Romans 6:1-8 TPT
So what do we do, then? Do we persist in sin so that God’s kindness and grace will increase? [2] What a terrible thought! We have died to sin once and for all, as a dead man passes away from this life. So how could we live under sin’s rule a moment longer? [3] Do you not know, or have you forgotten that all of us who were immersed into union with Jesus, the Anointed One, was immersed into union with his death? [4] Sharing in his death by our baptism means that we were co-buried and entombed with him so that when the Father’s glory raised Christ from the dead, we were also raised with him. We have been co-resurrected with him so that we could be empowered to walk in the freshness of new life. [5] For since we are permanently grafted into him to experience a death like his, then we are permanently grafted into him to experience a resurrection like his and the new life that it imparts. [6] Could it be any clearer that our former identity is now and forever deprived of its power? For we were co-crucified with him to dismantle the stronghold of sin within us, so that we would not continue to live one moment longer submitted to sin’s power. [7] Obviously, a dead person is incapable of sinning. [8] And if we were co-crucified with the Anointed One, we know that we will also share in the fullness of his life.
I love the Passion translation’s rendition of these particular verses from Romans 6. It is actually more of a commentary of what the Holy Spirit is trying to say through the apostle Paul, and not so much a word for word translation. Still, I believe the commentary is a very accurate one.
Jesus died on the Cross for me so that I would no longer have to live under the condemnation of sin, but if that were the only thing that Jesus came to accomplish then though I would be free from the guilt of sin, I would still be lost in the grip of the power of sin. The purpose of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus was not just to erase something but was to create something totally new and glorious. Ephesians 2:10 says we were “created in Christ Jesus,” and according to Paul’s declaration in Romans 6:5 NASB, we are now able to walk in “newness of life.” The whole point of the finished work of Christ was to raise up in His resurrection an entire New Creation living by His resurrection power. We were crucified with Christ, so that risen from the dead in Christ, we can share daily in the fullness of His life. Just imagine what it would be like if the risen Jesus could zip himself up in your humanity and spend one day living his life through your life, facing all the situations and relationships that make up your daily living. How would you think you would describe your life at the end of that day? Maybe you would say, “It was as if I had a whole new life that was miraculous in the most practical ways.” You would describe how you found that you weren’t responding to situations and people the way you used to. Instead of feeling insecure and rejected or frustrated when people ignored you or were unkind to you or made demands on you, you found that you experienced an unspeakable joy in loving and serving them. You might also say that instead of your mind going to places with obsessive thoughts of anger, fear, or impurity, you found that the atmosphere of your thought life was glorious, filled with a peace that passed all understanding. Maybe you would even report that you never felt hurried throughout the day, no matter what crisis was placed before you, and that impatience and complaining, or criticism and gossip did not even seem like options. Victorious would be a good way to describe a day like that.
That kind of day sounds heavenly doesn’t, but the truth is, that kind of day should be normal for those of us who are in Christ. That kind of newness of life is not our standard or some goal that we are shooting for; instead, it is a description of the newness of life that you and I already possess in fullness because of our union with the resurrection life of Jesus. He lives in us, to live that kind of newness of life day through us every single day.
Paul asked the Roman believers a simple question in verse 3; “Or do you not know…” The sad reality is that the enemy of our souls has done an excellent job of robbing us of the knowledge of the truth of who we are, in light of who He is in us. Ask God to give you a great breakthrough of clarity of the newness of life that’s yours to enjoy and celebrate, and when you forget and act like the person you used to be apart from Christ, don’t be too proud to be reminded. When you slip up and act as if you were still the old fallen yucky self, don’t become defensive and make excuses; instead repent and train up and once again start celebrating the fact that that is not who you are anymore, and take the next step walking with HIS Hinds feet on high places.