CAUTION: This teaching is only for Christians who REALLY want to put off the old man and put on the new man.
What is Jesus’ job? To save us—that’s why he’s called “The Savior.” Save us from what? Sin and death. How did he save us from sin and death? By dying. To what did he die? His self-will (“Not my will, but yours…”). This shows us that although Jesus had no sin nature, which as we will see is our main problem, he did have to subjugate his will to that of his Father. Jesus did not want to go through the horror that lay ahead of him, but his love for God and mankind prompted him to will to do so.
Just as it required Jesus to be crucified for our sins, so he will now help us crucify our flesh, that is, die to our self-will. How did it feel to Jesus to be crucified? Agonizing. He remembers that. How does it feel to us to crucify our flesh? Agonizing. But how did RESURRECTION feel to Jesus? Ditto for us!
This teaching shows the difference between “guilt” and “shame,” as well as identifying some of the internal idols to which we too often bow: looking good, feeling good, being right, being in control. And how does that work? It doesn’t, because an idol just stays idle when you call—and we are left alone. But when we cleave unto THE MAN, we are never alone.
