“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

If Christ died for me, what is this business about being crucified with him? Didn’t his death take care of the requirement? I mean, if there’s one thing I have learned from church discussion about crucifixion, it’s that I don’t want any part of it! It is not a pleasant scene.  

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The purpose of Jesus’ death on the cross (crucifixion) was the fulfillment of the Law. The Law was what the people of God were commanded to uphold. It was a number of rules, observances and rituals that would place them back into right standing with God, following times of living in selfish and sinful ways. The punishment for disobedience was death – many of the rituals used death or sacrifice of an animal as a replacement for the human’s debt in this regard. That is what Jesus’ death was, he offered himself as the sacrifice for our sin so we could be free from that obligation.

This verse, and the ones surrounding it, use language of “with Christ” and “in Christ” in regard to how we live and die. The Greek idea is that believers are so united with Jesus that all his experiences become ours as well. So, when he died for sin on the cross, so did we. When he was resurrected and raised to new life, so were we. We are not some hybrid form of “old sinner but new saint” but are completely justified and regenerated to be wholly new!  

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That is powerful. Our old sinful life is truly dead. When we continue to live in faithful obedience to Christ, we are alive in his resurrection. We are not captive to what Paul calls the “old man,” which is a reference to the former sinful self. The life I live on earth (which hasn’t actually been physically crucified) is a life of faith. I live by faith, leaving the old sin behind, because he literally was crucified for me out of love. So, what’s better – to be crucified with him, surrendering our selfish desire to faithfully follow him or live as a lawbreaker who still owes the debt?

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There is freedom in unity with Christ. Crucifixion hurts – it’s not easy to surrender my will. But rest assured that a new, resurrected life will emerge. That life is pure, filled with love and belonging. That is what God desires for you. For me, this means understanding and believing the truth about how God views me rather than listening to Satan’s lies. It means I am good enough purely because I am a child of God – I don’t have to strive to perform. It means my identity is connected so closely to Christ that I am secure no matter what circumstances may present to me. That is the real life that comes when we surrender to being united with Christ.

Father, death to self is hard, and identifying with you is sometimes difficult because your way of living is so counter to the culture I live in. But your way IS better. I want to be so united to you that I can share in your experience – the nearness of the Kingdom of God. Please take over my life that I might experience a resurrected life for your glory. Amen.