It should be obvious that Paul is talking about something other than a physical crucifixion and a physical death, burial, and resurrection. Although he says, “I was crucified with Christ” he does not mean that he was present with Christ in the flesh at the moment of crucifixion; instead, he intends to show us something much more profound. We will soon discover that this experience of being crucified with Christ is not unique to the apostle Paul, but is true of every born-again child of God. Not only Paul, but all disciples of Jesus have been crucified with Christ.

How is this possible? The Bible says that there is an invisible but very powerful union that exists between Jesus and all His disciples; they are one Body. It is a spiritual union. This spiritual union forms the basis of our relationship and fellowship with Christ. Jesus says, “I am the True Vine… live in Me, and I will live in you” (Jn. 15:1,4a). Jesus compares this union to a vine that has many branches. Each branch lives in union with the vine. The same life flowing in the vine is also flowing in the branches. Jesus says He is the True Vine, and we are His branches. This is spiritual union. As branches, we can only grow and produce spiritual fruit so long as we continue to live, dwell in, abide, and be part of the Vine. So then, union with God is not the reward for spirituality; it is the basis of spirituality.

With this analogy we can now understand what Paul means when we look at some of his other statements. He tells the Corinthians that “He who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him” (1 Cor. 6:17). To the Ephesians, Paul compares this spiritual union to the union that exists between a man and a woman when they are married: “And the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the [Ekklesia]” (Eph. 5:31b,32).

Certainly this is a great mystery. How God is able to make us one spirit with Jesus is beyond human knowledge. But this we know: however it is accomplished, it has its beginning in the Cross. The Cross is the starting point of our union with Christ. In the Cross, God sees us in the place of Christ and sees Christ in the place of us. That is to say, in the Cross, all our sinfulness is attributed to Christ, and all His righteousness is attributed to us.

How wonderful for us – but how terrible for Him! Yet this is God’s Way, and the Bible refers to it as identification:

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5:21)

The Bible never identifies us as being one with Jesus in His preexistence with God, or in His birth, or in His sinless life on earth. But when Jesus submitted to the Cross He indentified with us by taking on our sins and accepting the penalty just the same as if He had sinned Himself. In the same manner, when we submit to the Cross, God identifies us with Christ just the same as if we were sinless. Jesus becomes our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30). It does not say that He gives these things to us, it says He is these things to us.

Was Jesus crucified for His sins? No, He was crucified for our sins. Are we now wise, righteous, sanctified, and redeemed because of anything we have done? No, God simply identifies us together with Christ, as if we were crucified together with Him. He loses everything and we gain everything. This is why salvation begins with repentance, surrender, and faith in Christ and His finished work on the Cross. It cannot be accomplished otherwise. What a glorious Lord we have!

Being “In Christ”

You may wonder how this union with Jesus was accomplished. I do not have the answer to that, but I consider it to be so because God says it is so. God placed us in Christ. I do not fully understand how He did this, but I know that He did it, and I thank God for it. The Bible says that “because of [God] you are in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 1:30a). Disciples of Jesus are one with Christ because God has placed us there. We are in Christ, and Christ is in us. We may not understand how this can be so, but it is so. We are spiritually one with Christ. This oneness, this union, this partnership and fellowship with Him is the basis of our spiritual life and our walk with God.

Passengers in a commercial airliner must entrust themselves to the plane when they wish to fly somewhere. They place themselves in the jet, and once there, their destiny (for better or for worse) is linked to the plane. If the plane rises to 30,000 feet, the passengers rise also. If the plane crashes, the passengers crash right along with it. When the plane arrives at its destination, the passengers arrive at the exact same moment. Is it possible for the plane to arrive in Seattle but for the passengers on the plane to arrive in Dallas? Or could some of the plane’s passengers arrive in Miami while the rest of the passengers arrive in Denver? Of course not. Is it possible for the plane to arrive one hour or one minute or even one second before or after the passengers arrive? By no means. All the passengers who are in the plane arrive whenever and wherever the plane arrives. In the same way, when God placed us in Christ, He forever linked us to Christ’s death, burial, resurrecti0n, ascension, and being seated in the heavenlies. So God considers us to have been crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, ascended, and seated as well. It cannot be otherwise. So long as we remain in Him (Jn. 15:5) our destinies are linked.

I once placed a $20 bill inside of a book. I then misplaced the book. What happened to the $20 bill? The bill was lost when the book was lost. The bill and the book were linked together because I placed one inside the other. In order to find the bill I had to find the book. Once I found the book, I also found the bill. In like manner, God has placed us in Christ. When Christ was crucified, we were also crucified. When Christ was raised, we were also raised. The two have become one, and what is true of Him is true of all those who are one with Him.

Now, follow me closely here. Before my father married my mother and conceived me, he was in a serious automobile accident. You ask, did he survive the accident? You know very well that he did survive, because I am alive and able to write these words. But had my father died at the age of sixteen, I would have died also, because I was still in my father. His death would have been my death; and not my death only, but also the death of my children, and their children, all the way down the line. We would have all died together with him, having never even lived. But his life, his survival, his overcoming the accident was just as much my life, my survival, and my overcoming. His testimony of life and overcoming death is verified by my life, and the life of my children, and on down the line. Spiritually speaking, this is similar to what God has done for us by placing us in Christ. Christ was crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, ascended, and seated; and since we were in Him when it all happened, God considers it to have happened to us as well. We who are His children now share in the very life of Christ, and each of us bear witness to the resurrection and overcoming of Christ. When God raised Him from the dead, He raised us from the dead as well.

The key to all of this, of course, is to see ourselves in the exact same way that God sees us. We must see that God has made us one with Christ; only then can we say, along with Paul, “I am crucified with Christ” and experience the reality of the fact. Once we see that then it will be very easy to see that we who were crucified with Christ were dead, buried, resurrected, ascended, and seated together with Him also. Tremendous benefits accrue to those who God has made one with Christ, for when we are made one with Him then our spiritual history becomes linked with His. We are “blessed with every spiritual blessing… in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). In ourselves? Never! Only in Him!

This excerpt taken from the book, Embrace the Cross, by Chip Brogden.

This Internet Bible Study with Chip Brogden was recorded live on February 4, 2010. To view other messages in this series, or to register for our next Webinar, click here for a complete Webinar schedule, archives, and frequently asked questions.

This Internet Bible Study with Chip Brogden was recorded live on January 28, 2010. To view other messages in this series, or to register for our next Webinar, click here for a complete Webinar schedule, archives, and frequently asked questions.

This Internet Bible Study with Chip Brogden was recorded live on January 21, 2010. To view other messages in this series, or to register for our next Webinar, click here for a complete Webinar schedule, archives, and frequently asked questions.

This Internet Bible Study with Chip Brogden was recorded live on January 14, 2010. To find out more about our next webinar click here for a schedule and frequently asked questions.

The Irresistible Life is a modern paraphrase of the Gospel of John. It’s different because it’s written exactly the way people talk today – with contractions, emotion, and emphasis. No more “thees” and “thous” that make the Bible hard to understand! It reads like a best-selling novel. And why not? It is, after all, the greatest story in the world!

In the back of the book we’ve included a brief message to help people see the difference between a religion about Jesus and a relationship with Him. Plus, we’ve included “next steps” information so the reader knows exactly where and how to get the help they need in their spiritual journey. This makes it an effective tool for reaching both “saints” and “sinners” alike!

The Irresistible Life points people to a Living Christ, causes the Good News about Him to come alive, and makes reading the Word of God irresistible!

What is the Kingdom of God? What is its nature and character? What is its purpose and reason for being? Where is it? Who may enter it, and how? Who is excluded from it, and why? How is this Kingdom organized and governed? How does it function and operate? What resists it and prevents it from coming? What will it look like when it is fulfilled? What impact will it have on the earth? What are the implications for mankind? And how can we prepare ourselves for it?

The purpose of this book is to explore these questions and answers together. Our goal is to set before you God’s Vision for all things – to illustrate and illuminate His Eternal Purpose – because you, dear reader, are an important part of that great Purpose of God.

Softcover, 364 pages

This Internet Bible Study with Chip Brogden was recorded live on January 7, 2010. To find out more about our next webinar click here for a schedule and frequently asked questions.

If you are truly born-again then you have experienced this at least once in your life, in at least one area of your life. At least once you have come to recognize your inability to save yourself, and so you surrendered to Christ and trusted Jesus to do in you and through you what you could not do on your own. That surrender was, in essence, “taking up the Cross” with respect to your salvation. I have died to saving myself. I cannot save myself; and since I cannot, I will not. I will only trust in the Life of the Lord to do what I have (at last!) learned that I cannot do. This is what is means to “embrace the Cross” in the area of salvation. And we see that when the death to Self is thorough and complete – that is, when we stop trying to save ourselves and cast ourselves upon the grace of God, then God raises us from the dead. That which was impossible before is now accomplished by God. We are thankful recipients of His grace, and He receives all the praise and the glory since we have done nothing and He has done everything. This is the principle of the Cross.

It does not matter what your situation is; the Cross is sufficient. If the Cross is the power of God for salvation, then the Cross is also the power of God for your relationships, your spiritual growth and development, your life’s purpose, your encouragement and strength, and your victory over everything which hinders and distracts and comes against you. At one time in your life you learned you could not save yourself – that was the work of the Cross. Now, accept the work of the Cross and learn that just as you could not save yourself, neither can you love God, love your neighbor, forgive those who have sinned against you, cast out devils, be a bold witness for Christ, or fulfill your destiny in your own strength. Just as you once relied upon Christ to save you, so now you must rely upon Christ to live through you every day. Just as you continually rely upon Christ for salvation, so you must continually rely upon Christ for everything else.

“As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord…” That is the Gate. “…So walk in Him.” That is the Path. If you can admit defeat, if you can surrender yourself over to God in the area of “salvation” then you can (and should) do the same thing in every other area of your life. Walk in Him as you received Him: by unconditionally surrendering to His Will, His Purpose, His Power, His Lordship. Embrace the Cross! The sooner the better!

When we cease doing what we cannot do, then He begins to do what we cannot. This is the fruit produced by those who are truly born again. Our works are not religious works at all, they are simply the works of Him Who now lives in us. When we cease struggling and surrender to crucifixion then He comes forth in power and glory to raise us from the dead. This is what it means to be a Christian and a disciple of Jesus.

A brother came to me who suffered from a bad habit. He had tried every means known to man to break himself from this habit. No stone was left unturned. First he tried all the “Christian” cures: prayer, fasting, binding and loosing, exorcism, positive confession. He had made vows to God and had threatened himself with dire consequences if he ever broke his vows. But break them he did. When all these attempts to address the problem spiritually failed, he tried some psychological remedies: visualization, counseling, psychotherapy, self-help courses, motivational speakers, natural remedies, prescription drugs. He even wore a rubber band around his wrist so that he could snap it against his skin whenever his thoughts began to go astray. In this way (he had been told) the pain would interrupt his thought patterns and he would “snap” back into reality. He had red welts on his wrist from snapping the rubber band over and over. Obviously the rubber band trick wasn’t working. In fact, nothing had worked. This is the condition he was in when he sought me out.
“I have tried everything, and I cannot break this habit! What else can I do?” he asked.

“Let me repeat what I just heard you say,” I answered. “You said you cannot break this habit.” He nodded. “Then you asked, ‘What else can I do?’” He nodded again.

“Listen to what you just said,” I replied. “You said, ‘I cannot… what else can I do?’” He didn’t understand, so I tried again. “What you are saying is, ‘I cannot, I cannot, I cannot.’ Then, in the same breath, you are asking, ‘What else can I do?’ And the answer is: nothing. There is nothing else you can do. You have done it all. So if you really believe that you cannot do it then stop trying to do it. Every time you try, you are expressing a belief that you still think you can do it. Clearly you cannot.”

He thought on this and said, “Yes, but if I stop trying, then it will surely defeat me.” I answered, “You are already defeated. Now you must admit your defeat so that you can overcome. What do you have to show for all your trying? Nothing but a series of disappointing failures. Do you see that if you cannot, then all the trying in the world is pointless? If it is impossible for me to lift 1,000 pounds then I should not even attempt it. This habit is 10,000 pounds to you. Can you lift it? No. Do you still think you can? Then God will allow you to keep on trying, and will wait for you to give up trying. Sooner or later you must learn to stop trying to do what you cannot do. The purpose of these multiple failures is to teach you one thing: you cannot. If you will learn this lesson then it is worth failing a thousand times. If you have truly learned it this time then go to God and tell Him that you quit. Tell Him that you have tried to do it your way but you are powerless. Surrender it all to Him. Give up trying and admit that apart from Him it cannot be done. Go to the Cross and die with respect to this thing and see what God does with it.” He thought on this and wanted to disagree but his experience had proved that the more he tried the more often he failed.

Then something happened. He finally saw that there was no use in trying to do what he could not do. “I cannot,” he said, “Therefore, I will not!” A new hope had dawned within him: he saw that “What is impossible with men is possible with God” (Lk. 18:27). But now he understood that in order for God to do what is impossible for man to do, man must first realize that it is impossible for man to do it! He saw for the first time that God can do more for him in five seconds of “giving up” than he could do for himself through a whole lifetime of “trying.”

So together we prayed, and his prayer went something like this: “Today, Lord, I am finished. I give up. I have tried everything and nothing has worked. This is impossible with me, but not with You. With You all things are possible! Therefore, I trust You to do what I cannot do. If you do it then I will overcome; if You do not do it then I will forever be defeated. Just as I trust in You to save me, so I trust in You to overcome this thing. I cannot, but You can.” Without realizing it, this brother had embraced the Cross. He “died” to all his efforts and God “raised him from the dead” with a tremendous deliverance.

Embracing the Cross is not a once-and-for-all act, but a daily attitude of knowing our insufficiency in order to know the sufficiency of Christ. Jesus asks us to take up the Cross “daily” (Lk. 9:23) and Paul said “I die daily” (1 Cor. 15:31). Since we daily meet with temptations, tests and trials, so we must daily affirm and re-affirm who we are in Christ: the crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, ascended and seated Branches of the crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, ascended, and seated Vine. As disciples, we take up the Cross daily, which means we are always in a state of surrender and submission to the Lord Jesus, constantly forsaking our own way for His Way. This moment-by-moment yielding to Him is summed up in this saying: “Not I, but Christ” (Gal. 2:20ff).

This excerpt taken from the book, Embrace the Cross, by Chip Brogden

This Internet Bible Study with Chip Brogden was recorded live on December 11, 2009. To find out more about our next webinar click here for a schedule and frequently asked questions.