The problem within our being is the sinful nature. The death of Christ dealt with our sins before God and with the sinful nature within us.
1. “Our old man has been crucified with Him” (Rom. 6:6).
Our old man has the nature of sin. The old man with its sinful nature was crucified with Christ. The cross of Christ not only dealt with the sins that we commit; it also dealt with our sinful old man. Our sins and our old man were dealt with on the cross of Christ. The substitutionary death of Christ on the cross dealt with our sins; our co-death with Christ on the cross dealt with our old man. Christ died on the cross to deal with our sins before God so that we would no longer be condemned. Christ also brought us to the cross to die with Him in order to deal with our sinful old man—that is, to deal with the sinful nature within us so that we would not sin, be slaves to sin, or be ruled by sin.
2. “Have crucified the flesh with its passions and its lusts” (Gal. 5:24).
Our corrupted flesh with its passions and its lusts was crucified and dealt with on the cross of Christ.
3. “I am crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20; see also 6:14).
In addition to our flesh with its passions and its lusts, our self, our person, was also crucified with Christ. The cross of Christ dealt with our person.
4. “You died with Christ” (Col. 2:20; see also Rom. 6:8; 1 Pet. 2:24).
We were crucified with Christ; therefore, we died with Christ. This death caused us to be saved and released.
On the one hand, death is negative; on the other hand, it is positive. Through death man can be saved and liberated. Death can deliver and release man from the things that he could not otherwise be released or delivered from. By His death on the cross Christ delivers and releases us. Christ did not require us to die by ourselves; rather, He brought us to die with Him in His death on the cross. On the one hand, He died for us; on the other hand, He died with us. He brought us to the cross to die together with Him. We are one with Christ by faith; His death is our death. We died with Christ in His death; this co-death delivers us from our sins, from which we could not escape, and also delivers us from everything that binds and rules us.
The death of Christ is a very significant element in God’s salvation. His death dealt with both our sins and our sinful nature. Because of sin, we were judged and condemned to the death of Adam; the death of Christ delivered us from sin. God required Adam to die in order to judge us; God required Christ to die in order to save us. God placed us in Christ so that we might be one with Him in His death; thus, we are saved and released. Our death with Christ depends not on our feeling but on the fact that we are in Christ. Regardless of whether we feel that we have died with Him, in Christ we have died with Him; this is a fact before God. We need to realize and see this fact. We should believe and receive this fact by faith. We are in Christ and in union with Him; thus, His death is our death. We should not pay attention to our feeling; rather, we should believe, saying, “We died in Christ and with Christ.” This is our release and rest. Hallelujah, we have died; what a release! Hallelujah, we have died; what a rest!
Our problems also include Satan and the world, which belongs to Satan. The death of Christ on the cross solved these problems.
1. “That through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14).
The devil is Satan; he has the might of death. Satan has the power of death over sinners. We had no way to be delivered from him; neither could we overcome him. However, the Lord destroyed the devil through His death on the cross. In the original Greek, the word destroy means “abolish.” Through His death the Lord eliminated our sins before God, dealt with our sinful nature, and abolished the devil. The Lord’s death on the cross abolished Satan, who has the might of death.
2. “The ruler of this world has been judged” (John 16:11; see also 12:31).
The ruler of this dark world is Satan. Through His death on the cross, the Lord Jesus judged the ruler of this world, Satan. At the cross our sins were judged and removed, and Satan was judged and cast out.
3. “Destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
The Lord destroyed the works of the devil through His death on the cross. The Lord’s death on the cross annihilated the devil and his works.
4. “Bruise you on the head” (Gen. 3:15).
The serpent in Genesis 3:15 refers to Satan. To bruise the serpent’s head means to put Satan to death. The One who bruised Satan’s head is the seed of the woman, the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus was born of a virgin; therefore, He is the seed of a woman. On the cross He bruised the head of Satan, the ancient serpent (Rev. 20:2), putting Satan to death.
5. “Stripping off the rulers and the authorities” (Col. 2:15).
The phrase the rulers and the authorities in Colossians 2:15 refers to the evil spirits in the air, who assist Satan in ruling over this dark world (Eph. 6:12). They are the messengers of Satan. When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, He destroyed and abolished Satan. In addition, He also stripped off the evil spirits who help Satan in ruling over the world. The Lord’s cross destroyed both the prince of darkness, Satan, and his kingdom of darkness, including all its rulers and authorities.
6. “Now is the judgment of this world” (John 12:31).
The world is a systematic organization of Satan. Satan controls and usurps man through the various systems within this organization. All persons, matters, and things have been utilized by Satan as the system of his organization—the world—to control and usurp people. This usurping world of Satan was judged on the cross of Christ. Both Satan and the world under his authority were judged on the cross of Christ. The cross of Christ judged and abolished the ruler of the world; it also judged and abolished the world itself. If we realize that the cross of Christ judged the usurping world and all persons, matters, and things related to it, the world would lose its place and power in us.
7. “The world has been crucified” (Gal. 6:14).
Our old man and the flesh with its passions and lusts were crucified on the cross of Christ; the world also was crucified on the cross of Christ. Our old man, the flesh, and the world all were hung on the cross. From the viewpoint of God and of those who belong to God, the world has been crucified. A dead thing has no power or place. The cross of Christ has dealt with the world.
The Bible shows that the death of Christ on the cross solved our problems. The cross of Christ dealt with sin, the old man, the flesh with its passions and its lusts, Satan, and the world. The cross of Christ was like a universal broom; it swept away every negative thing between us and God.
On the one hand, on the cross Christ bore our sins to suffer the judgment of death for us. On the other hand, He also carried us with Him to the cross. The Bible shows that Satan is mingled with fallen man. When we as fallen men were crucified with Christ on the cross, Satan, who was mingled with us, also was crucified. The world hangs on Satan and is under his authority. Since Satan was crucified on the cross, the world that hangs on him was crucified as well. Therefore, the death of Christ removed and dealt with all these things on our behalf.
8. “It is finished” (John 19:30).
Since the death of Christ took care of all these problems, He said, “It is finished!” as He was about to die. Everything related to our salvation was finished through the death of Christ on the cross. Nothing was left for us to deal with, including sin, the old man, the flesh, Satan, or the world. Christ dealt with all these problems for us.