In order to pursue the Lord and fight the fight of faith as we should, we are going to have to dive into, perhaps, the greatest biblical tension in the NT. This tension I am referring to is captured in these statements: On the one hand, we are informed that our old self is dead because it died with Christ (Rom. 6:6), but on the other hand we’re commanded to kill the old self (Col. 3:5)! Also, compare Gal. 3: 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ with Rom. 13: 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. Which is it? Have we put Christ on already or do we still need to put Christ on? The answer is not an either/or, but a both/and. Ultimately, these texts are pointing to the dual-citizenship of a Christian or the dual-status or the already/not yet tension.
In light of that, here are some truths we can be sure of from the NT: 1) A believer’s old self (the worthless mind set on self as described in Rom. 8:5-8 & Eph. 4:17-19) was crucified with Christ and upon conversion the believer is made into a new person (Col. 3:1-10; Rom. 6:1-11); 2) Thus the old self is condemned and has no controlling grip on the Christian; 3) Nevertheless, we are not glorified yet and won’t be until Christ returns, so there still remains legitimate lusts and temptations of the flesh (1 Pet. 2); 4) Therefore, even though the old self is condemned, there is a real ongoing battle between your flesh and the Holy Spirit—the former tempting you to satisfy itself, the latter guiding you to walk in holiness (Gal. 5:16-17); 5) When we give into temptation, it’s a faith issue, meaning it’s not because the old self, or temptation is too strong or that God hasn’t given us the power and truth to beat it (Gal. 5). This means that the Christian is no longer under obligation to obey the flesh, but can now follow Christ’s will; 6) In order to walk according to the spirit or in the newness of life or to live in the new self, we must both understand what God did to our old self at the cross AND what we must do, by grace through faith, to continually put off the deeds of the flesh (Rom. 6:11; Col. 3:5,8). All this is why Paul’s word in Gal. 2:20 are so important to understand for the daily Christian life—I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.