The body of Christ knows it needs transformation. Many sense the need for a fresh touch from God. Different groups propose different solutions to the problem. Some expect everything to be fixed when Jesus returns. Others settle for struggling through this life as best they can. Still others emphasize greater self-discipline and structures to manage sin. In charismatic circles the hope often centers on revival or an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Each answer contains pieces of truth, yet none reaches the core issue. The message the church needs to hear is that we already possess everything we need in Christ. We are not waiting to attain something new. We have been joined to the Lord in union with Him.
## The Old Self Has Been Crucified
As written in Romans 6:6, “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”
When Adam sinned, the whole human race fell into sin. They died spiritually. They were separated and cut off from God, completely cut off from God. They had no access to the presence of God. They were thrown out of the garden of Eden. They were dead spiritually. Whenever God spoke to anyone in the Old Testament, He broke into the sense realm that they could see, smell, feel, taste, or touch. He spoke in an audible voice, or through an angel, or even a donkey, but they remained spiritually dead.
On Calvary, Jesus took the sin of the whole world. He who knew no sin became sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Jesus did not just take our sins. He took our old self, our sin nature, on the cross. The Bible says when He died, we died. I have been crucified with Christ. You were dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. God took that old self, the sinful nature, and nailed it to the cross of Calvary. It is dead. God looks at you and declares that the old self is completely dead. Then He raised you in Christ. On the third day He rose, and you were born again in Christ Jesus. You were birthed in Jesus with His nature, with His perfection, with His righteousness.
## The Reality Of Union With Christ
As written in 1 Corinthians 6:17, “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”
I have been joined one with the Lord. Let me be really clear here. There is a distinction. He is God, the Creator of heaven and earth, the second person of the Trinity, and I am a redeemed sinner. I am not the Lord. Yet I have been joined one with the Lord. You are not close to Jesus. You are joined with Jesus. This is God’s declaration, God’s vantage point. Jesus said, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me will bring forth much fruit. The branch does not strive to produce fruit. It simply rests and abides. The life of the vine flows through the branch. You are right now completely abiding in Him. God says you are. Even when experience suggests otherwise, the declaration stands.
This reality changed Hudson Taylor’s life in one day. Many years later he could still say he was living in that same place. The revelation had not diminished. He lived in the victory of Jesus over sin. He lived in that same place in Christ Jesus.
## Our Lived Experience Versus God’s Vantage Point
What most of us have been taught is that we come to Christ and become a new creation. Then we get fuzzy about the old self, the sinful nature. Many describe it as a kind of dualism, like two natures living in the same body. The goal becomes pushing one down and letting the other rule. People quote Romans 7 as if Paul describes an ongoing internal war, a schizophrenia inside the believer. A godly nature and an old nature battle for control.
This description matches lived experience for nearly every Christian. I met Jesus at a Billy Graham crusade on July 14, 1984. I knew my life had changed. I knew I had met Him. A part of me that had been dead came alive. I was a new creation. Yet I quickly realized I was still battling the same thoughts, the same temptations. I was still the same person in many ways. The old battles continued. It felt true to say there was a new person and an old person living inside.
That is our movie. God sees a different movie. From God’s perspective, the old self is dead. The new creation has been joined to Christ. There is no dualism to manage. The old man was crucified with Him. The new man lives in union with Christ.
## The Unity Jesus Prayed For
As written in John 17:21, “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
Jesus prayed for unity. He prayed that they may be one, even as the Father and He are one. Many have interpreted this as organizational unity or perfect doctrinal agreement. The different branches of the church each claim to be the true expression and call others to join them. Yet Jesus’ prayer was answered. We are one. He prayed for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The church will be unified not through conformity or uniformity but through union and communion in Christ Jesus. This union already exists. We need to know it and live from it.
The truth of union with Christ cuts through every partial solution. We do not strive to become what we already are in Him. The old self is dead. We have been made one spirit with the Lord. From this place the Christian life takes on its true shape.
Selah
**Scriptures for Study**
Romans 6:6, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Corinthians 6:17, John 15:4, John 15:5, John 17:21, Romans 6:11, Ephesians 2:6, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 8:2, Ephesians 4:22, Ephesians 4:24, Colossians 2:6, Colossians 2:7, Romans 5:17, 1 John 4:17, Philippians 1:21, Galatians 5:16, Romans 6:4, Hebrews 4:10, Matthew 11:28, John 17:22, John 17:23
**10 Questions for Reflection**
1. Where in your life do you still see evidence of the old self that God declares is dead?
2. How does the distinction between lived experience and God’s vantage point change the way you view your struggles?
3. What would shift if you accepted that the old sinful nature was crucified with Christ and is not being improved?
4. In what areas have you been managing two natures instead of resting in union with Christ?
5. How does the vine and branches picture challenge your efforts to produce fruit?
6. Where do you still wait for something more from God instead of recognizing what you already have in Christ?
7. How would your daily walk change if you lived from the reality that you are one spirit with the Lord?
8. What partial solutions to the need for transformation have you relied on in the past?
9. How does Jesus’ prayer for unity point to something already accomplished rather than something to achieve?
10. If the old self is dead, what practical step would help you stop treating it as alive?
