Christ as our Death

Before one can begin to learn how to live in and with Christ, one must first die in and with Him.

For those who participate in it, the death of the Son of God brought about a complete separation from the world, the sinful nature, and the Devil.

²⁰If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances, Colossians 2:20

There was a well-known saying in the days of the early Assembly, which Paul first wrote to the Romans (Romans 6:8), and later mentioned to Timothy:

¹¹This saying is trustworthy: “For if we died with him, we will also live with him. 2 Timothy 2:11

To remain part of this world is to inherently accept its mode of operation, and authority. The one who rules the world is Satan. He was given control when Adam and Eve aligned their obedience toward him, rather than Elohim.

Death as Sin's Reward

Without sin, there is no death; death was created as the reward of sin (Genesis 2:16-17).

²³For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

Therefore, to those who are without sin, there can be no death. Death was instituted as the wage or reward for sin, or "missing the mark." To sin is to separate oneself from Yahweh, and thus to separate oneself from His life.

Those that have died with Christ can not die again. Because death could not hold Him, for He was without sin, death cannot hold those who are one with Him; for those whose identity is fused with the Lord Jesus, there can never be any consciousness or punishment of sin!

As we identify completely with the Son of God we inherently receive this blessing of never dying. Because He was put to death, but came back to life, so we can never die and remain dead. We have been freed from the agony of death because our union with the Sinless One.

The Law as Sin's Power

Just as there is no death without sin, so there is can be no imputing of sin without Law. Even though sin may exist without the presence of a Law, only through Law can there be an assignment and punishment of it. That Greek word for "imputed," ελλογειτα, comes from the Greek words for "in/on/with" and "word/matter." To impute is to put a matter in, with, or on something, as in a ledger or inscription. Sin cannot be ascribed to anyone when there is no Law.

¹³For until the law, sin was in the world; but sin is not charged when there is no law. Romans 5:13

The power of Christ's death (and resurrection), is that when we identify with it, having died already, the law no longer has any power over us. The Law, as sin's authority to put to death, can ultimately kill as its harshest punishment. Once this has been carried out, there is no longer any authority in the Law to apply to the one who has died. As we have died with Christ, who was put to death without cause as He had not sinned, we, like Him, no longer answer to the Law. We are no longer under the authority of that which ascribes sin. We no longer bear the punishment that the Law prescribes, as we have already been put to death in Christ. We can die no more, therefore we can answer to the Law no more!

In this awesome union with Yahweh's Son, we are freed from the agent of Yahweh to punish sin: the Law. Now we are free to live in the liberty of His Spirit, as He intended from the beginning. Just as the Law did not apply to Adam and Eve before they disobeyed God, so it does not apply to us. We have been freed from the effects of sin, and therefore have been freed from sin's authority, the Law.