Tuesday, 21 May 2013
For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Romans 6:10
Paul has been speaking throughout this chapter of our uniting with Christ and thus sin no longer has mastery over us. In 6:9, he stated, “…knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.” This then is the reason for his use of “for.” Because of this, “the death that He died, He died to sin once for all.”
If Christ died to sin, meaning for our sins (Paul is speaking of His death as a substitution for our sins because it is evident He was sinless) He died once for all. The clear intent of this is that sin is dead in us because of His work and therefore death is dead for us because “the wages of sin is death.” The power of death is vanquished.
Christ died “to sin once for all.” This is the state that we are now in when we receive His work, “but the life that He lives, He lives to God.” The use of “but” is intended now to show a contrast. “Yes, Jesus died to sin once for all, but…” Now that this has happened will He die for sin again? No, it is once for all. Therefore, He lives in a state where death can never enter again. And in this state, “He lives to God.” The obvious connection Paul is making is that as He died to sin for us and He is now living “to God” that we should likewise be living “to God.”
Paul’s thoughts are not random and disconnected. They are all being tied together to show us our state in Christ and therefore how we should conduct ourselves in Christ. The next verse will explicitly state this. Each step of Paul’s thoughts progresses toward an ultimate goal which is to teach us of the work of Christ and how it then relates to the believer in Christ.
Life application: Christ died to sin for all, therefore we are dead to sin. Why would we want to reenter the life of sin that we have died to? And now Christ lives to God; let us endeavor to emulate our Lord and live to God as well. Let our lives be holy, honorable, and acceptable to God through our Lord Jesus.
Lord, grant me calm in the storms which blow around me, contentment in the times of lack, sharing in the times of abundance, joy in Your presence, and wisdom from Your word. Give me patience through life’s trials, wonderment at Your creation, and acceptance of Your sovereign decisions. O Lord, allow my life to be one which brings You glory and in whom You delight. Amen.