The Good Of The Father (Old Man Gone)

 

With Christ have I been crucified, yet I am living; no longer I, but living in me is Christ.  Now that which I am now living in the flesh, I am living in faith that is of the Son of God, Who loves me, and gives Himself up for me

Paul to the Galatians 2: 20, Concordant New Testament 

It's one of the most difficult truths of the evangel of Paul that I've ever tried to wrap my understanding around.  The fact that I have died as a penalty of my sin {Paul to the Romans 2:20, Paul to the Romans 6:6}.  For too many years I believed in the traditional theology that Jesus Himself died on that cross for the forgiveness of my sin.  Paul also speaks to Jesus Himself becoming sin on our behalf {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  While I still agree that Christ willingly gave Himself on that cross for me, I also know that sin itself requires a penalty {Paul to the Romans 6:23}.  The evangel spoken by Paul tells us that our old humanity, our old man, was put to death "That the body of sin may be nullified" {Paul to the Romans 6:6}.  This was my own death beside Jesus on that cross.  But why did I need to die?  Wasn't the innocent sacrifice of Jesus enough to satisfy the Lord?  The truth is that Adams choice in the garden made our sin an issue of the mind {Paul to the Romans 5:12}.  Through Adams choice, man came to believe in the lie of the accuser that we are separated from our creator.  This is the lie spoken by the accuser in the garden {Genesis 3:1-6}.  Satan suggested to Eve that she could "Be like God, knowing good and evil" {Genesis 3:5}.  Of course, at this point, Eve could not have known that there is but One independent being in the universe, and that is God {Isaiah 45:5}.  God takes second place to no one, including the lie of the deceiver.  The fact is, for sin to be defeated, as Paul speaks to, then mankind needed to die.  For if we accept the truth that Jesus died on the cross as an atonement for our sin, it would have done nothing in regards to our own sin condition, our old sin nature which we carried with us due to Adams misguided choice {Paul to the Romans 3:23}.  The old sin nature needed to be done away with as well.  THAT is the reason we have died with Christ as Paul speaks to in Galatians.  Yet as my eyes were opened to this truth of the evangel, I didn't feel like I had died.  

For even as, through the disobedience of the one man, the many were constituted sinners, thus also, through the obedience of the One, the many shall be constituted just 

Paul to the Romans 5: 19, Concordant New Testament 

When I give unto others my response to their accusation that I am no longer a sinner I usually get a confused look.  This goes against the separation theology found in the mainstream church.  In this theology, Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sin.  Yet if this were indeed true, then our sin condition would still remain, we would still indeed be sinners.  It is only through the love and grace of the Father that He provided for the death of our old sin nature which entered the world as a result of the disobedient choice of one man.  Yet through the obedience of Christ Jesus, man shall be constituted just {Paul to the Romans 5:19}.  We are no longer simply sinners saved by grace, which many in the church have taken to referring to themselves.  That sin nature which we were born into has been put to death.  Not only are our sins forgiven, we are now new creations in Christ Jesus {Paul to the Corinthians 5:17}.  Being raised in the mainstream church theology, it was very difficult for me to grasp the truth of Paul's evangel at first.  The fact that we may not feel as if we've died by no means denies that we have been put to death with Christ.  Perhaps this is why Paul explained the truth of our life in Jesus as "The secret among the nations" {Paul to the Corinthians 1:27}.  

~Scott~