Day 9 – How Do We Identify With Him?
Now we start putting it all together. What does it really mean when we say that we died with Christ? Or that we were made alive with Him?
In an earlier lesson, we saw that we have passed from death to life, and how this refers to our spiritual life in particular. So putting these two things together, when Jesus died on the cross, our old spirit (the “old man” as Paul often calls it – Eph 4:22, Col 3:9, Rom 6:6)died with Him. That was the spirit that had the sin nature in it through both Adam’s and our own sin. That spirit died. Now remember that your spirit is the real you – it is your true identity – it is the part of you that is eternal and that connects with God in the spirit realm. That old spirit died and is gone, and your sin died with it.
And then when Jesus rose from the dead, we also rose with Him to newness of life (Rom 6:4). God gave us a new spirit. We have a new identity! As it says in 2Cor 5:17, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” It goes on to say in 2Cor 5:21, that He became sin that we could become His righteousness! So this new spirit God gave us is created in righteousness and holiness. Because of this – Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection – we have been made righteous before God!
This is not something we ever could have done for ourselves. “It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph 2:8-9). How do receive this gift? Through faith: we believe what Jesus has done for us, and we accept that we as individuals are part of the salvation story. In other words, we identify with Him personally. When we do this, we are born again (Jn 3:3, 1Pet 1:23).
This is the greatest thing that can happen to anyone. It is passing from spiritual death to spiritual life. It affects every part of your life. Most importantly, it affects your eternal destiny. Rather than spending eternity in hell separated from God, you will spend it in His presence.
But there is more to it. It also needs to affect our life here on the earth. As it says in Rom 6:4, “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
So let us learn to walk in newness of life!
Consider:
What kind of impact should it have on a person’s life if they get an entirely new identity?
Take some time to meditate on the magnificent gift of salvation.