I was really quite clueless when I came out of seminary. I was clueless about the nature of spiritual growth, because I was clueless about Romans 6 and 7. And I was clueless about it all until I understood Identity.
One of the Apostle Paul’s most curious statements is found in Romans 7:17. Concerning his frustration with repeated sinning, he says
So now, no longer am I the one doing the sins, but it is Sin which dwells in me.
Paul is adamant that there is something in him that captures his attention and influences him to commit sins. He says it again to make his point, ” . . . if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but Sin which dwells in me” (Rom 7:20).
This used to boggle my mind. Romans 7 used to be so confusing, and the more I tried to teach it the more confusing it became . . . until I understood Identity.
The word Identity refers to our nature, or our essence. Identity. Nature. Essence. All three words refer to the same thing: our core substance, which is spirit. We are spirit-beings and our spirit is the location of our identity. Our spirit is our nature, our essence, our identity.
For born-again believers our spirit is one with Christ (I Cor 6:17), and has been united with Christ in His death, His burial and His new life (Rom 6:3-4). Our spirit is united with Him in the likeness of His resurrection (6:5). Therefore, our identity —our spirit— is one with the life of Christ (Col 3:4a).
How did this become our identity?
Identity is determined by birth.
How many times must you hear a rooster crow before you know it is a rooster? None. A rooster is not a rooster because it crows. A rooster is a rooster by birth. Identity is determined by birth. In the same way, how many sins must I commit before I become a sinner? None. I am a sinner by birth. Sinner is my nature, my essence, my identity. It’s who I am in Adam.
Since I am born a sinner, how can I change my identity? By being born-again. Jesus said, “You must be born-again to enter the kingdom of God.” But it was Paul who told us the flipside of that truth, that you must be born-again because you must first be co-crucified with Christ. Your spiritual re-birth will be preceded by your spiritual death. Before you can resurrect from the dead, you have to be dead.
Before you resurrect with new life, your old life first has to die. And this is the point of Romans 6:6, the key to understanding all of Romans 6, 7 and 8.
“For we know that our old man was crucified with Him . . .”
What was crucified with Christ? Our old man. This is our old spirit that was born a sinner in Adam. Our old spirit (old identity, old nature, former essence) was brought to death through co-crucifixion with Christ. Our old spirit died in Christ. Therefore, our old identity came to an end. Our old nature, sinner, was crucified. Our old essence died.
Next, thanks to our union with Christ in His resurrection (Rom 6:5), our spirit was born-again with the righteous, resurrection life of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are now the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 5:21). This is our new man. Our new man is our old spirit, raised from the dead and “created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph 4:26).
So, when Paul says, “I no longer sin . . . I am no longer the one doing it,” he is referring to his new spirit, his born-again spirit. His new spirit no longer sins, for Christ does not sin, and he and Christ are one spirit.
Christ is your life, your life in the spirit. This is your Identity. (Col 3:4a)
Then why does Paul sin? What causes us to sin? It is because there is a Law of Sin and Death in our bodies (7:23), but not in our spirits. The Law of Sin is not our identity. It is not our nature. But apparently, this law is wired to the wounds in our souls. In our daily experience people push our buttons and yank our chains, and we forget our true identity in Christ, and we act out of our souls. We betray our true selves, and walk according to the flesh. So, yes, you no longer sin from your spirit in your new identity. It is no longer you (as a spirit-being) who sins, but it is Sin which indwells your body.
If the Holy Spirit can teach this to us, we can change at the level of identity.
-Carter