GOD MADE HIM WHO HAD NO SIN TO BE SIN FOR US, SO THAT IN HIM WE MIGHT BECOME THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD
(2 Corinthians 5:21).

The Lord Jesus had no sin, but then He took our sin upon His own body. He did not take our sinful reactions on Himself, but the cause of our sinful reactions—the OLD MAN body of sin. After He took the OLD MAN—the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies—upon His own body, He was crucified. Thus, the OLD MAN body of sin was crucified with Him and in Him. After three days the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead by the Glory of the Father…without the OLD MAN body of sin. During His death, an exchange had taken place in Him—the OLD MAN body of sin was replaced with the NEW MAN body of Righteousness. He became sin for us…and then He became our Righteousness.

KNOW YE NOT, THAT SO MANY OF US AS WERE BAPTIZED INTO JESUS CHRIST WERE BAPTIZED INTO HIS DEATH? THEREFORE WE ARE BURIED WITH HIM BY BAPTISM INTO DEATH: THAT LIKE AS CHRIST WAS RAISED UP FROM THE DEAD BY THE GLORY OF THE FATHER, EVEN SO WE ALSO SHOULD WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE. FOR IF WE HAVE BEEN PLANTED TOGETHER IN THE LIKENESS OF HIS DEATH, WE SHALL BE ALSO IN THE LIKENESS OF HIS RESURRECTION: KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, THAT THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DESTROYED, THAT HENCEFORTH WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN
(Romans 6:3-6).

When we are baptized, we enter into the exchange that took place in the Lord Jesus.  While we are submerged in the baptismal water, we are placed in a spiritual realm where we merge with the Lord Jesus, in death, to undergo a replacement of life. In this spiritual medium, the transaction that took place during the death and rising of the Lord Jesus is transferred to us. Under the water, our OLD MAN body of sin is crucified with the Lord Jesus and exchanged for the NEW MAN body of Righteousness. The OLD is taken off and the NEW is put on. Thus, we rise with the Lord Jesus to walk in newness of Life.

AND IF CHILDREN, THEN HEIRS; HEIRS OF GOD, AND JOINT-HEIRS WITH CHRIST; IF SO BE THAT WE SUFFER WITH HIM, THAT WE MAY BE ALSO GLORIFIED TOGETHER
(Romans 8:7).

You are ready to be baptized when you are tired of living a life of sinfully reacting to the OLD MAN–the negative, destructive beliefs deposited in your mind by the father-of-lies. During your baptism, your OLD MAN is crucified with the Lord Jesus. Thus, you are offered a new Life—the very Life of the Lord Jesus Christ, but in your body, soul, and spirit.

PRAYER: “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:2-5).