For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
This is a strange verse. What does it mean that I “have died”?
Romans 6:11 helps with understanding this: “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus”.
We are supposed to be dead to sin, dead to self, dead to the devil and dead to the wicked ways of the world. And on the other hand we are made alive by Christ.
Romans 6:8 says “if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” So by dying to sin and self we know that God Himself resurrects us to new life in Christ. Furthermore when we are resurrected we are in fact “raised…up with Him, and seated…with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. (Ephesians 2:9)
So here we are instructed (yet again) that as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, God has lifted us up by His grace and actually placed us IN Jesus in heavenly places. As a matter of fact not only are we abiding in Him, we are sitting with Him overlooking the earthly realm, unhindered, untethered, unrestricted by earthly things. The temporary things should no longer have a hold on us! That includes worldliness, materialism, fleshly lusts, wickedness and selfishness.
This only happens though if first we die. We have to believe, and in believing we die to self, die to sin and die to the world. In believing, we lay ourselves entirely at His feet as living sacrifices so that He can do what He wants to with us.
And you know what He wants to do with us? Place us INSIDE of Christ! Remember when John recorded Jesus’ words about Him abiding (dwelling) in us? He also said that we must abide in Him. Of course this is hard for us to understand because we don’t see Him and we think “of course His Spirit can dwell in us, but how can I dwell in Him?”
Instead of worrying so much about how it is possible, let’s accept the reality that God has in fact done it for all who believe.
So now Jesus is our clothing. We wear Him on ourselves like a robe. A robe of righteousness. God Himself is our armor: He is our protection, the One who shields us. We are “hidden” with Christ in God which means that we are secure, anchored, covered, surrounded, and like Scripture says elsewhere “hemmed in.”
Are you hidden with Christ in God? You are if you have believed and been born again!
Are you abiding in and dwelling in Him as He also has sent His Spirit to dwell in you?
Are you daily denying yourself and dying so that it is His life that is one display in you?
Pastor Michael Johnson 