“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Gal. 5:24)

How does one come to belong to Jesus? He has to crucify the flesh. He has to destroy the old man. That old man is a man of flesh and as such lives in passion and desire. He, the old man, can only produce works of the flesh. That old man must be put away, crucified, buried, gone forever. Again, Paul covers this in the Roman letter in some detail.

Paul says there are two men, one old and one new. The difference between the two is death, burial, and resurrection. This is what Jesus went through. This is what grace requires you and me to do. There must be a death of the old man. Death requires a burial. Once buried, the Holy Spirit has the power of resurrection. We can die to sin but someone else has to bury us and only God can resurrect us.

We crucify the flesh, are buried with Christ and then are resurrected in Christ. That’s how we come to belong to him. To belong to Jesus is everything. Without Him, we are nothing and can be nothing. Without Him, we are lost and undone. Without Him, we are captive, imprisoned and in sin.

You can’t serve flesh and Christ. You can’t have works and grace. You can’t get in the kingdom as long as you remain in the flesh. It is a spiritual kingdom and to be in the spiritual kingdom you need to crucify the flesh. You need to die to the old man of sin. Once dead and buried, you can live in Christ.

Task for Today: If you haven’t already, please crucify the old person that lived in the flesh. Be buried in baptism and rise to walk in newness of life, the passions and desires of the flesh buried with the old man. Let Christ redeem you from those sins and wash you in his blood. Accept His offer of grace through faith and love. Let the Spirit live in you, motivating you to good works and wonderful fruit.