live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I Now Live in the

Flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for

me'.  So, in Romans 6, future and literal resurrection is anticipated by a `walk

in newness of life' and `the likeness of His resurrection', and we are enjoined

to reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but Alive Unto God through Jesus

Christ our Lord.  This present `quickening' enables us to shake off the dominion

of sin (Rom. 6:14); the power of the `old man' (Rom. 6:6), and also enables us

not only to rise and walk in newness of life, but to serve in newness of spirit

(Rom. 7:6).

Let us tarry a little, while we ponder some of these present anticipations

of resurrection life.  We have already referred to Galatians 2:20; we must refer

to it again.  The apostle there says that even though he had been `crucified

with Christ', nevertheless he lived.  It will be evident to every reader that

Paul was not literally and physically crucified with Christ, but he was

`reckoned' to have died with Him, and enjoined the believer to take this stand

also: `likewise reckon ye also yourselves ... dead ... alive' (Rom. 6:11).  Paul

lived by `reckoning' as God reckoned, standing where grace had placed him,

realizing that in this position, and in this position only, was life and

`Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me'.  How are we to understand this?  If

we take the passage to extremes, it will mean that Paul as Paul had been

obliterated, that he was indeed non-existent.  If that be the teaching, then

Paul was not saved; he had been destroyed.  Paul could not look forward to

receiving a crown of righteousness, for he had not kept the faith, or finished

the course; Christ had taken his place and Paul no longer counted as an

individual.  The use of the word ego `not I' finds illustration and explanation

in Romans 7:

`I was alive without the law once ... sin revived, and I died ... it slew

me ... I am carnal, sold under sin.  For that which I do I allow not: for

what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I ... Now then it is

no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me ... So then with the

mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin'

(Rom. 7:9-25).

Here is a complicated argument, and a double use of the ego.  The ego

evidently can be dominated by sin, having its seat of operation in the flesh,

which term embraces both `the members' and `the mind' (Rom. 7:23 and 8:7).  Paul

however has been redeemed, and he now sees the war that is going on in his

members is waged against the law of his mind, and that with the mind he can now

serve God.  He now, as it were, sides with God, and speaks of the new man as `I

myself'.  What Paul teaches in Galatians 2:20 is not that his body was

tenantless, or that he had become a nonentity, but that he had a new master,

Christ, now taking the place previously occupied by sin, `the law of the spirit

of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death' (Rom.

8:2).  `We have the mind of Christ' (1 Cor. 2:16).  Later in Romans 12, the

apostle returns to the theme and says that we are `transformed by the renewing

of the mind' which is expressed in Ephesians 4:23 as the renewing of the spirit

of the mind.

The dominion of sin and death has been broken.  Christ now has `dominion',

dominion being the Greek verb kurieuo, and `Lord' being the Greek word kurios.

We acknowledge the Lordship of Christ now, and in so doing make it gloriously

possible for the life we now live in the flesh to manifest and anticipate this