Section 10
accomplished by Christ's death, it was neces sary for them to bear the cross and deny the soul life.
In 9:23 the Lord says, "If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." The cross here is not merely a suffering; it is also a kill ing. It kills and terminates the criminal. Christ first bore the cross and then was crucified. We, His believers, have first been crucified with Him and then bear the cross today. To us, bearing the cross is to remain under the kill ing of the death of Christ for the terminating of our self, our natural life, and our old man. In so doing we deny our self that we may follow the Lord.
Before the Lord's crucifixion, the disciples followed Him in an outward way. But after His resurrection, we follow Him in an inward way. Because in resurrection He has become the life- giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45) dwelling in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22), we follow Him in our spirit (Gal. 5:16-25).
LOSING OUR SOUL LIFE
In Luke 9:24 the Lord goes on to say, "For whoever wants to save his soul life will lose it,