to realize that our old self (KJV: “old man”) is not the same as our “old nature” or our “sin nature”.  While the old man (all of who we were “in Adam”) was crucified with Christ at the cross our sin nature was merely de-throned there.  While the believer can never go back to being “in Adam” or be harassed by our “old man” we can be plagued by obedience to our Sin Nature, which continues on in the believer. 

Crucified

This is important: Our entire body of sin was done away with at the Cross.  This is going to be a large part of the reasoning for the joyous declaration of Romans 8:1.  The sins of the believer (past, present and future) were paid for at the cross.  If this is difficult to understand we must remember that in regard to the cross ALL of our sins were yet future.  This is the reason the God can now deal with the believer’s sins on the basis of legality (the Justification described in Romans 5:1 is complete – the believer is eternally declared righteous). The believer’s sins are now a family matter, affecting fellowship not relationship.  Therefore 1 John 1:9 becomes the operating basis for the believers restoration to fellowship when he walks in accordance with his sin nature.

When?

It is important to realize that there is a timing text here.  The believer’s “old self” (KJV: old man) is crucified WITH Christ.  To understand this we must look at some examples:

“I went to the zoo with my wife and children.”

“Bob was at the concert with Judy.”

“Charles ate with Mike last night.”

In each of these cases the meaning would be horrible skewed if there were any separation in time or space.  One couldn’t say that they went to the zoo with their wife and children if they went to the zoo on one day, and their wife and kids the next day.  It would be equally silly to say that Charles at with Mike if they ate in different places (though at the same time).  The point?  The believer is said to be crucified with Christ.  If a person has placed their faith in Jesus Christ then they were unquestionably THERE when Jesus Christ was crucified.  They also, were (as a spiritual reality) on that cross with Jesus Christ.  Every believer is to view their co-crucifixion with Christ as an accomplished fact. 

No Longer a Slave

“Sin” here has the definite article in front of it.  It is not just “sin” but rather “the sin” or, if it is clearer, the sin principle (or sin nature) within the believer.  Before a person comes to know Jesus Christ the sin nature (aka “the flesh”) is the only life source that the person has.  An unbeliever may do any variety of things, and some of them may even look like “good works” but since they are rooted in the sin nature they are only “filthy rags” before God.  Before a someone comes to know Jesus they are in slavery to the sin nature.  There is no other choice than to obey the “slave master.”  The final choice that a person makes, from this perspective, is to trust in Christ.  At that point a person is crucified with Christ and no longer a slave to their sin nature.  They are FREE! Believers are free forever from the destructive tyrant of the sin nature. As we will see, that sin nature has not been obliterated, or removed from the life of the believer.  However, the believer is no longer obligated to obey the sin nature, and operate under its dictates.  The believer can now abide in the Spirit and is free to rest in Christ’s resurrection life.