I have been crucified with Christ
From the booklet “Rest in God,” published in 1950
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“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live . . . .” Galatians 2:20.
This is the key word of Scripture for obtaining rest in God. If we believe this word, which, unfortunately, is highly unusual, then this word is self-explanatory. However, this is precisely what people in general do not believe. Instead of believing it, they explain it away, and thus they explain away their own glorious salvation from wretchedness and shut themselves out of the rest in God into which some must enter. May you who are reading these lines be among these “some!”
Why not rather enter into this rest than continue to remain in all the evil and tiresome unrest and all the unnecessary, self-inflicted torment that is a consequence of your unbelief?
The truth is simple, straightforward, and crystal clear. The old man is the source of all unrest. When, by a living faith in the Word that is written in Romans 6:6, he is crucified with Christ and put off in reality (Ephesians 4:22), all unrest is bound to cease, and rest will necessarily replace it.
A striking illustration in connection with this deep mystery is the well-known phrase used in obituaries: “John Doe has entered into rest.” (That is, by dying.) Look at Galatians 2:20 and Romans 6:7 now!
What remains a mystery and unknown (because of unbelief) is that by a living faith it is possible to die while we are still living in this body. We can die to sin and thus to the manifold unrest in our hearts and minds while the body is laboring under the bondage of corruption. A person who is set free from sin and unrest does not really belong in such a body. The word divides and separates, and we also hope soon to be forever free from this corruptible body. Hallelujah!
The greatest thing that can happen to a person during his sojourn on earth is that it can truly be said of him that he has entered into rest while he is in his perishable body.
