THE ESSENTIAL IDENTITY

      Paul said regarding himself: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith" Gal. 2:20. Let see, this statement when analyzed at first glance seems to me to be quite strange: Paul has been crucified, so he must be dead, and his former life has been replaced by someone else, but that someone [Christ] who Paul is now, by his own death, is only enabled to live in Paul's flesh [individual mind] by his faith that he is in fact dead. This all sounds very mystical indeed.  Is the bible meant to be understood in a mystical sense? The answer is of course no! So what the heck is Paul talking about? No wonder these, and many other complex verses like it I've read for so many years were simply words to me, seen more are less metaphorically, not in a personal spiritually applied tangible way; in other words not received as a revealed truth of God to me, which I could easily apply to my identity as a Christian. Probably not what Paul and The Father had in mind when they wrote them! I think for the most part I simply skipped over these more difficult truths and any attempt to understand them in a deeper sense, and just sort of allowed a feel good attitude about them, never spending the time it takes to acquire the spiritual skills to tackle their deeper meaning. I know that was my story anyway. How about you? Who is to blame? Perhaps the culprit is the essential identity.

    Our individual or essential identity has and will always be the same, even though we pass as Christians into the new birth as to spirit and soul. After all the fall did not unmake mans essential person hood, Adam was still the same individual in principal after His fall as before and so the same for us after the new birth: but unlike Adam the Christian has a alternative motivator, or new life he may apply, available to himself according to Paul anyway. God made us to be just who we are and loved us in Adam's same condition enough to sacrifice His Son for us just as we are, so why the need for the alter ego of the new birth?. Through all the ups and downs, new faith mountains conquered and even revelations from God and spiritual growth, we remain the same in essential manhood; our individuality, our basic earthly nature never changes. Yet we have a new source to live our life which Paul at least, seems to have found.

      If it is true for Paul, " it is no longer I that live" but Christ, it must be likewise for us also; we're like Paul born again Christians. So if it is not I that lives, then it must be as Paul says, Jesus Christ. But how? The answer to this identity crisis is wrapped up in the Cross, as Paul states: I have been crucified, so likewise then us also as Christians, under this mode of thinking, just like him. Under Paul's positional line of spiritual reasoning the new life cannot be contained as our essential human identity which we live in, as that person was crucified, the old mental/spiritual identity, namely Paul's [it is no longer I] and therefore our sin nature also. By the crucifixion Christ gained Resurrection life in the form of a Man. Does that mean then when Paul said he had been crucified [made dead] he also was made to live again like Jesus? I think the answer is yes by his statement in Gal. 2:20: but that new resurrection life for Paul and us, unlike Jesus, who suffered physically on the Cross died and was buried for the purpose of putting away mans spiritual sin nature forever in His Fathers judgement, Paul and we Christians that followed; were spared Jesus' fate: because of the representative action of The Son of Man. But according to Paul we also gain a new resurrection life just like Jesus. This in fact can and must only be a brand new spiritual life, like Paul saw in himself, lived here and now by faith in our presence in heaven, where Christ ascended too, as we are seen by The Father in Jesus Christ personally who is in heaven; and this affects our mortal condition according to Paul's teaching and inspired biblical message to all Christians, and is to be held in the minds eye of  faith by all believers. Namely a position!

      In order to understand the meaning of a scripture we must always look to the preceding verses; prior to Gal 2:20 the discussion was of the tendency for Peter, and James to continue to live under the traditions and legal obligations of Jewish Law and taking many fellow believers with them. Paul then saw the need to stress that the Cross did away with all that; made him them and us dead to it in God's view, for the purpose of relationship with Himself. You will notice Paul uses the term Christ in 2:20 which denotes Jesus' mission as Messiah or Saviour, whereas Son of man used much in other descriptions of The Lord shows His likeness to us, He died as the Son of Man as His essential identity, in the flesh, became sin for us. He went to the Cross as Christ, but died as the Son of Man. This is where we must live in our faith's understanding of who we are now in Christ as life; just as Paul did. The Son of Man died to all that we are, as a substitute for all of us, for the pleasure or will of The Father, that mankind might be redeemed to Him in glory thus fulfilling the role of Christ We must learn to identify ourselves in that new nature. This is what Paul was referring to when he said "I have been crucified". My friends what I am getting at is this: the normal Christian human in his flesh identity, just as Peter and James, must be rebuked and refused, since we as they tend to be satisfied to live under a set of rules, and obligate ourselves to Church traditions, or simply succumbing to a feel good experiential definition of who we are in Christ, such as merely attending Church services as our souls defining Christian condition: remaining in the identification of our old essential identity as a Christian [the law or morality, good works, experience and tradition] and not the new life by faith in Jesus Christ expressed  in us by His presence in us seen by faith, defined by the Holy Spirit in our mind, as our very life. That is who we must become by our own self defining value and acquired defined personal image. As Paul stressed; "Christ lives in me" his active displayed condition, a new identity for all to see! Believe me my friends once engaged in by faith this new resurrection life that Paul described is far different than the ordinary worldly Christian's life in the old mannish essential identity! The question we must ask ourselves is. If the world cannot see any difference is there really one; and  do we know and embrace our new life of faith seen in and contained completely in Jesus Christ as the object of our life? The sacrifice of The Man Jesus Christ deserves no less! Paul more than any other man in history, besides Jesus Christ Himself, changed the world and he is the Christian example and should be our mentor in all things as to Christian spirituality! His life in his inner man was Christ and none other.

      "For who among men knows the things of man, except the spirit which is in him? In the same way, the things of God also no one knows except the Spirit of God" 1 Cor. 2:11. This is a rich and reveling verse, written by Paul; addressed to the Corinthian Christians; who were beginning to embrace a worldly philosophy in their mind, or reverting to their essential old man's identity; neglecting the Spirit of God and the spirit of man both. Sounds familiar does it not? The take away here is: a man is conscious of all the schemes, plans and purposes that pass in his own mind, and no man can know these things except himself; and likewise the Holy spirit knows God's mind and makes it known to us and lives to display God's mind to the soul of man. God will expose to us by His Spirit His thoughts or mind, concerning man's life in the Son. We can know the thoughts of God, by reading His Word, the trick is to make our mind available for the application of God's thoughts to our mind. As Paul so wisely said, only we can know if the adequacy of our minds understanding is satisfying to our souls, and at least for me, I found it lacking.

      My friends, we are brought to a Saviour who has been raised again for our justification, and through Him we find no judgment, it is finished for Jesus and therefore for us. In the mind in which we hold that thought as foremost there will be no sense of need! The mind that contains as identity the thought of their personal position and identity as Paul did, "our life is hidden in Christ" and "for me to live is Christ" and " I have been crucified with Christ", will find a new definition of themselves as they walk the earth. We now can have a realization of  great favor, for we may have a consciousness, though hard to explain it may be, that we share all that Jesus Christ is before the Father. In Him we now have access to all that is in heaven, blessed forever in Christ.