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Romans 6:5-14
We have seen that Paul has now initiated his discussion on the subject of sanctification in his letter to the
Roman assemblies. His desire is to show the believers in Rome that continuing in sin is utterly
incompatible with what God has done for them, in Christ.
To explain this, Paul used the illustration of baptism. He knew that the believers in Rome would have been
well acquainted with water baptism, which most were sure to have received, at their conversion. Although
water baptism is merely symbolic, the believers in Rome would have been instructed that it was an outward
demonstration to the fact that they had chosen to believe into Jesus; a public witness to their faith in Him.
So Paul was drawing on the experience of his listeners, writing of baptism in a metaphorical sense, to
illustrate the spiritual reality of just what happened to each one of them, when they believed into Christ
Jesus. When they did that, they were baptized not into water, but into Christ Jesus, Himself.
The idea is that they were united with Him, through their faith each one, personally, individually joined to
Christ. And in union with Him, Christ took each one into death with Him. The death of Christ, which they
participated in, freed each one from the penalty of their sin, resulting in their justification.
And having died with Christ, they were also buried with Him each one, completely and forever separated
from the world system, and its power. This shows the believers completed sanctification holy, as God is
holy.
The death and burial of Christ Jesus was for a purpose; to release the Life of the Father, which Christ had
brought down from heaven Life everlasting, which Christ brought forth as He was raised from the dead,
by the glory of the Father. He rose, the Son-of-God-in-power (Rm 1:4); the Son of God, in a body of glory.
Even so, for the believer.
This baptism, a spiritual reality, is how God views the individual from His eternal perspective. This is the
completed work of the redemption thats in Christ Jesus: the believer is justified, sanctified, glorified. It is
finished (Jn 19:30).
But notice that Paul does not, in this part of his letter, speak of it as all finished. In verse 4, does Paul say,
just as Christ was raised from the dead . even so, we also were glorified? No, he does not. He says,
just as Christ was raised from the dead . even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Should walk is actually in the form of a command in the Greek, one in which the time is not specified.
Paul is saying this is how we should conduct ourselves in our lives in the new and powerful life, that
Christ brought forth out of death.
Paul intentionally does not present the glorification of the believer as a finished work, because from the
temporal perspective, it is not a finished work; nor is the believer, under time, completely sanctified holy
as God is holy; the believer is being sanctified; he is in the midst of the process.
But what Paul wants to show is that the way in which the believer becomes sanctified to fit him for his
body of glory is for him to have Gods perspective on redemption to view it as the finished work that it
is. And what Paul writes next details just what that finished work has accomplished for the believer; he has
been freed from the power of sin.

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Lets read the passage together. Well begin back at verse 3.

[Romans 6:3-14]
Beginning in verse 5, Paul leaves the metaphor of baptism behind, going on to the spiritual reality that it
pictures, and its ramifications in the present time. In verses 5-7, Paul is emphasizing our death with Christ,
and what it accomplishes; in verses 8-10, Pauls emphasis then turns to life Life everlasting. The
remainder of the passage (vv. 11-14) is Pauls exhortation to the believers, based on what God has already
done for them, in Christ.
Lets go back now to verse 5.
v. 5 The word for, or because, indicates that Paul is explaining what he has just said. What has he
been talking about? About the metaphor of baptism. Here is Pauls explanation of what that means; this is
the spiritual reality.
The word united in the NKJV is more literally planted. It means to be sown or planted at the same
time, speaking of seed. This is its only use in the NT, but outside of Scripture, the word would be given to
a field of grain that was sown at the same time, and where the grain sprung up and grew simultaneously.
The idea of union or being joined together is based on the idea that the word communicates of a similarity
of experience.
We have each been planted together in the likeness of Christs death. Through faith, Christs death became
our death; that became our personal experience, as He took each one of us into death with Him. Christ is
the incorruptible Seed, the Word of God, planted in the ground, to bring forth much fruit many sons of
glory.
We have been born again, born of that incorruptible Seed the Word of God Christ (1 Pet 1:23). The
likeness of His death means the form of His death. Its the form of a Living Seed; a seed that will bring
forth Life everlasting. We are conformed to His death (Phil 3:10); a death that is not an end, but a new
beginning the beginning in glory, in the image of the Son.
In verse 5 that the words in the likeness (second set) are not in the original manuscript, as indicated by
the italics. I dont believe Paul intended those words.
Paul was saying that because we have been united together in the likeness of Christs death, we shall
assuredly be of resurrection meaning the New Life that Christ brought forth in His resurrection Life
everlasting.
Christ did not take us down into death, to leave us there, any more than the Father took Christ down into
death to leave Him there. Like His, our death serves a purpose; to bring forth a glorified son of God. And
that glorious result is certain why? Because we have been planted in the form of Christs death, the
Living Seed; a death that is not an end, but a beginning. We are part of the same harvest.
Notice that Paul speaks of our being planted together with Christ as something past, a completed action.
But then Paul says, certainly we also shall be of resurrection using the future tense; something that has
not yet come to pass. Just as we have seen in verse 4, Paul is not presenting the glorification of the
believer as a finished work here; he is taking the temporal perspective, looking at the current time, while
the believer is being sanctified.

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As we continue in the NKJV, the next verse is presented as continuous with verse 5, just separated by a
comma. It certainly relates to verse 5, but it is returning to Gods perspective, with some new insights.
v. 6-7 The word for knowing that Paul uses in verse 6 suggests that this is something believers are
progressively coming to know; they are gaining an understanding.
This is something that we must be enlightened to in the spirit of our being, by the Holy Spirit. But in
addition to our comprehending it, we must apprehend it, by faith; we know this by making it the
experience of our lives; we come to know it by living it, through faith.
We know this: that our old man was crucified with Christ. What does Paul mean by this? Well, the Greek
word for old here does not mean that which is old in years, but that which lies behind; in the past. The
old man is the former man. Who is this old man? Adam.
Remember what we have learned in the part of Pauls letter that precedes this chapter 5. From the
perspective of Gods plan, God always, only had two men. Who are these two men? Adam and Christ.
Adam is the old man; Christ is the new man not new in the sense of young, but qualitatively new; of a
new kind.
The Roman assemblies would understand this as well as you do, having just heard Pauls discussion of the
two men, as heads of the creation in them, and as representatives of those creations before God.
Now, notice that Paul did not say, the old man. He said, our old man; literally in the Greek, its the
old man of us meaning the old man of each one of us, individually as believers. The old man of you, the
old man of me, was crucified together with Christ.
Until now, Paul has spoken of the believers death with Christ; but now, he intentionally brings in the word
crucified here for the first time in this passage. Paul wants there to be no mistake that he is speaking in
terms of the body.
You were born as a son of Adam thats your old man. From Adam, you received a body of flesh; a
perishable, mortal body, born of the corruptible seed of Adam. But when you united yourself to Christ by
faith, you died out of the former creation, in Adam; that body of flesh was crucified your old man,
crucified together with Christ, when He was crucified. Your life in the flesh is now a thing of the past.
Paul indicates that this was done for a purpose: that the body of sin might be done away with. Again Paul
continues to emphasize the body. The Greek word for body generally means a living body; in this case, a
living human body. Paul is speaking of a body that lives in the Sin; literally, its the body of the Sin.
This ties in to Pauls question in verse 2: How shall we who died to the Sin live any longer in it live in
the Sin? Here, Paul is showing why thats unthinkable.
Done away with actually means rendered inoperative, or powerless. The idea is of a complete
cessation; not a partial or temporary stay. And whereas our text makes it sound like this is just a possibility,
that is not so in the Greek: when our old man was crucified with Christ, the body of the Sin was rendered
inoperative.

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Remember that Paul is personifying sin through this passage as a tyrannical ruler. It was in the old
creation, in Adam, that the Sin reigned in death (Rm 5:21). As a creation in Adam, we lived in the realm of
the Sin, and were ruled over by its influence and power.
But when each one of us placed our faith in Christ, our body of flesh was crucified together with Christ; we
died out of that old creation in Adam, where the Sin reigned. The body that served the Sin was rendered
powerless; like a crucified body, nailed to a cross; a graphic illustration.
This is a spiritual reality, and it has been done for a purpose: that we no longer serve the Sin; that we are no
longer its slaves. When we were part of the creation in Adam, the tyrannical ruler Sin had mastered us,
time and again. We were completely subject to its influence.
But through faith, we have died with Christ. Death causes a complete severance as we are completely
severed from the creation in Adam. Death creates a separation thats our deliverance from the domain of
the Sin. And Death is one way theres no going back. The deliverance is final.
This means that the one who has died with Christ has been completely, entirely, utterly liberated from the
Sin, forever. Severed. Separated. No going back. And as we comprehend this in the spirit of our being,
and apprehend it by faith, it becomes the reality we live by.
It is through our death with Christ that weve been freed from the power of the Sin. Now Paul shows the
other side of this picture.
v. 8-10 In verse 8, Paul says that we believe that we shall live with Christ; literally, live together with
Him. Again, died is in the past tense, live is in the future tense. This makes it clear that Paul is
speaking about living together with Christ in glory; as a glorified son of God.
This is underscored by the fact that Paul is drawing a parallel between our living, and Christ as He now
lives unto God as the glorified Son. Paul is again taking the temporal perspective here glory is our
future hope, not yet realized.
The knowing in verse 9 is different than in verse 6. There we had the idea of something that we are
progressively coming to know; something to which we are becoming enlightened. But here, the Greek
word reflects a complete knowing.
This is something all believers fully know: that after Christ died, and was raised from the dead, He would
never die again. How do we know this? Because the raising of the body of Jesus from the grave spoke of
power that was greater than the power of Death. Its the power of resurrection Life; and it completely
overrules Death.
Turn to Ephesians chapter 1. Paul was praying that His readers would really come to know the Father, and
understand what He had purposed for them.
[Ephesians 1:17-21]
v. 17 Paul is praying for the believers to really know the Father; to know Him on an intimate basis, as a
Person.

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v. 18-19a These are three different ways in which Paul is referring to the completed purpose of the Father
for believers; to be His glorified sons. The know-so hope, the rich inheritance, and the exceeding greatness
of His power all speak to the believer being raised in a body of glory. Then Paul brings out the measure of
that power.
v. 19b-21 Thats the mighty power that raised the body of Jesus; exceeding great power, to overcome
Death with Life everlasting; to change a mortal body to a glorified body; and further, to defy the Laws of
the universe, and raise that body back to heaven.
[Return to Romans 5]
When Jesus came to the earth, He came in a flesh and blood body like that of every other man, sin apart
(Heb 2:14). It was a mortal body, capable of dying; that is to say, it was subject to Death, just like the
bodies of all men. Death had dominion over Jesus; but only for a time.
When Jesus rose from the grave in a glorified body, overcoming Death with resurrection Life, Death no
longer had dominion over Him; Death was swallowed up in victory (1 Cor 15:54). Jesus said, I am He
that lives and was dead; and behold I am alive forevermore (Rev 1:18).
In verse 10, Paul brings out the point that Christ only had to die once, for all. Notice that Paul says Christ
died to sin; thats the Sin, with its rule.
Was Paul saying that Christ was under the power of the Sin? Certainly not! But in coming to the earth,
Christ came within the realm of the Sin, into its domain.
And there, Christ dealt with the Sin; He took the Sin upon Himself, on the cross; and in His death, Christ
put away the Sin for all mankind dying once, for all sin, for all men, for all time. Finally, through His
death, Christ left the realm of the Sin behind, forever. It is in this respect, that Christ died to the Sin
once, for all.
For that He died, He died to the Sin once for all men; but that He lives, He lives to God. Did Jesus ever
not live to God? No. So what does Paul mean, He lives to God?
We must understand it in the full context of what Paul is saying. The cross is the defining moment, in the
plan of redemption. On the one side is Christ in His humanity; the incarnate Son, in a flesh and blood
body, working within the realm of sin and death the powers of that rule over the old creation in Adam
working out the redemption of mankind.
On the other side is the resurrected Christ, in a glorified body, having overcome those powers, His work of
redemption finished. It is there that the risen Christ lives to God. Paul is saying that now Christ is alive to
God, as His glorified Son; the Son, in a body of glory.
Having laid out the spiritual realities, Paul continues with an exhortation to the assemblies in Rome and
to all believers.
v. 11 Notice that Paul has been speaking of himself along with all believers we but now, he switches
to you, for this is his exhortation to each believer in Rome and to all believers, who have read his
words.

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The word reckon literally means to count or number something, but its often used metaphorically to
refer to having an absolute, unreserved confidence in what one knows in the mind to be true. This is a
confidence of heart that governs a persons actions and decisions.
The idea is that the believer is to consider the things Paul says next to be true because they are true and
when a believer is willing to count them as true, they then become true, in his life.
In like manner to what Paul has shown of Christ, the believer is to reckon it true also, for him. The believer
is to count it true, that he is dead to the Sin indeed in truth, that he is. Why? Because he has died with
Christ, and Christ died to sin for him. How many times did Christ die to sin? Once. And when He died,
you died with Him once. You dont keep dying to sin; you died to it once, and are now dead to it. Count
on that.
The believer is truly dead to the Sin, but he is also to count it true that he is alive alive to God. Now,
since Paul says this is likewise in like manner this alive must have the same meaning as it did when
Paul said that Christ lives to God speaking of the glorified Christ. This is speaking of the believer in
his body of glory.
Here Paul has broken with his use of the future tense for glorification. Why? Because when a believer
considers it to be true, that he is alive to God in his glorified body, his future becomes his present reality.
How can this be so? Look at how Paul finishes the statement alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord
through our union with Christ. Having died with Christ, who has been raised and now lives in glory to
God, that is where we now live; raised, in a body of glory, alive to God in Christ.
The tense indicates continuous action; we must constantly reckon this so; we must believe it, and keep on
believing it, taking and keeping Gods perspective on it; the eternal perspective. And that gives us the right
perspective in the temporal realm, in which we live on earth.
Based upon all that Paul has shown, of what God has done for believers in Christ, he now gets personal,
with his exhortation.
v. 12-13 Paul is calling believers to live a sanctified life; a life apart from sin, a life lived to God. Living
such a life is a choice; a choice that every believer has the privilege make, thanks to what God has done for
him, in Christ.
When you were part of the creation in Adam, you had no choice; the Sin reigned in your mortal body; you
obeyed it in its lusts; you had no power to do otherwise.
Now you are a new creation, in Christ; and as such, you are privileged to have a choice in how you will
live. But with that privilege, comes responsibility to live the righteousness that Christ died to give you.
That is the basis of Pauls exhortation, here; an exhortation that can only be implemented by believers
individually; its a matter of personal responsibility; your part, as we like to say. No one can do it but
you; and God will not do it for you, for that would take away your freedom to choose, which He gave you.
But it is His desire that you would choose to live your righteousness, for that is how He is glorified in your
life; that is how His glory is reflected, through your life.

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Based on what Christ has done for you, Paul exhorts you not to allow the Sin to reign in your mortal body.
A mortal body is a body that is capable of dying; Paul is speaking here of the body of flesh, in its lusts.
When you were part of that old creation in Adam, you used to obey your body of flesh. It was your own
will, in your self-life, to give your body whatever it craved; its various appetites and desires the lusts of
your flesh, the lusts of your mind you lived to feed them.
You lived by your senses; what your eyes saw, what your skin felt, the smells, the sounds, the tastes
whatever your body wanted, you gave it. You lived, according to the flesh. Your mind was fixed on the
things of the flesh. And living in this way, you served your body, obeying it; and in so doing, you served
the Sin; it dominated you.
Paul is saying, stop it; stop letting the Sin reign over you. How do you do that? You count on what God
has done for you, in Christ. You died with Christ to the Sin once and for all. Now youre dead to the Sin.
A dead body is insensitive; it cannot respond to lusts; it has no strong desires.
This means you can no longer be mastered by the Sin unless you insist on serving the Sin, by your own
choice. But Christ has already, completely freed you from the Sins power. Your responsibility is to stay
free, by having His mind on things. Live according to the Spirit, and mind the things of the Spirit (Rm
8:5).
And Paul adds, do not present your members the members of your body as instruments of
unrighteousness to the Sin. Thats all you used to do, when you were part of that old creation, in Adam.
Like a slave to a master, you were always presenting the members of your body to the Sin to be used as
implements of unrighteousness.
Do you see your initiative in this? You did the presenting; the Sin did not force you. Your hands, you
presented to the Sin, to work your unrighteous deeds; your tongue, you presented to the Sin, to voice your
unrighteous thoughts; your feet, you presented to the Sin, to take you to all those unrighteous places you
want to go; and so on.
But Paul says, stop it. How do you do that? You reckon on what God has done for you, in Christ. You are
now a new creation in Christ; you are now alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Your responsibility is to
present yourselves to God, as such.
Present is not continuous action, in the Greek; this is a one-time presenting of ourselves to God. The idea
of beginning at this very moment is also conveyed; Paul is saying, do it now; dont put it off. Paul will
revisit this later in his letter (Rm 12:1-2).
From the eternal perspective, you are alive from the dead, a son of God. Alive from the dead specifically
speaks of resurrection; the glorified body, which Paul has made clear is already in the possession of the
believer, as the believer reckons it so. The body of glory is free even from the presence of sin.
If our old man has been crucified with Christ; the body of sin, rendered inoperative; and if we can now
count on the fact that we are already alive from the dead in a body of glory can we live there? Yes and
God expects us to do just that. How do we do it? By faith.

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Faith enables us to transcend time, so that the future becomes our present reality as we consider it so, it
is. Then, as we see ourselves the way that God sees us, we understand that the members of this body a
body of glory can only be used as instruments of righteousness to God; that is, to do Gods will.
Paul is exhorting every believer he is exhorting you to present yourself, and your members to God
vessels for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master (2 Ti 2:21) your Lord. The question is, have we
really done it? If our love of God is greater than our love of self, we will not hesitate to do it.
v. 14 Now Paul gets totally personal. Its not the Sin anymore; in the Greek, its your sin; your own
personal sin. Paul says it shall not have mastery over you. This is in the future tense. In the future that
is, from now on your sin shall not rule over you; sin shall not have the say, in your body because now,
you are a Christ One.
In this verse and the next, Paul is speaking of law in a general way; as rules that are designed to restrain the
flesh. But do they? No; as Paul had said previously, specifically about the Law of Moses, when the Law
entered, sin abounded (Rm 5:20).
So what does restrain the body of flesh? Nothing; thats why God crucified it, in Christ. By His grace, God
delivered you out of Adam, out of that body of sin, into Christ a whole new creation. In Christ, God
gives you a whole new kind of body to live in; a body of glory.
Count on it. By faith, live there, in the realm of grace; and your own personal sin shall not have dominion
over you; it wont rule over you. Its Pauls conviction that it shouldnt. Is it yours?
Next week: the power to live that life. Finish reading Romans 6.