“He Died For Us That We Might Live For Him”

“Why did Christ die for us?” is a very simple 6 word question that yields many Scriptural answers for us…
1.  To Become Sin For Us (2 Cor 5:21)
2.  To Please His Heavenly Father (Isa 53:10)
3.  To Show The Father’s Love For Us (1 John 5:8)
4.  To Set The Perfect Example of Self Sacrifice (1 Peter 2:21)
5.  To Give Us Eternal Spiritual Life (Jon 20:31)
6.  To Show His Love For Us (Eph 5:2)
7.  To Liberate Us From Our Sin (Rom 6:22-23)
8.  To Give Us Peace With God (Rom 5:1-2)
9.  To Bring Us To God (1 Pet 3:18)
10.  To Fulfill The OT Law (Matt 5:17)

… the  list goes on and on

In this study, we will be looking at another reason why the Lord died for us…. so that we might live for Him…

THE SCRIPTURES:

2 Corinthians 5:14-17

THE STUDY:

14) For the love of Christ constraineth us;
The sacrificial love that compelled Christ to give His life for us, now works in our life as a controlling force that surrounds and restrains us.

because we thus judge, 
Why does Christ’s love affect us in such ways?  We examine His love thoroughly and make judgments based upon it:

that if one died for all, then were all dead:
Judgment #1
If Christ died for all His people, that is proof that all His people were fallen, sinful, spiritually dead individuals.  His death on the cross establishes that those for whom He died were spiritually dead and in need of a substitutionary sacrifice to escape the wrath of God.  If we were not all dead in sins, then it would have been unnecessary for Him to die for us.   Surely, choosing to die such a heinous death for His people proves their lost condition and desperate need of a Savior.

15) And [that] he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
Judgment #2
If Christ died for all His people, His people are then indebted to give their lives for Him.  Instead of continuing on the path of selfish living that characterized their life prior to salvation, those for whom He died are to live their lives as “living sacrifices” for His glory.  It only makes sense, if He gave His life for us, do we not owe Him our lives in return?

One aspect of His death and resurrection is the visual example that He set for us.  He pictured our change of lifestyle by His death, which pictured our selfish rebellious life being put to death, while His resurrection pictured our new life of sacrificial service for Him.

16) Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we [him] no more.
Judgment #3
After recognizing our need to give our all for Christ, we now can make our final determination… No longer can we look at other men dwelling on earth as our final, ultimate authority to obey.  Christ now comes first and our obedience to other earthly authorities must take a back seat to Christ’s will for our lives.

As Paul says this he recognizes that in the past, Christ dwelled on the earth in His flesh, however, He no longer does so.  This does not affect our need to place Him first in our lives.  His departure from the earth does not minimize our need to obey Him, instead it now emphasizes it for us, because He is now at the right hand of God the Father, ruling over all.

17) Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Based upon our recognition that:
1.  Christ died for us when we were in desperate need of a Savior.
2.  Since Christ died for us, we are indebted to be living sacrifices for Him.
3.  Although He is no longer with us on earth, we are to place Him first in our lives, He is reigning over all at the right hand of God in heaven.

…we are driven to the conclusion, that if we are the recipients of His gracious salvation and united with Christ by faith, we have become freshly created by Him (given a new nature).   The new nature that God’s people receive causes their old lifestyle of sin and rebellion to be neglected and relinquished; while a new lifestyle is developed that is now characterized by righteousness.

THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION:

Why did the Lord die for us?  So that we might recognize our desperate condition, our indebtedness to Him, His position over us as our Lord and Savior, and our receipt of a new nature, which allows us to joyfully choose to live a new lifestyle in Him.

May we all take time to consider all that He has done for us, and choose to publicly declare we are new creatures in Him through a lifestyle of submission to His will for our lives.

May the Lord bless you as you seek His truth.

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