When Christ died on the cross we died to having ourselves as our point of reference. Paul testified in Galatians 2:20:

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

It’s impossible for a person to know their union with Christ, and live out of that union, if they don’t know they have died with Christ. If I think the old me is still alive, I am still my point of reference. If I am still my point of reference, I am still trying to correct me, straighten me up, make something out of me, or do something to change me. As long as my emphasis is on me, it can’t be upon Christ in me. So I’m a divided person. Oh, I can still live in the Romans 7 trap - what I want to do I don’t do; what I don’t want to do I do - but I’ve had enough of that, haven’t you? I want to be out of that. What Paul tells us in Romans 6 and 2 Corinthians 5 is that we really are out of that.

When Paul poses the question, "Shall we continue in sin just to prove the reality of grace?" he concludes, "People who go on living like that don’t really know they died in Christ." In other words, their point of reference hasn’t been changed. Their point of reference is still themselves, and they think they’re no good and want to sin. Consequently, they’re excited about all of this grace of God they can keep drawing on. Paul would say, "Yes, you can keep on drawing on the grace of God for everything you ever do, for every sin you ever commit. But why? Why not instead draw on the life of God?"

A friend of mine once said to me, "You know, until I really knew that I had been crucified with Christ, there was no way for me to get rid of me. Because I was still alive to me." It’s so true. Until we know we’ve died, we’re never going to be free of ourselves, and we will never experience union. We will still be a problem to ourselves. The spotlight will still be on us. That’s where most Christians are living their life: "I’ve got to produce for God."

Until the full work of the cross - our death and resurrection with Christ - becomes a reality to us, we will try to produce something that’s not required of us. Our focus will still be on us instead of Christ in us. And we will neglect to be involved in the glorious activity of God as He lives out through us for others. We participate in God’s life when we see that we died to ourselves as our point of reference. Christ in us is now our point of reference in all things.

Everything necessary for living the Christian life is provided in the cross, completely and properly understood. It’s all in the cross. God hasn’t omitted one thing from the cross that is necessary for us to allow Him to live His life through us.

We must experimentally know both sides of the cross: Christ died for us (the blood) and we died and were raised with Him (the body).

It’s fundamental to know that you died with Christ. You can’t know your union until God has shown you that the old you died. When you died, you died to sin. You died to the law. You died to yourself as your point of reference. As far as being an impediment to God, you are out of the way. The old you is no longer a factor.

It’s a great victory to move into the reality of who you are in Christ. You have the privilege of seeing yourself the way God sees you. Your entire point of reference is now Christ who lives in you. You and He are one. He lives His life through you.

We can continue to say, "That can’t really mean me, because I know me. I know I’m not dead." Then we’ll never know your union with God and Christ. We’ll never know Christ as our life. We may understand the concept of our death, but not truly know the truth of it in our inner being.

If your death with Christ hasn’t become an experiential reality to you yet, I encourage you to ask the Father to make it a reality: "Lord, I want to know. I want to know and experience the truth that I died with Christ. Reveal that to me and make it real in my life."

He will.

Edited for clarity.

tuc: Amen! True victory in the Christian life does not come when I am made more aware of my flesh and try harder to defeat it. It comes when I truly have a revelation of my death, burial, and resurrection with Him. It comes when it is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me. Good word this morning.

_________________
Travis

When Christ died on the cross we died to having ourselves as our point of reference.

This is so critical - if we see ourselves as our point of reference we will always fail.

So how do you change this point of reference?

Simple - just believe God's WORD to you now - you have been crucified with Christ and then keep believing it no matter what.

Simply say YES - Amen to Gods Word.

This process is not a formula that we can control. It is God working in us. We simply say, "Amen, so be it." As it says in Hebrews 12:2, Jesus is both the author and finisher of [the process that produces] our faith. It is all a gift, a free present, from Him. It is time that we begin saying yes to that gift. "Yes, He has really given it to me." The change God offers is produced by the Holy Spirit within the believer. We learn to rest in Him and His love for us. In turn, He lives His life in and through us unique to each one of us, thus manifesting the life of Christ in our mortal flesh. It is what the Apostle Paul meant when he said: "For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus's sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh."

I would add something to what you have said. Our knowledge of the word of God needs to move beyond recognition to revelation. Recognition comes when we read the word and acknowledge that what we are reading is true in our minds. Revelation comes when the Holy Spirit so quickens the word that it explodes in our hearts and the truth of the word becomes so much a part of us that we begin to live out that word. I hope this makes sense, but I can believe what the word says but never have that word sink down deep, come alive, and become a revelation in my heart. This transition from knowledge to revelation comes through continual intimacy with the Father.

Every true believer knows and believes at some level that they are dead to sin and the old man and alive to God through Jesus Christ. Romans 6 is so crystal clear. But I believe that there are a great number of believers who have been born again, but have never had a real revelation of what that truly means. Their own death and resurrection is a concept they believe, not a revelation they experience and live out. So, the fruit of that revelation is lacking and they are still bound by habits, lusts, attitudes, emotions, etc. They truly desire freedom from these things, but they have a hard time experiencing this freedom. Their solution is often to try harder, to enact strategies of the mind and the flesh, in an attempt to overcome what is actually a spiritual battle. It leaves them frustrated and full of questions.

God really revealed to me recently the spiritual armor from the book of Ephesians and it has been truly rocking my whole world. But the spiritual armor that we use to fight spiritual battles is all wrapped up in the revelation of what our salvation has done for us.

Blessings.

_________________
Travis