Romans 6:3-4
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Dying He destroyed our old identity, our soul's sinful state, our old man's corrupted desires and lusts- He does not deal with desires, He deals with the whole soul of the person. He takes the soul – us, spiritually and individually into His grave. We now are baptized, immersed and conformed into His death through Faith in Him. Old things have passed away, having been baptized (immersed, buried) into his death, we are dead to the state of our old selves. God delivers us from ourselves - we who have become corrupted through the fall are now rescued from ourselves- God did it through providing a death for us in Christ.
We have rich spiritual inheritances through this death and resurrection: 1 Pet 1:4 According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. More on our inheritence later.
We also have security - God promises to guard us by His power until the last day - through faith, simple faith in Him, how precious and valuable is a blood washed saint in His sight. How amazing is the Grace of God?
Since we belong in heaven, in heavenly realms where we are dwelling spiritually, we should be more at home on our knees in prayer, communing with our Father in Heavenly realms than on earth, enjoying the 'unsearchable riches of Christ' in fellowship with Him.
Rising, He gives us a better, more majestic, holy, and superseding identity. ‘As He is, so are we in this world’ ‘If anyone is in Christ, He is a new creature’, a heaven born being.
Hebrews 2:14, 15
14Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
15and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
His death frees us from Satan’s dominion. Satan only has dominion over this world and the spiritually dead. Satan has no dominion or jurisdiction over beings that are dead and arisen in new spiritual life. Because we are dead to this realm of the world, we are freed from temptations in this world system and freed also from this world’s values as well. Appropriating this truth will help us in times of temptation - why would i want the riches of this world when I have incorrpuible riches in Christ and in heaven laid up for me? Why would I want the fellowship of this world when I ahve the welcome of the Father in Christ?
It is we who die, or have to die in order to be free from this world’s values. An appropriation of the truth of our death with and in Christ will make us more conscious of our heavenly affiliation with Christ and His world and His realm (heavenly places) and less and less with Satan or this world and this realm. In fact we have more affiliation with heaven than earth, being children of the Kingdom of heaven who died to this world through His cross,
We are now no longer enemies. As He rose again, He rose in us, making us His Sons, His bride, His friends, He gives us a new identity through a new life – His life. We are kingly in His Kingship, priestly in His eternal priesthood.
Our past God destroys, our future God writes with grace. ‘That in the ages to comes He might show us the exceeding riches of His grace in Kindness through Christ Jesus.’
In trials, we have new opportunities to appropriate His death to our flesh and selves though faith in His death. To realize more and more the effective working of His death in our own fleshly and selfish nature.
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