THE OLD 'I' MUST BE ABSOLUTELY CRUCIFIED Part 1

The wisdom of the fathers

THE OLD 'I' MUST BE ABSOLUTELY CRUCIFIED Part 1

That is what Paul is talking about in Galatians 2:20. Nobody can die partially. Either a person is dead or he is alive. This is much like drinking a glass of water with poison in it. That glass does not have to be filled 100 percent with poison to kill you. Even if only 1 percent of the liquid is poison, it will do the trick. In fact, if only 1 percent of the liquid is poison, the glass is the more dangerous because the poison is less obvious. A glass with 100 percent poison will kill you outright. A glass with 1 percent poison will kill you for sure, but death will be slower and drawn out and more painful.

In our Christian experience, if there is still some small shred of the old 'I', the danger is great, that little bit will destroy just as surely as if the entire self were poison. The old self must go in its entirety and the new must come in its entirety. The 'I' of the old self is crucified. We are dead, yet we are alive as we have never been before. It is not our life but the life of our blessed Redeemer that permeates every essence of our being. Through this crucifixion of self, the life of Christ CAN be made practical, workable and liveable in this present world in the lives of Christians. TO BE CONTINUED

(from "The Crucified Life" by A.W. Tozer)