Not after the cross, yet before he taught how we were already annihilated. Matthew 19 the rich man and Christ, and after that rich man walked away sad, the disciples asked, how can anyone make it to heaven? They were annihilated, condemned saw no way od any self-effort to go to heaven unless of coarse if they had gouged out their eyes, to never again lust, or cut off their hands, to never again steal, or their tongue to never again talk bad out of one side of their mouth, and then bless out of the other side.
And Christ replied with: With man it is impossible, and you all, that is still true to this very day, and yet man is just a running around working hard as can be, to get others and God to be pleased by what they are doing or not doing, what a deception from the flesh life of look at me.
Jesus then said but with God all things are possible. So under the Law as was then as Christ had not yet gone to the cross, he was fulfilling the Law and Prophets and showing us that none of us can, by expounding on the law that if I just look at a woman with lust in my eye, I have already committed the act in from God's point of view, I need this God that Jesus talked of that said with God all things are possible. Now this part of the truth that was not yet revealed was and is revealed after the cross
If one wants new life here and now, today. Then just maybe instead of trying to be imitators of Christ, just maybe be participators. Starting at the death of Christ go and die with Christ to self, one self, and soak on this as Paul did, he considered himself dead to himself with Christ, the further identification of this self death with Christ, the more the reality of the resurrected Christ came to life in Paul, and giving no credit to himself, all credit to God through the resurrection of Christ where life is found, but not unless one dies to themselves with Christ.
Therefore Paul was able to say
Galatians 2:20
I have been
crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
And this is not just for Paul, it is for all of us that are willing to die to themselves, deeper and deeper, thus experienced the new life deeper and deeper. God has offered as a free gift the escape from hell, by either you believe God or you don't
All in love to you all