Paul had described himself as having been crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20). He was dead to the world through the death of Christ, dead to sin, to worldly ambition, and to all the worldly principles and motives. But he might have been asked, "Was he really dead?*' and, in Col. 3:1, he answers that, like Christ, he had received a new life, having been raised with him, as he had been crucified with him. This was the resurrection life by which he had become transformed, and was a new creature in Christ Jesus. It was this that Augustine meant when he was greeted by a dissolute companion of his youth, whom he had passed on the street without recognition. "August, it is I, do you not know me?" He replied: "I am August no longer." Having become a Christian (risen with Christ) he had abandoned all his old life with its companions and associations.
