What does it mean to die to self?

Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done (Luke 22:42, KJV)

Jesus taught that the way to life is death. A  mandatory requirement for a living and vibrant Christian life is dying to self. We have heard it referred to in many ways “ denying yourself”, “dying to self”, “killing the old man”, “surrendering to God” ,etc. Sadly enough, this has often been portrayed in a wrong manner, that has rather frightened people rather than encourage them to seek to live a completely surrendered life to Christ. 

Jesus shows us a practical example of what it means to die to self in the verse above. He came to die, but when the moment of death came, His humanity rejected the idea. As a Man, He had the same weak human nature we have except without sin. No human being will face death with joy. He did not want to die just like every other human being. However, He knew the will of the Father who was living in Him as the Holy Spirit just as He lives in us today. It was a struggle between God’s will and the will of a human being.

Surrender simply means giving up what we would want to do and following what God wants, knowing He is wiser. Dying to self is not self-hate. It is recognizing that our current human condition is plagued with weakness, and there are many things it will want things that are against God’s will.  Dying to self means knowing His will and willingly deciding to do what He wants. It might sometimes hurt, but it will prove itself to be the best choice. Following our own will against God is a sure course to suffering. Ask Adam and Eve, and they will give you a lengthy lecture!

Dying to self is your key to enjoying eternal life.

MEDITATE

Was Jesus sinning when His human nature was no “so excited about doing what God wanted Him to do?” was this struggle between God and “human nature” or flesh unique to Jesus?

APPLY THE WORD

The Lord once told me that if I do not die, many things will die in my life. He was speaking to me specifically about my wife. He meant if  I do not die, I will kill my relationship with her because I will always demand my way. The same applies to you. Good things will die in your life if you do not die! The way to life is dying to self and allowing God’s will to run in your life.

PRAY

Ask the Spirit to help you surrender completely to Him, even in those moments when it hurts to do so. 

Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you. (Leviticus 20:7–8, KJV)

As the Great I AM that I AM, God revealed Himself as the Lord who sanctifies His people in the Old Covenant—Jehovah Mekaddishkem. But this was only a shadow of something greater that was coming in the New Testament.

Jehovah Mekaddishkem is the English transliteration of the Hebrew words for “I am the Lord which sanctify you” ( “mekaddish” = sanctify, “kem” = you). Divine names and titles in the Old Testament often reveal an aspect of God in relation to His people.

There are three keywords that underlie the meaning of sanctification: “wash,” “consecrate,” and “separate.” Sanctification essentially means to make something holy. Sinlessness is a core aspect of holiness, but there is more to holiness than sinlessness. It is the very nature of God. However, when used in reference to us humans, it means to be cleaned from sin, set apart for God, and consecrated to Him.

In the passage above, God tells the people first to sanctify themselves and then reveals He is the One who sanctifies them. Thus, He gives us the two sides of sanctification—the God side and the human side. There’s something God does and something His people do for their sanctification.

This truth was only a shadow in the Old Testament. It is in Christ that we see God fully revealed as Jehovah Mekaddishkem to His people through the sanctifying work on the cross. In speaking to the Corinthians, Paul revealed,

“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11, KJV)

This is Jehovah Mekaddishkem fulfilled in Christ: We were washed and sanctified. Note that these are in past tense, describing something God has already done. The day you received Christ, you received the bath of your life, a heavenly bath by the Spirit of God that removed every stain of sin through the precious blood of Christ. And as you continue to live on earth, the Spirit continues to sanctify you daily.

Following the sanctifying work He has already done in us, He commands us,

“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:” (1 Thessalonians 4:3, KJV)

Now that you are clean, washed, and sanctified, He tells us to put that sanctification to work outwardly. Paul explicit states it is what God wants—His will. He gives us a very specific example of sanctification here: abstain from sexual immorality. Few things defile us, like sexual impurity. But sanctification certainly includes more than abstaining from fornication or adultery. As above, it includes living a consecrated and separated life to God daily in the way we talk, act, think, feel, and handle our bodies.

He is Jehovah Mekaddishkem, the God who has Sanctified you in Christ and continues to sanctify you every day.

Meditate

Is our sanctification completed, ongoing, or both?

Apply the Word

This is the crucial part of this devotional. Until you receive the truth that God has already sanctified you by His Spirit, you will not be empowered to be sanctified practically. Put God’s sanctification power to work in your life daily by faith in the finished work of Christ.

Pray

Ask the Lord to help you in your daily walk of sanctification.

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