What do these phrases mean?<\/p>\n
Let’s examine each phrase in the statement in which it was given:<\/p>\n
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me<\/em>” (Galatians 2:20).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The phrase is an allusion to another statement of Paul’s:<\/p>\n
“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin<\/em>” (Romans 6:3-7).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Paul is stating in Galatians 2:20 that when he was baptized, he “died” along with Christ. That is, through baptism he symbolically participated in the death of Christ upon the Cross. His old self, his man of sin, died, so he no longer lives for his fleshly desires; his life is dedicated to serving Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
Peter made a similar statement:<\/p>\n
“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God<\/em>” (I Peter 4:1-2).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I am dead in Christ<\/h3>\n
The phrase as given does not appear in the Bible. The closest I can come is:<\/p>\n
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first<\/em>” (I Thessalonians 4:17).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The phrase “dead in Christ” refers to those who died while remaining faithful to Christ. One gets into Christ through baptism. As we cited before, “Or do you not know that as many of us as\u00a0were baptized into Christ Jesus<\/strong>\u00a0were baptized into His death?<\/em>” (Romans 6:3). In other words, those who have been baptized gain fellowship with Jesus.<\/p>\n
I have died to Christ<\/h3>\n
This phrase is not in the Bible. There are passages which state: “Certainly not! How shall\u00a0we who died to sin<\/strong>\u00a0live any longer in it?<\/em>” (Romans 6:2) and “For the death that He died,\u00a0He died to sin<\/strong>\u00a0once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God<\/em>” (Romans 6:10). In these passages, death means separation. That is why God warned Adam and Eve, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die<\/em>” (Genesis 2:17). In one sense, they did not die that day — though death entered the world because of their sin and they began the process of dying. But in another sense, they did die. Their sin separated them from God (Isaiah 59:2). And it was illustrated by God driving them out of the Garden where He walked.<\/p>\n
I suppose you could reverse the concept and state that a person that leaves Christianity and returns to the world has died to Christ, but as I said before that is not how God chooses to word it.<\/p>\n
It would be proper to say “I died with Christ.”<\/p>\n
“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him<\/em>” (Romans 6:8).<\/p>\n
“Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations?<\/em>” (Colossians 2:20).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Both of these verses allude back to being baptized and that baptism representing joining Jesus in his death and thus separating ourselves from the world and its sins.<\/p>\n
I am dead to sin<\/h3>\n
I managed to cover this in the section above. It means that I have put a barrier between me and sin by choosing to fight at the side of Jesus. “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord<\/em>” (Romans 6:17). We are no longer interested in sin. Our focus is on serving our master.<\/p>\n
I am dead in sin<\/h3>\n
This would be true for a person before they became a Christian. “For the wages of sin is death<\/em>” (Romans 6:26).<\/p>\n
“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins<\/em>” (John 8:24).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I am resurrected with Christ<\/h3>\n
Once again we come back to the symbolism of baptism:<\/p>\n
“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin<\/em>” (Romans 6:3-7).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
When a person comes out of the water, he joins Jesus in his resurrection; just as when he when down into the water, he joined Jesus in his death. Coming up out of the water symbolizes his taking on a new life and it symbolizes the promise of eternal life given to followers of Christ.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: What do these phrases mean? I have been crucified with Christ I am dead in Christ I have died to Christ I am dead to sin I am dead in sin I am resurrected with Christ Answer: Let’s examine each phrase in the statement in which it was given: I have been crucified with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[52,109,47,76],"class_list":["post-14638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-baptism","tag-death","tag-salvation","tag-terminology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29429,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-paul-die-with-christ-if-christ-is-living\/","url_meta":{"origin":14638,"position":0},"title":"How can Paul die with Christ if Christ is living?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am confused about \"My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me\" (Galatians 2:20 NLT).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52697,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-passing-of-billy-graham\/","url_meta":{"origin":14638,"position":1},"title":"The Passing of Billy Graham","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dan Gatlin Billy Graham passed away today. Some may not be familiar with what he taught. He said, \"I believe baptism is important, and I have been baptized. But I think we violate the Scriptures when we make baptism the prime requirement for salvation \u2026 Paul's central theme was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5246,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-any-saved-without-baptism-in-the-christian-age\/","url_meta":{"origin":14638,"position":2},"title":"Were any saved without baptism in the Christian age?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was there anyone saved after the dispensation of Christ in the New Testament that was not baptized? Answer: \"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me'\" (John 14:6). Children are born without sin (Ecclesiastes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29048,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-spiritual-significance-of-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":14638,"position":3},"title":"The Spiritual Significance of Baptism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 26, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Mark Larson via Gospel Power, Vol. 16, No. 6, Feb. 8, 2009. \"Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20640,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-a-person-isnt-baptized-does-that-mean-theyve-never-been-forgiven-of-any-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":14638,"position":4},"title":"If a person isn’t baptized, does that mean they’ve never been forgiven of any sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 25, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If a person isn't baptized, does that mean that they've never been forgiven of any sin they've ever committed? Answer: \"Then Peter said to them, \"Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2012,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-baptism-save\/","url_meta":{"origin":14638,"position":5},"title":"How can baptism save?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 26, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I\u2019m confused. You said on your website that baptism is required for a person to be saved. How can this be so? Answer: Because the Bible states: \"Corresponding to that,\u00a0baptism now saves you\u00a0-- not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14638\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}