Dying to Self – When?

The phrase “dying to self” isn’t found verbatim in the Bible. It’s a theological shorthand, a way of gathering together Jesus’ call to “take up your cross” (Mark 8:34), his teaching that “whoever loses his life for me will find it” (Matt 16:25), Paul’s claim that “we died to sin” (Rom 6:2), and “I have been crucified with Christ” (Gal 2:20). Together, these images point to a central truth: the Christian life involves a death.

In much Protestant reflection, this “death to self” is seen as a decisive moment — a conversion decision. It’s the point where we stop trying to fix or save ourselves and entrust our lives to Jesus as Saviour and Lord. At that moment, the Spirit takes up residence, and from then on we experience the Spirit’s fruit: love, joy, peace, and the rest (Gal 5:22–23).

But what if dying to self is not just a one-time decision? What if the believer is called to live in a continual, deepening surrender — a daily “little death” that shapes our whole journey, even beyond the grave?

That’s the voice of Irenaeus, the second-century bishop who was discipled by Polycarp, who was discipled by John. For Irenaeus, the Christian life is about recapitulation — Christ has lived the whole human journey, and we are invited into that same journey of death and resurrection. Our dying, then, is not complete in one decisive act. It unfolds as a lifetime of participation in Christ’s own life stages:

• Childhood → faith like a child.

• Growth → ongoing sanctification.

• Work → service and witness in the ordinary.

• Temptation → learning obedience.

• Suffering and dying → being conformed to Christ’s death.

• Resurrection → incorruptible life, already tasted in the Spirit, but awaiting fullness.

Here’s the big insight: for Irenaeus, salvation is not an instant transaction but a whole-life journey. Christ doesn’t merely cover us from the outside; by his Spirit he heals us from within, step by step, precisely because he has lived every step himself. That’s why we never stop dying — but at the same time, we never stop being made alive.