“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” Galatians 2:20.
If we replay the gospel backwards from the religious confusion we have today, we see that without the ascension the Holy Spirit could not come, Jesus could not be our High Priest, and the church could not be established. Jesus’ resurrection means that we too can overcome the grave, but first we must be “buried with Him in baptism.” Moving back from there, Scripture tells us that His death on the cross opened a way for us to crucify our old sinful selves with Him, that when we truly die to sin and selfishness, it is no longer us who live. Christ sets up residence within us, so that the life we live is the one He, the perfect Lamb, should have lived. We must no longer dig up the dead corpse and seek to resuscitate it to please ourselves. The blood of Christ was the price for our forgiveness, so we must live by faith, seeking to please God. Unselfishly, He gave His life, so that we could unselfishly give ourselves to others.
Have you been crucified with Christ to have your sins forgiven?
Doug Kashorek
Plattsburgh church of Christ
Plattsburgh, NY