All are dead in their trespasses and sins. Since all mankind are slaves to, under the power of and subjects of sin and the devil, they are unable to save themselves from them by their own strength. We need salvation, we need a savior to come and deliver us, to set us free, to give us life in the here and now.
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; Then I said, 'Here I am — it is written about me in the scroll — I have come to do your will, O God.” The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
The Word became one of us, so He could deliver us from our enemies. From the beginning of Jesus offering Himself up in our place through to His ascension He was doing it for or as us, as mankind. The moment a person places their trust and allegiance in Jesus, The Son of Man, they are the ones being beaten, mocked, condemned, executed, judged by God, overcome by death in the place of the dead, then, raised up from death, overcoming and set free from death and sin, raised up to become a new creation, born of God, created in the righteousness of God the Father and ascended and seated in Heavenly places in Christ. That person who trusts in Jesus becomes one spirit with Jesus. What Jesus did was for our salvation from our enemies and for the Father’s glory. The Father showed this unfathomable grace toward us because of His mercy, not because of any good deeds we had done. For freedom sake, Christ set us free.
So what a believer has gone through with Christ has set him free from sin and the devil. They are no longer his lord. He is dead to sin, circumcised from the flesh; he is truly a free man, FREED FROM SIN . So from this position of freedom, power, liberty, we are to live our lives. No longer following the lusts of the flesh for we are dead to them. It is obvious that we are still tempted but now being new creations and one spirit with Christ we are in no way whatsoever obligated to follow the flesh. We have died to sin through our death in Christ, and by our overcoming death in our union with the Son of Man we have absolute power over sin by our trust in Jesus. Sin cannot force us to obey it. We are dead to it. When tempted, “ All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
That is why I will glory in the cross of Christ, for by it I have been saved from the power of my enemies. I have been crucified to the world and the world to me. By the blood of a man, the Second Adam, my sins were paid for. The penalty I deserved I received in Christ. In Christ I was judged, condemned, sentenced, went into my judgment but then through the Second Adam I overcame death. God has saved me, is saving me and will save me. And now I am empowered to live my life in faithful obedience looking for the Lord’s return, which will bring the fullness of my salvation, the changing of this mortal body into immortality.
The old man was death but he is now dead and a new man has risen with the righteousness of God and united in the life Christ. These are absolute truths, facts, not some metaphor. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will. Consider the cross; meditate on what happened through the whole process, dwell upon it and the God of all power and grace will reveal to you the power that was exerted to free you from sin and the devil’s mastery. You will understand God’s wisdom in the cross and the unmerited favor shown toward all but only becoming effectual in those who place their trust in Jesus.
The new man, new creation, the new spirit that is born again by the Father’s will is what rises up within us to work salvation in our souls. Those who are united with Christ now have His spirit, causing us both to desire and do His will. This salvation that we have been brought into is one which works from the inside out. It started with a new righteous spirit that as we walk in step with, rises up and causes us to overcome the works of the flesh. As we renew our minds with the words of Jesus and the Spirit through the apostles we gain the wisdom and power of God to rule over the flesh, we become the masters of it.
No human could have ever imagined that God would have done this for us, it never entered into our minds. The cross of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to all that believe. The cross of Christ is the wisdom of God to those who believe but to those who are perishing it is foolishness. In the cross of Christ, I will glory, boast, exalt and rejoice in it, I will cling too, trust in, lean on and walk in its power and freedom. For through it I have died to sin and this present age and been raised up a new creation, created in the righteousness of God my Father.
This is salvation. This is freedom. This is the grace of God working in those who believe.
JESUS IS MY LORD! I AM FREED FROM SIN!