We who died with Christ (Romans 6:1-14)

We who died with Christ

 

 

 

[Romans 6:1-14]

 

 

 

                Look at Romans 6:5a – “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, ….”  “His death” here refers to the death of Jesus Christ.  Why did the sinless Jesus die?  Look at Romans 5:10a – “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, ….”  The purpose of the death of Jesus, who was sinless, was that we might be reconciled to God.  Look at 1 John 4:10 – “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”  The purpose why God loved us, who were His enemies, and sent His Son Jesus Christ as the propitiation was to make atonement for our sins.  If we look again at Romans 6:5a, the Bible says, “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death,  …,” the “likeness” here does not mean the death of the actual Jesus Christ, but our death as the “likeness” that is the same as the death of Jesus Christ.  Although sinless and incapable of dying, Jesus Christ died on the cross to redeem us from our sins when we died with Him.  Also, “united” here means that we are dead in a way because we died in union with Jesus Christ.  Already we have been baptized into the death of Jesus Christ (baptism of the Holy Spirit) (v. 3).  We are crucified like Jesus.

 

                Look at Romans 6:6 – “knowing 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.”  Our old self was crucified with Jesus.  In other words, when the precious physical body of Jesus was crucified and died, our old self was also crucified and died with Him on the cross.  Here, the “old self” refers to those who are descendants of Adam who sinned in disobedience to God’s command of the covenant, who are in Adam and who belong to Adam.  Look at 2 Corinthians 5:14 – “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died.”  Because “that one” Jesus Christ died on the cross, “all” (our “old self”) died.  Our old self is dead, so the old self is over.  Romans 6:6 speaks of “our body of sin”, and “our body of sin” is the same as “our old self”.  But why does the Bible say “our body of sin”?  The reason is because there is a misunderstanding of “body”.  The misunderstanding of our “body” hates sin and hates the body of sin, causing us to suffer or even abuse our body.  However, the “body of sin” was originally formed from the ground by God and breathed into the nostrils of the first man, Adam, to become a living being (Gen. 2:7; Note: 1 Cor.15:45).  However, because of Adam's transgression, sin entered the body (the past body).  Like Cain, the body of the past, the “body of sin” (the old self), is a body that hates brothers and commits murder (1 Jn. 3:12, 15).  But now our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit where the Holy Spirit resides (the present body).  Look at 1 Corinthians 6:19 – “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?”  How precious is this body.  Therefore, we hate sin and must not abuse our bodies.  This present body is the “new creature” (“new being”), the body of the “new man” (2 Cor.5:17), and the body of “slaves of righteousness” (Rom. 6:18).  This body of the slaves of righteousness practices righteousness (1 Jn. 2:29).  In other words, the body of the new man, the slaves of righteousness, obeys the commandment of the Lord to love one another (3:11, 23).  Also, the body of the slaves of righteousness is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor.6:19), and it is a body that bears love (Gal.5:22), which is the fruit of the Spirit, and cannot but love.  At the second coming of Jesus our bodies will be transformed/resurrected.  Although our bodies are perishable, when Jesus comes again, our perishable bodies will be transformed/resurrected like the glorious body of Jesus Christ (the future body).  So we will go to heaven.  The body with new life will go to heaven and live with the Lord forever.  This future body is an incorruptible body, a glorious body and a spiritual body (1 Cor. 15:42-44), and it will be like the body of Christ who came from heaven (v. 48).  The Lord will transform our humble body to be like His glorious body (Phil. 3:21).  The Lord will sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless (Eph. 5:26-27).  This future glorified body will be the body that will fully obey the Lord's twofold commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22:37, 39).  Romans 6:6 says, “so that we would no longer be slaves to sin”.  Before “the old self” or “the body of sin” died, we were enslaved to sin and led to it because sin reigned in death (5:17, 21).  However, since our old self (the body of sin) was already crucified with Jesus and died, sin no longer reigns in death, so we no longer serve as slaves to sin.  The reason is because the old self (the body of sin) is already dead, so if the old self died, it is over.  Look at Romans 6:11a – “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, ….”  We who have died to sin, sin can no longer reign.  Therefore, we must not allow sin to have dominion over our mortal body, so that we do not obey its lusts (v. 12).  We must not obey evil desires.  Nor should we allow any part of our body to become an instrument of sin (v. 13).  

 

                Look at Romans 6:7 – “for he who has died is freed from sin.”  Because “our old self” (the body of sin) was crucified with Jesus, we are already dead to sin and freed from sin.  That is, we are now free from sin [(v 18) “and having been freed from sin …”, “(v. 22) “But now having been freed from sin …”].  Sin no longer is master over us (v. 14).  Sin no longer has dominion over us.  We can resist without sinning.

 

                We are already dead to sin (v. 7).  We are set free from sin (vv. 18, 22).  Our old self, our body of sin, was crucified with Jesus and already died (v. 6).  Therefore we will no longer be slaves to sin (v. 6).  Therefore, we should live a life free from sin in gratitude for God's love and grace.  And we must preach this precious and true gospel.  I hope and pray that the work of salvation of the Holy Trinity God, in which each person is transformed and walks the path of eternal life, occurs through the gospel of Jesus Christ.