Before the Crown, There Must Be the Cross.
When Jesus called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” (Mark 8:35)
Before Christ can reign effectively through the lives of His believers, He must first reign in us. There can be no true evidence of the presence of the King through a life in which self still occupies the throne. When self is dethroned, Christ takes His rightful place, and His will becomes greater than our own desires, ambitions, and natural strength.
This is where true spiritual authority begins. The surrendered life becomes the yielded vessel through which the life of Christ can be revealed. We are to no longer seek to accomplish the purposes of the Father through any strength of ourself, but learn to depend upon the power of His indwelling life. The pathway to reigning with Jesus Christ will never be through the exaltation of self, but its surrender.
Before there is the crown, there must be the cross; before Christ can reign through us, He must be allowed to reign in us.
For further study, see: https://disciplesofchrist.co.uk/before-there-is-a-coronation-there-must-be-an-abdication/