Our Old Man Has Been Crucified With Christ!

Issues – October 2017 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Our Old Man Has Been Crucified With Christ!

Some Background
“And God said, Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over the whole earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth. And God created man in His image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” —Genesis 1:26-27 JND

In Genesis 1:26 the term “image” implies representation and the word “likeness” suggests a moral resemblance. Man, created in God’s image (v.27), was placed in the midst of the miraculous creation to represent his Creator on earth. This was to be done in a manner consistent with God’s character, as best as man was able to apprehend or fathom it. Man in no way was even remotely close to being equal with God, but he could know His love and compassion as well as commune with Him and understand His desires. Considering the enormity of creation, man was given a most exalted position!

This arrangement required that man, in such a high position as he was, be reminded of the One who was superior: the LORD Himself. Man was under authority and he needed to remember that fact to keep God’s order. It would appear the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was a test for man regarding obedience. This reminded him that there was One who would always remain greater. Man was not equipped to handle many of the things present in the world. This then was the arrangement that man rebelled against when he disobeyed and ate from the fruit of that tree. He refused the authority of someone superior to himself. So began the long and difficult history of man.

It is encouraging to see that Abel, Adam’s second son, demonstrated a characteristic of God in the midst of all that was taking place. He brought an offering to the Lord of the firstlings of his flock. There were at that time, of course, no laws or rituals requiring offerings, yet Abel sensed God’s interests and responded in an acceptable manner. Man can know what is right.

But in a short period of time man sank to such evil that the earth was filled with violence. Our God’s unwillingness to allow man to continue in such an environment resulted in the great flood (Gen. 6-8). We might think that a massive and complete destruction would be enough to keep man from sinning, but this was not the case. In a very short time after the flood, one of Noah’s sons sinned against his own father.

God later tested man under all different types of circumstances. He created the best religion that has ever or will ever exist: Judaism. Since it was established by the LORD, it contained perfect laws and ordinances designed to remind man that God was interested in his wellbeing. The rituals and ordinances were intended to keep man’s attention focused on God, which is the best mental state for man.

Nothing worked; nothing made man any better. The creature exhausted himself in “self-improvement,” but was found wanting in all respects. Perhaps this is why after Lazarus had been in the grave four days (man was on earth about 4,000 years) it was said, “Lord, he stinks” (Jn. 11:39). The link between man’s moral failure and the corruption of the body was evident.

Romans
“Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin.” —Romans 6:6

The book of Romans gives us a great foundation for many of God’s principles. I have heard it said, “A good Roman can go anywhere.” This statement is intended to mean that a solid understanding of the book of Romans helps a Christian make progress in the remainder of God’s ways. Speaking of the gospel, Romans 1:17 says, “The righteousness of God is revealed therein.” It is not referring to the righteousness of man, government or even the law – but “righteousness of God”! Later in Romans 6 we see His righteousness displayed as He deals with man in finality.

The question then becomes, “What about man – he whom God created and put in charge of things, but who sinned against authority and fell so completely?” Initially living in a state of innocence, man (Adam and Eve) then sinned in the only thing possible: obedience – subjection to his Creator.

Roman 6:6 tells us, “Our old man has been crucified with Him [Christ Jesus].” This verse may be difficult to understand if a believer says to himself, “If my old man is crucified with Christ, why do I still sin?” It would seem obvious that this verse has caused many Christians some difficulty. Having done a bit of research I can attest to the fact that the explanations of that verse vary greatly. I noticed a Bible translation which changed the words “old man” to “old self” in an effort to explain Romans 6:6. In fairness, that translation offers a footnote that mentions the Greek word translated “self” is actually the word “man.”

The key to grasping the meaning of Romans 6:6 is found in verses 1-5. There the words “we” or “us” are used a total of nine times, and this continues in the verses that follow. This chapter in Romans is about things that are common to all believers, as seen in the frequent use of those two plural pronouns. Our old man is the same old man for every believer. There is only one. God did not completely give up on man at the time of the great flood. He saved eight souls through that global disaster: Noah and his family. God worked with man throughout the ages under many and varying circumstances, but once man became bent on rejecting the Lord of Glory, then all hope for man was gone.

The term “old man” is not about you individually, but it is about what God has brought to an end. All of the years of effort to find some good in man produced nothing. Remember that in Romans 6 Paul explained what is true of every Christian. Notice that there is more than simply a statement about the death of the old man in these verses; he is crucified. This brings force to the middle part of verse 6: “that the body of sin might be annulled.” The history of man is here summed up as a body – a body full of sin, hence the body of sin. Crucifixion is not only a cruel method of punishment, but it is a complete destruction of the body that is hung on a cross. God had decided to get rid of it completely.

As Christians we are most thankful that God is no longer testing the original man. That man is gone, never to be tested again for any possible good. A new man has taken his place, the man Christ Jesus. This is the One that God is now dealing with, the One in whom He has found His delight. As His children, we are set free from the responsibility of keeping a set of ordinances (the law) in order to have a life before God.

Colossians
“Do not lie to one another, having put off the old man with his deeds.” —Colossians 3:9

In this verse, the phrase “having put off the old man with his deeds” is stated as something already done. That man, who could not stand before God, along with all his deeds has been removed as any source of strength for the believer. In this our Lord is showing us what He has accomplished. We are encouraged in the early verses of Colossians 3 to remove many hurtful things from our lives. The point here is that the strength for putting off the nasty deeds of the old man starts by paying attention to what God has already worked in our lives.

Perhaps a good example of a believer as described in Colossians is Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary. He had died but was raised from the dead. We see him enjoying a supper at the “table with Him [Jesus]” (Jn. 12:2). The only proper focus for Lazarus was on that Man who had raised him from the dead. We are like that – dead but risen.

All of this is solely based on the Lord’s work. What did Lazarus’ will have to do with what had happened? Nothing. It was simply his lot to focus on the Lord and what He had done.

Ephesians
“... Namely your having put off according to the former conversation the old man which corrupts itself according to the deceitful lusts.” —Ephesians 4:22

Once again we are shown a deed that is already done as in “having put off.” It may be wise to remember that God had worked with man for approximately 4,000 years. It is of no small thing that God has so completely changed the basis of His dealing with His people. The law and all of Judaism was established to show us that religion does not make man better. Instead, religion tends to reveal just how bad he really is. Christianity, on the other hand, is a way of life, a manner of living.

We may be reminded of Mary, Lazarus’ sister, as we try to view what God is showing us in Ephesians. In John 12:3 she was occupied with her Lord, taken by His person. Perhaps in being so absorbed by Him she resembles Ephesians 2:6: “...And has raised us up together, and has made us sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.” Certainly she displayed a proper type of worship when she took a whole pound of ointment, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus.

A Concluding Thought
When I was a young believer I always wanted the verses about the old man to explain my struggle with sin – which would involve my dealing with the old nature in daily living. I have since come to believe that the progress of a believer is in seeing his position – that the old man is dead – from God’s point of view, from His perspective. There is a constant abiding truth throughout the Scriptures: God wants His people to be focused on Himself. He is a jealous God and He will not settle for second place in our lives. Only when we give Him the first place will we truly represent Him!

By Scott Cassell