By grace the born-again believer is not only forgiven of their sin but they are dead to sin because sin’s power and dominion, in the life of every Christian, was forever broken at the cross. Though sin’s influence remains throughout this earthly life it is increasingly subdued as we keep the old self nailed to the cross and daily learn to live unto Christ. At salvation we were not only forgiven of our sin but declared to be righteous by God, because we were removed from the old creation in Adam and placed into the new creation in Christ – how important to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ – to reckon on our heavenly position in Christ as fact. Paul reminds us that the moment that we trusted Christ to save us, the Spirit of God positioned us in Christ – and we were placed into His Body. We were taken out of Adam and positioned in Christ the very moment we were saved. We did not have to do anything extra for we were placed into Christ from the very moment we trusted in Jesus, and when we are ‘born from above we are baptised into the body of believers. We not only died with Christ and were buried with Him, but we rose with Him into newness of life, and became a new creation in Christ. And because of this glorious spiritual union with Christ, Paul exhorts us to be heavenly-minded, by mortifying all earthly lusts and leanings, and by putting on the new-man – knowing that we are now seated with Christ, in heavenly places. Let up make up our minds to really understand what Paul means in his oft repeated references to begin baptised into Christ, buried with Christ, risen with Christ and in union with Christ. When the Holy Spirit placed us into the body of believers at re-birth we were baptised into Christ – we were placed into the Body of believers, which is the Church. When Christ died we were buried with Him, which permanently severed us from sin – although we must never forget that the influence of the old sin nature still remains and needs to be subdued daily. When Christ rose from the dead we were in Him and so we were raised into newness of life in Christ and because we trust in the Lord as our Saviour we are forever united with Him. Jesus is presently seated at the right hand of God the Father and because we are in Christ we are therefore seated with Him today, in heavenly places. No wonder we are exhorted to seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.
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