I hope you enjoy this post. It is my reflections on the ever popular verse, Galatians 2:20. Until next time...
"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."
This one time action of dying with Christ has on going affects into the future, which is why Paul is able to move into the present tense and say that “It is no longer I who live (present tense), but Christ who lives (present tense) in me. That one time past action of being crucified with Christ merits us the present activity of the life of the Son of God operating and living through us. Our sinful nature has been replaced with the life of Jesus. We are infused with Christ- so much so that we are one with Him. The passive indicates that this was not Paul’s doing. It was by no effort of his. No works of the law. Rather, it is because of his dying with Christ that he is now dead to the law. The passive indicates that it was God’s doing. It was because of the death of Christ that the old man in Paul has lost all of its governing power.
So it is with us. Through the death of Christ, God has taken away the old man out of all of His elect children. We are no longer in Adam, but in Christ. We have a new identity, and with that new identity comes a new way of life. A life that is free from the burden of law. A life that is free from the power of sin and self. Our whole being is now made one with Jesus. This means that we now carry out our life in the flesh in a different manner. Where as before, all our eyes could do is gaze upon sin; all our minds could do was think upon sin; all our ears could do was listen to the evil one; all our hands were quick to do evil; and all our feet were swift to run towards wickedness. However, through our dying with Christ and the infusion of His very life, our body now becomes an instrument of righteousness for the Holy Spirit to show the life of Christ through. We now have the mind of Christ. That divine mind that understood the things of God; that divine mind that was in tune with the Great Way of God in heaven; that divine mind that perceived the will of the Father. We now have his purity living through us. That purity that was able to gaze upon the moral perfection of God, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” With Christ purity and morality living in us, we are now able to see Him. Our hands build up rather than destroy. Our feet run in the ways of God, rather than trod the path of the heathens. We are no longer alienated from the life of God. Through Christ, the old man; the one held captive by deceitful lust and hardness of heat, has been replaced by the new man, ie- Christ in you the hope of glory. We now live this life out by faith in the Son of God, ie simple trust that the life of Christ is sufficient for every victory.
I no longer have to live up to a law; I no longer have to try to over come sin. Rather, I submit, by simple faith, to the life of the Son of God in me. As I do, Jesus rises up every time and subdues sin in me. I become invisible, and He becomes manifest. Now that my will is free to obey Christ, I must throw off this old man, and let Christ have His perfect way in me. This only happens as we abide. As we abide in Him and He in us, Jesus Christ becomes the dominant theme of our life. As we abide, we let the merits of His atonement exercise its power over the totality of our lives. As the death of Christ keeps us hidden, His resurrection life becomes displayed in all avenues of life. So much so that we are not even aware of the glory that is radiating through us.
We must look away from our own person. Christ and my conscience must become one, so that I can see nothing else but Christ crucified and raised from the dead for me. If I keep on looking at myself, I am gone………Since Christ is now living in me, He abolishes the Law, condemns sin, and destroys death in me. These foes vanish in His presence. Christ abiding in me drives out every evil. This union with Christ delivers me from the demands of the Law, and separates me from my sinful self. As long as I abide in Christ, nothing can hurt me……….Faith connects me so intimately with Christ, that He and I become as it were one person. As such I may boldly say: "I am now one with Christ. Therefore Christ's righteousness, victory, and life are mine." On the other hand, Christ may say: "I am that big sinner. His sins and his death are mine, because he is joined to me, and I to him." - Martin Luther.