Rising to New Life: Understanding Your Position in Christ

The Christian life is often misunderstood as simply adding Jesus to our existing identity. We attend church, read our Bibles, pray, and try to be better people—all while carrying the weight of who we used to be. But what if the gospel message is far more radical than we've realized? What if becoming a Christian doesn't mean improving the old you, but rather experiencing the death of that person entirely?

The Death That Brings Life

Romans 6:3-4 presents a startling truth: "Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life."

When Christ died, you died. When He was buried, you were buried. And when He rose on the third day, you rose with Him. This isn't poetic language or spiritual metaphor—it's the foundation of your new identity.

The problem is that many believers focus exclusively on Jesus dying and rising without recognizing their participation in that same event. We celebrate Easter as the day Jesus conquered death, but miss the profound reality that we conquered death with Him. We rose with Him. We ascended with Him. And now, according to Ephesians, we are seated with Him in heavenly places.

The Breaking Point

Understanding where the old you ended and the new you began is critical to walking in spiritual victory. There must be a clear breaking point in your mind—a definitive moment where you recognize that the person you were is no longer alive.

Colossians 3:1-3 builds on this foundation: "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."

Notice the command: seek things above, not things on earth. Why? Because your position has changed. You're no longer an earthbound creature trying to reach heaven. You're a heavenly being temporarily housed in an earthly body. Your perspective must shift from looking up at God to looking down from your position seated with Christ.

The Enemy's Shell Game

Think of those street performers who hide a ball under cups and shuffle them rapidly. The enemy has played a similar trick with the church. He's taken the true reality of who we are in Christ and hidden it, replacing it with a counterfeit version of Christianity—one filled with striving, unforgiveness, powerlessness, and defeat.

For years, even decades, believers can attend church without ever walking in their God-given authority. They pray from a position of weakness rather than from their seated position of power. They see the devil as an equal opponent rather than a defeated foe under their feet.

The reality is this: when you understand you're seated in heavenly places with Christ, your perspective on spiritual warfare changes completely. You're not fighting to gain victory; you're enforcing the victory already won. You're not looking at the enemy eye-to-eye; you're looking down on him from your position of authority.

The Danger of Looking Back

Colossians 3:5-7 reminds us: "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked sometime, when ye lived in them."

Notice the past tense: "when ye lived in them." Those behaviors characterized your old life, not your new one. Yet how often do we resurrect the old man by dwelling on past sins, past failures, and past identities?

Every time you look back and meditate on who you used to be, you're creating a future out of past realities that no longer exist. You're convincing yourself that nothing has changed when, in fact, everything has changed. The old you was crucified with Christ. That person is dead and buried.

When Jesus called Lazarus from the tomb, He didn't say, "Come forth and reflect on your death." He said, "Come forth"—and keep moving forward. Similarly, when we receive revelation from Scripture, we're meant to move forward, not backward.

Renewing the Mind

The transformation from old-man thinking to new-creation living requires the renewing of your mind. This isn't a one-time event but a continual process of aligning your thoughts with your position in Christ.

When you open Scripture, you're not just reading words—you're realigning your consciousness with your heavenly position. Every sermon, every Bible study, every moment of personal devotion is an opportunity to strengthen the connection between your earthly mind and your heavenly reality.

This is why church attendance and personal Bible study are so crucial. It's a fight to stay God-conscious in a world that constantly pulls you toward devil-consciousness, problem-consciousness, and self-consciousness.

Living from the Inside Out

Jesus spent hours in prayer, maintaining His connection to the Father. When He encountered people who needed healing or deliverance, it took only moments. He lived from the inside out—from His intimate relationship with the Father outward to the situations He faced.

Too often, we reverse this process. We spend minimal time in prayer and then wonder why our situations don't change. We try to solve problems with earthly wisdom rather than heavenly perspective.

The power, the anointing, the wisdom you need is already inside you. The Holy Spirit lives within you. But like a ball of fire in a jar, that power remains contained until you remove the limitations of old-man thinking.

The Communion Connection

When Jesus instituted communion, He created a memorial—not just of His death, but of the covenant relationship established through His sacrifice. "This is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:24).

Hebrews 10:14 declares, "For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." One sacrifice. One offering. Complete and eternal perfection for all who believe.

This means you can approach God with boldness, not because of your performance, but because of His finished work. You have been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and washed with pure water.

Moving Forward

The Christian life is not about trying harder to be better. It's about understanding who you already are in Christ and living from that reality. It's about recognizing that the old you died, the new you rose, and you're now seated in a position of authority and power.

Stop looking back. Stop recreating futures from past realities. The person you were is dead and gone. Behold, all things have become new.

Your calling, your destiny, your purpose—they're all waiting for you to step into the fullness of who you are in Christ. Don't let the enemy keep you stuck in the past, paralyzed in the present, and aborting your future.

You have risen with Christ. Now live like it.

Scripture References from the Sermon

A thin line between the old man and the new man!

Directly Cited or Referenced:

1. Romans 6:1-4 - Continuing in sin, baptized into Christ's death, walking in newness of life

2. Colossians 3:1-7 - If risen with Christ, seek things above; mortifying earthly members

3. Matthew 26:26-29 - The Last Supper/Institution of Communion

4. Lamentations 3:40 - "Let us search and try our ways and turn again to the Lord"

5. Psalm 139:23 - "Search me, O God, and know my heart"

6. 1 Corinthians 11:31 - "If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged"

7. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 - Paul's account of the Lord's Supper

8. Hebrews 10:11-25 - One sacrifice for sins forever; drawing near with boldness

Alluded to or Paraphrased:

9. 2 Corinthians 5:17 - "Old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new"

10. Galatians 2:20 - "Crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me"

11. Ephesians 2:6 - Seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus

12. Romans 8:28 - "All things work together for good to them that love God"

13. Galatians 5:16 - "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh"

14. John 15:5 - "Without me ye can do nothing"

15. Proverbs 4:7 - "In all thy getting get understanding"

16. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 - Casting down strongholds and imaginations

17. James 1:22 - "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only"

18. Psalm 37:23 - "The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord"

19. Matthew 5:13-14 - Salt of the earth, light of the world

20. Acts 1:8 - "Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you"

21. Romans 7:23-25 - War in members against the law of the mind

22. 1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us"

23. John 11:43-44 - Lazarus called to "come forth"

Thematic Connections (Suggested Relevant Verses):

24. Romans 12:2 - Transformation by renewing of the mind

25. Philippians 3:13-14 - Forgetting what is behind, pressing forward

26. Ephesians 4:22-24 - Put off the old man, put on the new man

27. Colossians 2:12 - Buried with him in baptism, risen with him through faith

28. Romans 6:11 - Reckon yourselves dead to sin but alive to God