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 (Manna 17)
It is No Longer I Who Live

It is no longer I who live

A Christian who truly believes in the Lord has two persons living in him. One is the ‘old man who existed before he believed in the Lord. The other is the ‘new man’ who exists after he has come to believe in the Lord. The ‘old man’ was the first Adam while the ‘new man’ belongs to the last Adam. The first Adam was from the earth, a man of dust; while the last Adam is from heaven, of the spirit. The bible says, “As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven” (1 Cor -49).

The old man was dead on account of his sins and the sin inherited from Adam (Row ). We arc by nature children of wrath, condemned to die, without any hope in this world. There is but a fearful prospect of judgment waiting for us. But God shows his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. The righteous Father passes judgment and condemnation to those who are sinners but through His mercy He delivers those who believe in Him. Paul wrote in his epistle to the Ephesians saying, “As sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Row ). Our old selves died when we were baptized into His death. Therefore, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal ). Paul wrote, “And we all, with unveiled face, reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18). Since the Spirit of the Lord has changed us to become a new people, the old man should not control us any more. There must be a distinction between ourselves and the worldly people in regard to our speech and conduct. We must put away our old nature and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, we must rely on the Holy Spirit, putting to death the wickedness of our old selves so that it is no longer we who live but Christ living in us.

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