Buried With Christ

The Powerful Secret of New Life

Have you ever read a Bible verse and felt like it holds a deep, life-altering secret? For many Christians, the twin concepts of being crucified with Christ and being baptized into His death are exactly that—the secret to breaking free from the power of sin and truly walking in new life.

These aren't just theological ideas; they’re the core spiritual reality of what it means to be a believer. Let’s dive into what the Bible says about this radical identification with Jesus.

1. Crucified with Christ: The Death of the Old Self

The first step in this journey is accepting a startling fact: your old self is dead.

The Apostle Paul states this clearly and powerfully in Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ; 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 for me."

What does this mean for us?

1. A Past Event: Paul uses the past tense ("I have been crucified"). This isn't a continuous process of trying to kill sin; it’s an accomplished fact. When Jesus died on the cross, you, as a believer identified with Him, died to the dominion of sin.

2. Freedom from Sin’s Authority: The sin nature—the old desire to live independently of God—has been terminated. It no longer has a legal claim or absolute authority over you. The person you were is gone.

3. The New Tenant: The physical body remains, but the central "I" that controls it is no longer the sinful self, but Christ lives in me. This is the secret source of power for the new life.

   
   

2. Buried and Risen in Baptism: The Romans 6 Blueprint

If the crucifixion is the spiritual death certificate of the old self, baptism is the public funeral, burial, and subsequent resurrection party.

In Romans 6:3-4, Paul uses baptism as a dramatic visual aid to explain our union with Christ:

"Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

Notice the three key movements here:

1. Death/Burial (Going Under the Water): When you go down into the water, it symbolizes your burial with Christ. The old way of life is left behind, submerged and dead.

2. Resurrection (Coming Up Out of the Water): When you are lifted out, it symbolizes your resurrection with Christ. You are now a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), infused with His Spirit and intended to live a life radically different from the one that was buried.

3. The Result: The result isn’t just a new status, but a new walk: you should now "walk in newness of life."

   
   

3. Living the New Life (Sanctification)

Understanding that you are dead to sin and alive to God is the foundation of sanctification—the process of becoming more like Christ every day. Because you have been crucified and resurrected, Paul gives us a command in Romans 6:11: “Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The word “reckon” means to consider or believe something to be true based on established facts. It’s an act of faith. When temptation comes, you don't fight it by trying to get stronger; you fight it by believing the truth:

• Fact: I am dead to sin’s power (Galatians 2:20).

• Response: I refuse to let sin reign over my mortal body because I am spiritually identified with Christ’s death and resurrection.

This identification provides the power for victory. Every day, we choose to surrender the members of our body (hands, eyes, mind) not to the sin we died to, but to the righteousness of the Risen Christ. The secret isn't striving harder to be good; it’s resting in the completed work of the cross and the grave. Your life as a Christian began with a spiritual death and resurrection—now, go live like the resurrected person you are!

Have you found that reckoning yourself dead to sin has changed the way you approach spiritual growth?