Galatians 2:20. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
The truths of Galatians 2:20 go beyond anything taught by any other faith ever — the truth of our union with Christ, and thus, our union with God. Let’s break it down, shall we?
I have been crucified with Christ: On the day Jesus died on the cross, you died with him. Not physically, but spiritually, you were crucified along with Christ. This is a glorious and foundational truth for the Christian life — we have died with Christ. And yet this is one of the hardest truths for Christians to appropriate. We must stop trying to die daily to sin. Christian, you have died to sin once for all time.
It is no longer I who live: God does not use a moral improvement program to transform us — only death and resurrection. The remaining sinful flesh inside of us will only yield to our co-crucifixion with Christ. All of our resolutions and commitments will never work. Only co-crucifixion with Christ works. There is no other way to deny the self and deal with the Old Man except to see him as dead.
But Christ who lives in me: This is the historic, crucified Jesus now living his life spiritually through us, through our bodies and the Body (Church). This is the key to everything in the Christian life — Christ lives in me! It is his life that perpetually produces life in me. A life that is “dead to the law and alive to God” (2:19).
The life I now live in the flesh: Here now is the tension: I died, yet I still live. The fact that the Old Man has been crucified does not erase the true me. “I now live.” Yes, and amen! Christ doesn’t live instead of me; he lives through me. Christ is alive. You are alive. Your two lives are joined together into one life.
I live by faith in the Son of God: This faith is the essence of life. It is our new instinct. Faith in what? Faith in the person of the Son of God. Christian faith is not a way to get God to do something new, nor is it a way to have a spiritual experience beyond your union with the death and resurrection of Christ.
who loved me and gave himself for me: This is the Christian life —living each and every moment in faith that Jesus’ love and sacrifice are all I need, and then living out that same love and sacrifice toward others. When we lose sight of this, we default back to law keeping, away from grace, and into the pride of the flesh.
You: To what degree are you appropriating the life of Christ on a daily basis?
You in Christ: Which part of Galatians 2:20 stands out to you the most? Why?
Christ in you: What might a life of faith in “the Son of God who loves you” look like today?
Pray: Father, my union with Christ is union with you and your love. By your Spirit let these amazing truths go ever deeper into my heart. Amen.
