Crucified With Christ

“I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside God’s grace, because if righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing!” Galatians 2:20-21 NET

Paul, in his introspection, comes to a profound realization-there is nothing inherently good in his flesh, his ‘human effort,’ as he puts it, ‘profits nothing.’ The laws, rules, and ordinances, initially established by the law of Moses (and given to Moses by God Himself), serve to underscore the insignificance of human effort in fulfilling the law. This realization, humbling and profound, highlights the need for divine intervention in matters of the law.

The fact that Jesus fulfilled the law of Moses in its entirety gives Paul (and everyone, for that matter) the assurance that we can put our complete trust and confidence in Jesus to be our propitiation (our scapegoat). He bears the penalties for all our sins in His body (past, present, and future sins). That way, our heavenly Father may completely forgive us. This was the price paid on our behalf in the death of Jesus; this plan, established by the wisdom of God before the creation of the world, is a testament to the Father’s divine foresight and planning, leaving us in awe of His wisdom. God could do what we could not do.

Being crucified with Christ is understanding that our old sinful nature is now dead and was figuratively or metaphorically placed on the cross that Jesus died on. Because we reckon that our sinful nature is dead, we enter this reality through baptism by laying down (burying) the old nature under the water. When we come out of the water, we are raised (resurrected) to new life in Jesus Christ. This new life is one of security and guidance, as we are now living in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, not our own. We have nothing to give to God that He would accept other than the empty vessel for Him to fill, and in His righteousness, we find our security and guidance in His presence.

Depending on the translation, the verse says, “I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God.” In Greek, it is much more emphatic, which it could be better rendered as “I stand in the faith of the Son of God.” Paul doesn’t give himself any credit for having faith, but he trusts that the faith of Jesus is his strength to stand, Christ in him is to live, move, and be who he is. This verse emphasizes the central theme of the role of Jesus' faith in Paul's life.

Paul also says, “I do not set aside God’s grace…” It is his way of saying that it is the mercy of God that we aren’t destroyed. God’s mercy makes us a great salvation in Jesus, God’s son. Our salvation is totally up to God’s mercy, not based on our efforts or opinions. God chose to create a means to create a glorious end. The means was that He came as the son of God for the express purpose of becoming the second Adam; he made all things, and all things hold together through him. The end is that all things genuinely belong to and will return to Him; the earth and all creation were created for His glory; we participate in His creation by recognizing God’s glory in everything we do. However, when we lose track of the glory of God, we allow the world and the flesh to cloud our thinking and bring confusion, we risk straying from the path of righteousness which is Jesus Himself.

The end of the above verse emphasizes that if the law of Moses could achieve the grace of God, then Jesus died for no reason. This highlights the insignificance of our personal knowledge in the face of Jesus' salvation. Even if we have seminary training or a background in biblical studies, we cannot rely on what we know to save us. It is Jesus alone who has become our salvation, a truth that should inspire awe and respect.

My thoughts about this verse are as follows: Jesus died, so I died. But His resurrection was not just a distant event; it was a personal connection that brought me to new life in Christ. Like Paul, Christ lives in me to will and do His good pleasure in and through me so that I may benefit from the joy imparted to me through my relationship with Jesus and others that Christ may shine in their lives also may benefit from what He wants to do in their lives. My ongoing desire (like Paul's) was that through my obedience to Christ, I may grow into all aspects of Christ alongside my brothers and sisters in our mutual belief in our Savior.

I have come to realize that salvation is not about me at all, its about Jesus and what He wants to accomplish in the earth through His bride, (not individually) we are all connected corporately through our shared belief in Christ. Together we comprise a holy priesthood of believers which has the distinction of being called God’s sons and daughters.

As we begin to operate in the gifts and the fruit of the spirit, we begin to express the transformative love of God for each other through these God-centered love gifts that He gives us. This is how Jesus is supernaturally expressed in our natural world and how we are changed from glory to glory. In the end, it's not about us; it is totally about Jesus and His love for humanity, which has the power to transform us and the entire world.

Stephen Barnett