🕊️ Crucifixion in the Believer’s Life — Part 1 : A Biblical Theology
(THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS)
Introduction: Why This Matters
Many believers wrestle with how to live in freedom when sin still tugs at their soul. Scripture doesn’t call us to crucify ourselves daily but to know, reckon, and yield to the finished work already done in Christ. This post unpacks what that means, drawing from Paul’s teaching in Romans 6 and beyond, and invites you to walk in quiet confidence that the old self is dead, and Christ now lives in you.
The New Testament concept of crucifixion as it relates to the believer's life is deeply rich, multidimensional, and essential to understanding how we walk in newness of life. It unfolds in three interrelated but distinct aspects: Spiritual/Actual (Knowing), Positional/Legal (Reckoning), and Practical/Metaphorical (Yielding). This framework, grounded in Romans 6:1–14, reflects the sequence of knowing, reckoning, and yielding.
Each aspect is supported by Scripture, Greek word analysis, and a memorable real-life metaphor.
I. SPIRITUAL/ACTUAL – KNOWING
This refers to the objective, spiritual reality that took place at salvation: the believer’s old man (the unregenerate self in Adam) was crucified with Christ. This is not figurative or aspirational — it is a past-tense, spiritual fact.
Key Scriptures:
Romans 6:3–6 – "Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?... our old self was crucified with Him."
Greek: ἐσταυρώθη (estaurōthē) – aorist passive indicative of "to crucify." This indicates a completed action done to the subject — our old man was crucified.
Galatians 2:20 – "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."
Greek: συνεσταύρωμαι (synestaurōmai) – perfect passive indicative. This emphasizes ongoing results of a past action: I remain in a crucified state with Christ.
Colossians 2:11–12 – Our old self was "put off" through a circumcision made without hands — through the death and resurrection of Christ.
Colossians 3:9–10 – "You have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self."
2 Corinthians 5:17 – "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
Ephesians 4:22–24 – "Put off your old self... and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God."
Theological Summary:
The believer’s old man was crucified — not metaphorically, but actually and spiritually, with the result that the body of sin was rendered powerless to rule. This is an identity transformation, not a behavioral improvement.
🪶 Metaphor: A passport torn in half
The moment you trusted Christ, your spiritual passport identifying you as a citizen of Adam's domain was invalidated. You were issued a new one with heaven’s seal — the old has no more legal use.
II. POSITIONAL/LEGAL – RECKONING
Here we consider the legal standing of the believer. Though sin’s presence remains, its authority is nullified. We are commanded to reckon (logizomai) this to be true. Sin is no longer the ruling authority over the believer.
Key Scriptures:
Romans 6:11–14 – "Consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
Greek: λογίζεσθε (logizesthe) – present middle imperative of "to reckon, count, consider." This is a mental accounting, a faith-based affirmation of fact.
Galatians 5:24 – "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."
Greek: ἐσταύρωσαν (estaurōsan) – aorist active indicative. The believer, by faith in Christ, aligned themselves with the crucifixion of the flesh’s reign.
Colossians 2:13–15 – God "canceled the record of debt... nailing it to the cross."
Romans 8:1–2 – "There is now no condemnation... the law of the Spirit of life has set you free."
1 Peter 2:24 – Christ "bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness."
Theological Summary:
Sin’s legal right to rule the believer has been judicially broken. We are no longer slaves (Romans 6:6), and our ongoing posture is to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God, trusting this legal change.
🦅 Metaphor: An eagle in flight
The tug of gravity remains, but the eagle was made to fly. When it spreads its wings, it operates above that pull. Likewise, we reckon on our new nature and live from above.
III. PRACTICAL/METAPHORICAL – YIELDING
The final dimension is experiential. This is not a literal crucifixion but the daily, moment-by-moment choice to surrender to the Spirit rather than the flesh. It is how the spiritual and legal truths become functional.
Key Scriptures:
Romans 8:13–14 – "If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."
Greek: θανατοῦτε (thanatoute) – present active indicative: continual practice of putting to death.
Colossians 3:5–10 – "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you..."
Luke 9:23 – "Take up your cross daily and follow Me."
Romans 12:1–2 – "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice."
Philippians 3:10 – "…becoming like Him in His death."
2 Corinthians 4:10–11 – "…carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested."
Titus 2:11–14 – Christ redeemed us and purifies a people "zealous for good works."
John 12:24–25 – Unless a grain of wheat dies, it cannot bear fruit. Death yields life.
Theological Summary:
Yielding is the practical appropriation of our crucified position. The believer puts off the deeds of the body, not to gain acceptance, but because they are already accepted. This yielding is empowered by the indwelling Spirit.
🔌 Metaphor: Unplugging from the old outlet
Sin’s outlet is still on the wall, but its power line was severed at the cross. Each day, you choose whether to plug into that outlet or into the Spirit. You have the freedom to yield to the true Source.
Summary Chart
Final Reflection:
Let the truth settle in: you don’t crucify the old man — he’s already dead. You simply reckon it so and yield to Christ’s indwelling life. So today, walk in that quiet confidence. Let the eagle soar.