Crucified with Christ.
Orientation
The Christian life often feels like a burden of self-effort, but God has decisively ended that striving.
- We are 'unemployed' from our own efforts to save or perfect ourselves.
- Our old life of performance is dismissed through being crucified with Christ.
- This is not a loss but the foundation of true rest in His finished work.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I 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. (Galatians 2:20)
— Galatians 2:20
Clarification
Christ's suffering was not punishment, but God's way of perfecting Him to fully identify with us.
- He was perfected through sufferings to become our merciful and faithful High Priest.
- His identification with humanity is the basis of His present, intercessory ministry for us.
- This work is not about our improvement, but His transformation of us from foolishness to glory.
For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (Hebrews 2:10)
— Hebrews 2:10
Structure
Believers are united with Christ, sharing His life and nature, which is the basis of our reign and inheritance.
- Our union is real: His life and nature are now ours, so He calls us brethren.
- As our Captain, He leads us into glory and enthrones us to reign with Him.
- The world to come and angels are subjected to us in Him, not by our effort but by our position.
And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. (Hebrews 2:13)
— Hebrews 2:13
Weight-Bearing Prose
The core assertion is that believers are united with Christ through being crucified with Him. This union means His life becomes our life. Our weak, human faith is not the foundation God builds upon; instead, He gives us the faith of the Son of God. Christ now lives in us and believes God from within us. This is not progressive sanctification but a settled union. Pauline categories are definitive here: crucifixion with Christ (Gal 2:20, Rom 6:6), the one new man (Eph 2:15), and the life of Christ as our life (Col 3:4). The present ministry of Christ as High Priest (Hebrews) flows from this union. His priesthood is active, bringing us into glory as the Captain of our salvation. The result is not merely forgiveness but enthronement. All believers, by virtue of this union, are co-heirs who will reign with Christ. This reign and the subjection of the world to come are aspects of the inheritance received in justification, not rewards earned later. Objections that this leads to passivity misunderstand the source: the life lived is Christ’s own life in us. Counter-positions that place the burden back on human faith or effort forfeit the ground of justification and the rest of the finished work.
Integration
Your assurance and rest are anchored in Christ’s finished work and your union with Him. He is not ashamed to call you His brother or sister. The life you live is by His faith, not your own fluctuating certainty. His present ministry as High Priest is to bring you into the glory that is already yours in Him. There is no pressure to advance or mature into this reality; it is your state. You are not working toward union; you are living from it. Christ, your Captain, has perfected the path and leads you into the inheritance. Re-anchor here. The pressure is off. Your destiny is to reign with Him, not because you have striven enough, but because you are in Him. Let this truth be a stabilizing landing place, not a challenge to undertake. Christ is your life, your righteousness, and your reward.