We Who Died with Christ

[Romans 6:1-14]

Look at Romans 6:5: "For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection." Here, "his death" refers to the death of Jesus Christ. Why did Jesus, who was without sin, die? Look at Romans 5:10: "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life." The reason why Jesus, who had no sin, died was to reconcile us—who were enemies of God—with God.

Look at 1 John 4:10: "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." God loved us, who were enemies of God, and sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice to atone for our sins.

Now, if we look again at Romans 6:5, the Bible says, "For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death..." The "likeness" here does not refer to the actual death of Jesus Christ, but to the "likeness" of Jesus’ death, which represents our death. Although Jesus had no sin and did not need to die, He took upon Himself all our sins and died on the cross, and in doing so, we also died with Him. Moreover, the "union" here means that since we died with Jesus Christ, we too, in form, died with Him. We have already been baptized into the death of Christ (verse 3) (the baptism of the Holy Spirit). We were crucified with Jesus.

Look at Romans 6:6: "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin." Our "old self" was crucified with Jesus. In other words, when the precious body of Jesus was crucified and died on the cross, our "old self" also died with Him. The "old self" here refers to the person who, through disobedience to the command of God in the covenant, sinned as a descendant of Adam, belonging to Adam.

Look at 2 Corinthians 5:14: "For the love of Christ compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died." [(Modern Version) "It is because the love of Christ controls us. Since one died for all, we believe that all died."] The "one" is Jesus Christ, who died on the cross, and "all" (our "old self") died with Him. Since our "old self" died, the "old self" is now finished.

In Romans 6:6, it says "the body of sin," which is the same as the "old self." But why does the Bible call it the "body of sin"?  

The misunderstanding of our "body" leads us to hate the body of sin, and in an attempt to abhor sin, some torture or even abuse their own bodies. However, the "body of sin" originally refers to the body that God formed from the dust of the earth and then breathed the breath of life into, making the first man, Adam, a living being (Genesis 2:7; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:45). But through Adam's sin, sin entered into the body (the past body). Thus, the "body of sin" (the old man) is a body that, like Cain (1 John 3:12), hates his brother and commits murder (1 John 3:15).

However, our current body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (the present body). Look at 1 Corinthians 6:19: "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" [(Modern Bible) "Do you not know that your body is not your own, but a temple of the Holy Spirit that you have received from God, who is in you?"] How precious is our body. Therefore, we should not abuse our bodies in an attempt to hate sin. This current body is a "new creation" ("new being"), the body of the "new man" (2 Corinthians 5:17, Modern Bible), the body of the "servant of righteousness" (Romans 6:18, Modern Bible). The body of this servant of righteousness practices righteousness (1 John 2:29). In other words, the body of the new man, the servant of righteousness, obeys the command of the Lord to love one another (1 John 3:11, 23).

Furthermore, the body of the servant of righteousness, as the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), bears the fruit of the Spirit, which is love (Galatians 5:22), a body that loves and cannot help but love. When Jesus returns, our bodies will be transformed/resurrected. Although our bodies are corruptible, when Jesus comes again, our corruptible bodies will be transformed/resurrected and will be like the glorious body of Jesus Christ (the future body). Therefore, we will enter the kingdom of heaven. The body that has received new life will enter heaven and live with the Lord forever. This future body will be an incorruptible body, a glorious body (spiritual body), a body of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:42-44), and it will be like the body of Christ, who came from heaven (v. 48, Modern Bible). The Lord will transform our humble bodies to be like His glorious body (Philippians 3:21, Modern Bible). The Lord will sanctify the church, washing it with water and cleansing it with the word, presenting it without spot, wrinkle, or any other imperfection, as a glorious church before Him (Ephesians 5:26-27, Modern Bible).

This glorious future body will be the body that fully obeys the Lord’s double commandment in heaven: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind... and you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37, 39). In Romans 6:6, it says, "That we should no longer be slaves to sin." Before the death of the "old man" or "body of sin," sin reigned in death (Romans 5:17, 21), and we were slaves to sin, dragged along by it. However, because our old man (body of sin) was crucified with Jesus and has already died, sin no longer reigns in death, and we no longer serve sin as slaves. The reason is that the "old man" (body of sin) is already dead, and when something dies, it is finished.

Look at Romans 6:11: "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." A person dead to sin cannot be ruled by sin. Therefore, we must not allow sin to rule our mortal bodies and must not obey the sinful desires of the flesh (Romans 6:12). We must not follow after evil desires (v. 12). Moreover, we must not let any part of our body become an instrument of sin (Romans 6:13, Modern Bible).

Romans 6:7 says: “For he who has died has been freed from sin” [(Modern Translation) “A person who has already died to sin has been freed from sin”]. Our “old self” (body of sin) died with Jesus on the cross, so we are already dead to sin and have been freed from it. In other words, we have now been liberated from sin. In other words, we are free from sin [(v. 18) “having been set free from sin…”; (v. 22) “but now that you have been set free from sin…”]. Sin no longer has dominion over us. Sin no longer rules over us (v. 14). We are now able to resist sin and not commit it.

We are people who have already died to sin (6:7, Modern Translation). We are those who have been freed from sin (v. 18, 22). Our old self, the body of sin, has already been crucified with Jesus (v. 6). Therefore, we no longer serve sin (v. 6). Because of this, we should live with gratitude for God's love and grace, enjoying our freedom from sin. And we must preach this precious and true gospel. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ that we preach, we hope that each person will be transformed and walk the path of eternal life, and that the saving work of the Triune God will take place.