The Death of the Cross is Unique

The death of the cross is different from other deaths. It is a most painful and a most prolonged kind of death. If we should really reckon ourselves as dead and take the cross of the Lord as our cross, we will suffer great pain and agony in the flesh, for did not the Lord Jesus himself hang on the cross for six long hours before he expired? Unquestionably, then, this death of which we speak is slow and prolonged. So far as the experience of co-death in the Christian life is concerned, it is mainly included in this representative period of six hours. When the Lord Jesus was on the cross, He had authority to come down if He so wished. By the same token, those who are crucified with the Lord can let their old man come down from the cross if they so will. For the old man is crucified through your reckoning by faith. If you firmly maintain that death attitude, your old man will be rendered powerless, as though dead. But if you loosen up, it will become active again.

Many children of God often wonder why their old man is resurrected. They have failed to see that the death of the cross is a prolonged one. The Devil is most alert in finding an opportunity to revive the old man and to cause the believer to sin. Hence, at the time of the believer’s negligence, the Devil’s temptation and deception will manifest itself. And as soon as the outside temptation and deception arrive, the old man within will respond. It is therefore important to return to the ground of the cross at that moment, and as you resume reckoning yourself to be dead, the Holy Spirit will apply the power of the cross towards you so that the temptation immediately loses its attraction.

Every believer should have this kind of supernatural experience—which is to say, that at the point of defeat, you quickly come to the cross afresh, reckon yourself as dead, and thus receive an influx of the power to resist temptation and keep you from it. Nonetheless, sometimes you may reckon and reckon, but you get no result. Is this because you have sinned? Many believers share this kind of experience. The fault lies in your reckoning. For if you truly reckon, there will be that supernatural power coming to you. Please understand that this "reckoning" is not a reciting with your lips, "I am dead, I am dead"; nor is it a thinking in your mind, "I am dead, I am dead." It lies in the judgment of your will that you are dead, supported by your attitude of faith. Your will chooses to say, "I am dead." In other words, you first are willing to die, and then you reckon yourself as being dead indeed.

We therefore need to learn how to reckon with will and faith. If we truly stand on Romans 6.11, we will always experience victory. Yet as soon as a believer begins to adopt this attitude, Satan will especially stir up storms and waves to confuse him. During such a time, the believer should quietly depend on the power of the cross made available by the Holy Spirit. He should neither strive nor worry as though the temptation is too great and the Enemy too strong. No, he should simply reckon himself as dead to sin, because the cross has the power to overcome the power of sin.

In the event of defeat, however, you should rise up again and rely even more upon the power of the cross. The Holy Spirit will surely lead you in triumph in the Lord Jesus. Wrote Paul, "Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace" (Rom. 6.14).