Unique and Union

Jesus' death is unique, once and for all. There is something about Jesus that is different from us, such that we cannot die as an atonement for the sins of ourselves or others. When Christ died 2000 years ago, his death paid for all sin. At the moment of conversion we died to the old self. So Paul writes;

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity….” (Col 3:1-5).

Notice our death is past “you died” and also in the present “Put to death”. In some sense, Jesus' death was unique, once and for all. Our death and rising to new life was also a historic moment.

At the same, we also have an ongoing participation in the death of Christ because we are in Christ. Given we died with Christ in the past, we have to continuously put things to death in the present.

It would be nice to think that all the dying happened in the past, and all the rising to new life happens in the present and future. We wish. But it is not so.

The present is a combination of “putting to death” as well as “cloth[ing] yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Col 3:12). Or as Paul says in Ephesians 4:22-24, “put off your old self… and to put on the new self”.

Forgiveness follows repentance, and repentance is committing to not repeating, but putting off, or putting to death. Perhaps our lack of rising to new life has some correlation to our slowness in putting to death. Perhaps.

By Rev. David Rietveld