Galatians 6:14 But may I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. [GBMV]

The Death Process

The Scriptures are full of teachings concerning death and crucifixion. And we've learned in the Word that we must all face a death process in our spiritual lives. How exactly does this happen? And what kind of death should we experience?

I find there's a lot of confusion on this subject, and people either leave it out or overemphasize it, going out of balance in the opposite direction. I want to try to bring a little bit of balance to the teaching on death, so we can understand what place it should have in our lives and what place it shouldn't have.

You've already assumed, I hope, from my title that I'm not going to be majoring in death. I'm going to be majoring in the results, the effects, and what comes after death. And that means living the resurrected life.

Now, there are different kinds of death that we see in the world. One of them we've called the death of a vision. We see that there is death to self and there is death to the flesh.

Now, what exactly is death? You need to understand it and get clarity on this whole subject. You see, death does not mean non-existence. Death means separation from something. Spiritual death means separation from God.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they died spiritually. That doesn't mean their spirits died and ceased to exist. It means that their spirits became ineffective or separated from God.

So the Scripture says we are dead in our trespasses and sins. It doesn't mean that we no longer exist. It means that our spirits have become separated from God.

Physical death simply means separation from the body. It doesn't mean you no longer exist. You continue to exist after this life in the spiritual realm. So keep in mind that death is not destruction, annihilation. Death is separation.

With that as a foundation, let's look first at the death that the Scripture speaks of, the death that we have with Christ. Firstly, Jesus has already died. He's already done it, and he's done it for us. So what we do is we enter into his finished work.

We don't have to do it ourselves. We enter into the work that he has already done, so we don't have to die. We have to enter into his death. There's a difference. I want you to understand that.

Going Through A Death

We have a tendency to use the expression, I'm going through a death right now. Have you heard it? I think if you've been in our circles, you've probably heard it quite a lot. “I'm going through a death.”

But actually, it's a misnomer. It's not true. You don't go through a death. When a person says, I'm going through a death, what they're actually saying is, I'm fighting the saving power of God. God's trying to bring me to a new place, and I'm fighting it.

No, you're actually just kicking against what God's trying to do. Don't hide behind it and say, I'm going through a death. There is only one way you can enter this whole experience of death. That way is by faith.

You can enter into it by faith alone. Let's look at our key verse, ‘I've been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live.’ There's a separation, not an annihilation.

Christ continually lives in me, and the life I'm now living in the flesh is rooted in the faith. I’m not living it with my faith; I'm living it with his faith.

There Is No Self-Effort

You say, but I need to do something. Don't I need to die to something? Do you know that it's part of human nature to always feel that we've got to do something to contribute towards what happens to us in life?

The religions of this world are all striving to somehow please God, and work their way up to him. Every one of them. True Christianity is the only religion, if you like, that teaches that God actually came down to man.

All the others are somehow trying to work their way up through self-effort to please God. And I find that most people, when they face this situation of having to die, feel that it's something they've got to do. They've got to make some kind of effort now to enter into this death process.

You see, you're not saved by works and you don't die by effort. Both of them have to be embraced and entered into through faith and through faith alone. Now, once you enter into that death, there are benefits. There are tremendous benefits to having gone through death.

A Done Deal

Well, how do we experience this death? I want you to understand that this Scripture is very clear. It says I have been crucified with Christ. Now, the Greek tense there is the perfect tense, which refers to an event that has taken place in the past, has been completed and never ever needs to be repeated again.

We have an aorist tense, which is very similar in that it's something that takes place once and it's over. But the perfect tense is a bit broader in that not only did it take place, but it was finished and doesn't have to happen again.

That's the tense that is used here. In other words, I have been crucified once and for all; it's been done, it's over, and it never ever needs to be repeated. So why do you say I'm going through a death?

Didn't you get saved? Didn't you accept Jesus as your Savior? Because you saw the day you were born again and entered into the body of Christ. You entered into a once-for-all completed experience. When Jesus died on the cross, you died with him.

How many times did Jesus have to re-die? Why do you want to keep re-dying? But you see, we feel we've got to do something. We've got to make an effort to please God. We find we've got to do something to earn his blessings and his favor.

And so now we've embraced this idea of going through death as being aware of me twisting God's arm and getting what I want from him. So if I cause myself to die, then I will enter into a new realm of the blessing of the Lord.

And so people are striving to die. And actually, what they are saying is, Lord, you didn't do a good enough job on the cross of Calvary. The price that you paid wasn't enough. I've got to add to it.

It Never Depends On What We Do

It's frightening when you look at the body of Christ to see how many people think that our eternal salvation is dependent on what we do. People are always saying, well, if you died and you committed a sin that could take you to hell, you have lost your salvation.

No matter how long you've been a Christian, you've lost your salvation. You committed a sin, and that's going to take you to hell. And then we try to give sins different levels, don't we?

There are little sins that I commit when I get angry without cause, when I use bad language, when I tell a white lie, or when I secretly lust. Those are just little sins. You see, they're not that bad.

But do something as bad as murder or adultery. And Lord forbid, commit suicide because that's murder, right? I've lost my salvation. I'm on my way to hell.

No, no, there's nothing that you can do toward your salvation except enter by faith into the work that Jesus has already done. That is the only thing that will earn you the right to heaven. Nothing that you did or did not do qualifies you to enter into the presence of the Lord.

You see, the moment you were born again, your spiritual death was over. You were no longer separated from God. And you're not going to be separated from him again. The only time you will remain separated from God is if you refuse to embrace the offer of free salvation, which he gives you because of the work that He did on Calvary.

So stop boasting in your little deaths, in your little sacrifices. “You know, it cost me such a big price to serve the Lord. Do you know what price I had to pay to get to where I am spiritually now? Do you know the price I had to pay to get the anointing of God?”

The Frog And The Centipede

You're boasting in yourself, not in him. And I'm afraid the whole death emphasis means looking at me, looking at me all the time. You know what happens when you look at you? You come to a standstill.

Do you know the whole story of the frog and the centipede? I've told it many times. The frog said to the centipede one day, how do you manage to walk with a hundred legs? How do you know which one to put forward first?

And the centipede said, well, I never really thought about that. It's a good question. Which leg do I put forward first when I walk? And so he sat there trying to decide which leg. And he suddenly realized that he didn't know which leg he put forward first.

He eventually said, I'm frustrated. Forget it. Let me just leave. But when he wanted to leave, he wasn't sure which leg to put forward first. So he couldn't move. He just lay there paralyzed.

That is what will happen in your spiritual life. If you continue looking at yourself to see what you need to die to, then you're taking your eyes off the cross. You think you're putting yourself on the cross, but you're taking your eyes off the cross.

The cross of Calvary paid the price once and for all. All God requires of you is faith. In the finished work of Calvary, Jesus already did it. We enter into his finished work. When you do that, you have freedom—you're legally free.

The Scripture says that the wages of sin are death. But you're already dead. So there's no more penalty. There's no more penalty waiting for you once you've entered into that death. The penalty has already been meted out. Now, nobody can touch you.

Sin And Satan Have No Power

It doesn't matter what people think. It doesn't matter what people say. Because you're dead. Sin no longer has any power over you. Your flesh is still going to be there until Jesus comes. But we don't need to respond to it anymore.

Because we're dead. We're separated from it. No longer should influence us. Satan has no power over us. Because the only power he had over us was because of sin. Until Adam and Eve sinned, Satan had no power over them at all.

But you see, sin has been conquered on the cross. And you've died to it. And now, with sin having been removed, there's no more guilt. And the only power Satan has is the power of accusation to remind you of your sin and to make you feel guilty.

He can't do that anymore because you're dead. That was my old life. It's gone. But you still did that, right? Yes, but that was the old me. Now I am redeemed. I'm dead. You can't touch me, Satan.

Next time the enemy comes to accuse you, you say, are you stupid? You're talking to a dead body here. You're talking to a dead person. Why bother? You're wasting your time. Shrug it off. Put your eyes on your Savior.

He Speaks Positive Words

And what are you going to hear from Him? No words of accusation. Only the words, well done. I'm proud of you. You're doing great. You're dead, and the world has no power over you.

See, because we're in the world, the Scripture said, but we're not of the world. We are separated from or dead to the world system. We're not obligated to go with the flow.

Now, when you let this revelation sink in until you really see it, it'll set you free. There'll be no more striving.

There'll be no more trying to accomplish or attain. Because Jesus has already done it.

Now, there is such a thing as the death of a vision. We often teach on that in our training. The death of a vision is not about sin. It's about moving to a new level.

It's about letting go of your first vision and letting it die so that God can give you a new, greater vision. Because death always leads to something greater. So don't confuse this with death to the flesh.

Letting Go Of What Is Inferior

Usually, when you say, I'm going through death, what's happening is God is asking you to let go of all your passions, visions, and desires. Because he wants to give you something better. And when you say you're going through death, effectively, you're saying, I don't really want to let go of it.

Actually, I'm quite happy. I've really been doing well in this ministry. God's been blessing it. Things have been going great. Everybody's been telling me how well I preach and how I minister to them.

And the Lord says let go now of that ministry vision because I want to give you a new one. Oh, no, that's a death. We use the word death too glibly, don't we? It's not a death, it's a promotion.

Do you know that the Scripture never encourages us to seek death? It tells us to seek life. Because we die once, but we continue to live in Christ. You do not live by self-effort. You don't try to bring death to yourself.

We use the allegory of crucifixion because death is always shown as being by crucifixion. Now there is one death you cannot perform on yourself. There are many ways you can kill yourself, but crucifixion is not one of them. You can nail one of your hands to the cross, but then there's no hand left to nail the other one.

It Is His Faith

Usually, somebody has to break your legs in the process as well. Somebody else has to do it. So don't ever think you can crucify yourself. Sorry, there's no self-effort involved. You must live and remain grounded in one thing only, in faith. And not your faith, because you don't have faith.

It is His faith. Scripture says, by grace, you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. That faith doesn't come from you. It's the gift of God. So don't think you can brag about your faith. You brag about his faith.

And now you're in Christ. And because you're in Christ, everything that's happened to Christ, technically and legally, has happened to you.

Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, through his great [agape] love with which he loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins, has made us alive together with Christ, (by grace you are saved;) [GBMV]

You are saved by grace. When Jesus was crucified, you were also. You know what that means? It means I don't have to suffer the pain. I don't want to go through a death. Well, you don't need to. You just need to go through His death.

It might be a death for you to let go of your life and give it to him. That's all that it's going to cost you. There's no pain involved.

You Have Also Been Resurrected With Him

When Jesus was raised from the dead, you were raised with him. When he was seated in the heavenly realm, you were seated with him. And that's where you are right now, looking down. You live through his faith. And you live through his love.

We’re never told to live the crucified life. Unfortunately, many folks teach this kind of thing. How to live the crucified life. They ask, but didn't Jesus say that we must pick up our cross and follow him? Doesn't that mean living the crucified life?

Well, how many times do you need to pick up the cross? Only once. It's the following that gets repeated, not picking up the cross. It's the following him that's continual.

Colossians 3:1 If you then were raised up with Christ, continually desire what is above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your [zoe] life has been hidden away together with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, [who is] our [zoe] life, is manifested, then will you also be manifested with him in [his] glory. [GBMV]

If you emphasize death, you keep your eyes on yourself. If you emphasize life, you keep your eyes on him.

It's time to let go of the deaths. It's time to rise up and live the resurrected life that he has for us. To walk in the victory that he earned for you on Calvary, and to truly live the abundant life that he has for us.

I trust I've inspired you now to start wanting to live this resurrected life.

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