Old Man Crucified; But Not Dead

When one chooses to follow the Father’s drawing to Christ (John 6:44) and receives Him (John 1:12; Rev 3:20), what happens to the “old man” or, sin nature? Scripture declares, “That our old man is crucified with Him” (Rom 6:6) and we ourselves are also crucified (Gal 2:20). How the believer understands this issue will determine the understanding of Scriptural doctrine which relates to the condition of one born-again.

The term “crucified” used in the physical sense is identical to its use in the spiritual sense in that its purpose is to portray the helplessness of one concerning the inability to operate as before. The idea that one being physically crucified, which can last for days, is analogous to the ongoing existence of the sinful nature (old man) within the believer. It being crucified (still on the Cross) is not dead, just powerless to control as before. The difference between us being crucified and our sinful nature being crucified is that the sinful nature is still on the Cross, but we left the Cross with Him.

The Christian is, “dead to sin”, or in other words—dead to sin’s control (Rom 6:2, 11), but nowhere is it said that the indwelling (Rom 7:17, 20) sin nature is dead to the saint; but rather it continues to impose on the believer its influence, but to no authoritative avail:

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof”; “For sin shall not have dominion over you” (Rom 6:12, 14); “For the flesh (sinful nature or old man) lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Gal 5:17).