#40. Romans 6:6 - Our Flesh? That Silly Old Thing? Pt. 2 (Conciliation Series, Part XVII)

 Part IV: God’s Conciliation, Confirmed

…knowing this, that our old humanity was crucified together with Him, that the body of Sin may be nullified…

Here’s something fun for you. The following quote is my original notes when I went through Romans for the first time:

“Old humanity had the law to try to reform the issue of sin. This only made the issue worse. Why would He do this? To show us how righteous we are not (Rom. 8:3.) Yet in taking His Son, placing all of human sin on Him, and killing Him, the sins of the old humanity died with Him. Jesus looked brand new upon His resurrection. This is why ‘accepting Christ into your heart’ holds no bearing. If ‘accepting Him’ were the only way to be saved, the old humanity would not be covered by grace, making the entire concept of resurrection a moot point.”

Thank you, past me. And thank you, God, for educating me. The crucifixion occurred one time. It will never happen again, because Christ is never going to die again. We can deduce, from this, that we will not be crucified again, either. Our old humanity died once. It will never happen again, because the old humanity has served its function. It already has one foot out the door. Don’t wait up for it, because it’s not coming back.

Let’s now consider how distinct this is from the rest of Scripture. Because of the physical nature of the circumcision evangel (indicated by the title: evangel of the circumcision, Gal. 2:7-8, or: evangel of the kingdom, Matt. 4:23,) they do not understand the nature of the cross. Not once does that evangel of the circumcision proclaim that the Israelites are baptized into Christ’s death, and it certainly doesn’t proclaim that they would be sharing His allotment!! The cross of our shame impacts them, yes (Rom. 5:18-19, 2 Cor. 5:14,) but only Paul’s message deals with the effects of the cross (fitting that his letters come after Jesus ascension, hmmmmmm?)

Faithful Israel will be next on the list to receive this “new humanity” blessing. I believe this will occur at the “former resurrection” (Rev. 20:5,) where they will receive new bodies to sustain the heart of the law in them (Jer. 31:31-33.) This is reflected in Jesus’ resurrection, where He had a new body, devoid of blood (recognized in Scripture as a symbol of the corrupting factor of sin – Lev. 17:10-11, John 20:27.) Indeed, they know of a “new humanity,” just as they know of a “new heavens and a new earth.” That said, they don’t know when this will happen, nor that the “new humanity” is already being established, through you and me (Rom. 11:8.)

The cross has divided humanity into two. On one side, the old humanity is dead. On the other, Christ is vivifying select few for the new humanity. This division is represented by Peter, who stuck to the OT law, per the charge of Jesus on earth, while Paul was educated by the risen, ascended Christ Jesus (Acts 9:1-6, Rom. 1:1.) Interesting that, in obtaining Paul’s evangel, one gives up the promise of their terrestrial kingdom, in favor of a celestial one (Phil. 3:1-8.)

Peter and co. could recognize that something happened at the cross (1 Pet. 1:17-20.) They, however, saw it as a ransom, or a remission of their sins by His blood (Luke 11:4,) as opposed to a deliverance from sin, the way Paul is explaining here. Indeed, the circumcision writings hardly discuss the effects of the cross, but only ever discuss it in relation to their terrestrial blessing, recognizing themselves, as one nation, completely at their Groom’s mercy (1 Pet. 1:13, Unv. 19:7.) Beyond this, the circumcisionist writers see the cross as a snare (1 Cor. 1:23, Gal. 5:11,) and find it hard to understand Paul (2 Pet. 3:15-16.)

The sacrifice at the cross is evident. However, the words “sacrifice” and “cross” are not synonyms. The word of the cross is a special secret unveiled only by Paul. The effects of the cross are laid out by our apostle, and described by no other.

Moreover, there is a notable difference, as we studied in Romans 5:9-10, between “the blood of Christ” and “the death of His Son.” One allots a justification by faith, by grace, while the other allots a conciliation. One applies to His called out (Rom. 3:22,) while the other applies to the whole world. It is evident, then, that the “word of the cross” is broken down in the conciliation part of the Romans letter, and not the “justification” part.

The cross has its specific role, laid out by Paul. How few truly know that this is the first time that Paul references something so grand in scope! That we are executed right along with Him. It’s the ultimate “Gotcha!” moment in history. Where man enviously killed the righteous, they killed and condemned themselves – and the righteous One lives anyway. It is not Christ who lost at the cross, but us. Our old humanity was stripped, as it held no standing before God.

The new humanity is established, through it, that we may properly grow, with the training wheels of “sin” in the background, not the foreground. It is “nullified,” or made void. Are you beginning to see exactly why Paul was so disgusted by the question in Romans 6:1? It’s logical, yes, but holds zero grounds when considering these facts. It is impossible for us to look at sin as an enticing option, when the old humanity was crucified with Him. It already lost. Simply put, why would any conscious desire to sin remain? To quote Jason, of Christ Saved Everyone fame: “People have to slow down and really digest this. If you do, sin would never condemn you. And doing sin would actually repulse you.”

We are now going to perform a little thought experiment. We are going to (briefly) look at the rest of the ecclesias Paul preached to, whenever he discusses the cross of Christ, and note how he lays out the facts.

Corinth

The Corinthians had a bit of a problem (…okay, they had a lot of problems, but today we’ll consider just the one.) They were turning the cross of Christ into philosophy (yikes!) They were turning the cross into “words of wisdom” (1 Cor. 1:17.) By this, Paul means that they were equating the cross with “every other philosophy,” as in: “This fits well with Plato’s studies in The Republic,” or, “The cross shares something akin to Aristotle’s Nicomachaen Ethics…” Intentionally or not, they were making the cross void by limiting it to the philosophy of the rest of the world (1 Cor. 1:17.)

Wisdom of the world plays superiority games. “What do I know that you don’t know, and what do I think I understand better than you?” This is the complete antithesis to the word of the cross, which, being superior in and of itself, does not need to boast. This is, in part, because those who are chosen to bear the word of the cross are weak, ignoble, contemptible, and stupid (1 Cor. 1:26-29,) but moreso because the word of the cross impacts everyone, and thus needs not be “boasted” in fleshy power games, but humbly stated as fact (1 Cor. 2:1-2.)

As mentioned previously, the Jews found the word of the cross to be a snare (1 Cor. 1:23.) That said, the Greeks found the word of the cross to be stupidity (1 Cor. 1:23.) Why is this? The Jews, obviously, do not even recognize Christ as their Messiah, and thus perceive His death as a trap – one that blows up their entire understanding of the Torah. They are caught in the law. The Greeks, or nations, on the other hand, believe their complicated philosophy to hold more power, on account that it forces you to use more of your brainpower to comprehend. Moreover, even those that accept Christ as their Savior today cannot apprehend that He did not save them on their terms, but on His terms. They perceive a divine punishment as more righteous than divine grace.

Galatia

The Galatians had an even bigger problem, and it was that of the circumcision gospel taking root within their community. This is a great simplification, but essentially, the Galatians believed that, once they understood what Paul was saying, that it became necessary for them to follow the law in effect of their salvation. This implied that law followed faith, instead of direct opposition with it. Indeed, Paul does not require anyone to follow law, but proclaims the opposite (Gal. 3:10-12.)

What does any of that have to do with the word of the cross? Simply put, in placing themselves under the circumcision evangel, they were placing themselves under the teachings that held no grounds for baptism into death! The law is focused solely on what the flesh must accomplish (Rom. 2:25, 3:20, 4:13, 15.) This, to the Galatians, was enticing, as it allowed them the opportunity to be placed on a pedestal in the flesh.

This was a threat to Paul because a) it implied that he was teaching circumcision, and b) it implied that religious circumcision held more weight than what he taught. These were not only two false statements, but, when considered together, were an incongruent train of thought. How can Paul teach circumcision, but then be less than the very circumcision they claimed he was a part of?? Moreover, why, then, was he being persecuted by the religious zealots (Gal. 5:11??) If he were truly teaching the same thing they were, they wouldn’t have anything to persecute him for! There would be no “snare!”

The goal of the Galatians was, ultimately, to blur the lines of the cross. They weren’t seeing the old humanity as “dead to sin,” but as something that “could be fixed, if they learned something.” There became a condition for success in their mind, which sent them off on a relative goal. They were swept away by law, through peer pressure (Gal. 1:6,) instead of recognizing the reality of God’s dealings with man.

Ephesus

Ephesus covers the cross in an entirely different perspective, that being the joining between the Jew and gentile, in Eph. 2:14-16. This is a much deeper prospect than we’ve considered so far, so I don’t want to overload you with information. This separation between Jew and gentile was noted in Rom. 1:14 – “To both Jew and Greek.” As with all of God’s dealings with man, the Jew received information first, followed swiftly by the gentile. This has been God’s dealing with the Jews, as we learned in Rom. 3:1-3.

In Ephesians, however, we learn of the new revelation, that both, on equal footing, were crucified at the cross, and that a new humanity is being established with both of them. Moreover, Paul explicitly says, in Eph. 2:16, that this is with intent to reconcile both parties through the cross by killing the sin in us (2 Cor. 5:14.) I will have much more to say about this later, in an Ephesians study.

Phillipi

This epistle takes great pains to clarify just how shameful the cross is, but indirectly. The letter concerns itself with Christ’s character, which effectually highlights His humiliation. Here, after six letters, a direct contrast is put on full display, in Phil. 2:5-8, that Christ was inherently in the form of God, and emptied Himself of said righteous authority, taking the form of a slave, in the likeness of humanity. This One descended from the heavens, the throne of God, to the footstool. That in and of itself is humbling enough, but then to remain subject to the same curse that the footstool is plagued with?? Inconceivable. And, note the effect of His transformation in Phil. 2:8:

…being found in fashion as a human, He humbles Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

The death of the cross is separated and segregated into its own level of shame. It’s not merely that a sinless One became flesh, but that He sunk so low as to crucify your sin, your flesh in its weakness. This humble disposition is not walked by most today, thus revealing their inward disdain for the word of the cross – even while wearing crosses around their neck!

Colossians

Colossians holds two references to the cross. One is in Col. 1:20:

Through [Christ] to reconcile all to God (making peace through the blood of His cross), through Him, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens.

Here, the scope of the cross is greatly expanded. We can talk all day about the salvation of all mankind (Rom. 5:18,) but here, in Colossians, there’s a reference to the heavens. It is the heavens and the earth that God is reconciling. This reveals that sin is a quality that is not solely limited to the earth (Eph. 6:11-12,) and that Christ’s death did not only cover man, but every living thing. This is all of creation being reconciled, here. This could not have happened if Christ was not first in the heavens, having descended, and could not happen if Christ was not subject to the death of the cross, displaying His character worthy of dealing with every sin.

The blood of His cross is referenced, here, to highlight not just reconciliation, but justification as well (Rom. 5:19.) Sin is completely pardoned, enmity absolutely removed – not merely with humanity, but with celestials as well.  The second reference to the cross is found in Col. 2:14. This verse is after Col. 2:12, which, if you can recall, discusses our baptism into His death (funny how the pattern remains the same!) The verse states:

[Christ] vivifies us together jointly with Him, dealing graciously with all our offenses, erasing the handwriting of the decrees against us, which was hostile to us, and has taken it away out of the midst, nailing it to the cross, stripping off the sovereignties and authorities...

Here, the context of the written law is in view. The law, the “written” decrees against us (Rom. 3:20,) have been removed, nailed to the cross. And, beyond this, the sovereignties and authorities (which are not limited to the terrestrial, per Col. 1:20,) have had their enmity removed as well. Here’s a nice quote from George Rogers:

“[Christ] was vulnerable only when He was made sin – not only man’s sin, but all sin. In the hour of His weakness the sovereignties and authorities, with whom the saints still wrestle, made their most deadly assault. Just as man showed his cruelest hate when grace was bearing his just doom, so it appears the powers of darkness were at the same time doing their damnedest (Luke 22:53.)”

It all comes around. The weakness of God is stronger than the greatest powers that be. Not one bit of creation is outside of God’s strength, and in fact it only receives strength from Him to begin with (Lam. 3:37-39.) Christ, the Victim, is the Victor, being the One capable of handling the shame of the cross, in complete innocence, when no other could. It is this One that we are saved by. It is this One’s death that we are baptized into. It is this One that thankfully removed our old self, our old humanity. It is this One that allows us to walk in newness of life. It is this One that loves, it is this One that cares, it is this One that reconciles all through the blood of His cross.

- GerudoKing