Galatians 2:20 says that we are “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.”
While the basic meaning of this passage of scripture is fairly easy to comprehend, it’s easy to miss the enormous freedom that this passage gives to those who follow Christ.
Obviously, we haven’t been literally “crucified” with Christ and we are “alive” humanly speaking (or it’d be pretty spooky with me writing and you reading this)…so, what does it really mean? Well, being crucified WITH Christ means that whatever He did on that cross, we are tied to, we were a part of, and we are beneficiaries of. What did He do?…well, He defeated sin, He ripped the vale of the temple, defeating the old law. So, first point…we, those who surrender to Christ, are participants in His defeating of sin and the old law.
Second, because we are connected to Christ, we also receive His new life that was after the crucifixion…meaning we not only defeated sin and the law, we now live FREE from sin and the law. The New International Greek Testament Commentary tells us:
“Having died with Christ in his death, the believer now lives with Christ in his life—i.e. his resurrection life. In fact, this new life in Christ is nothing less than the risen Christ living his life in the believer.”
Think about that for a minute…the very same power that raised Christ from the dead, defeating the power of sin forever, now resides IN YOU!
So friends, we are not only covered for our sins, past, present and future…we are filled with power to defeat sin that creeps into our life. Paul said that “the life I now live in the body, I live by faith…” That means, “flesh” (sin) no longer controls us…our faith in Jesus empowers us to live a NEW life, filled with joy, filled with victory.
Having a bad day, disappointed in yourself, feeling hopeless, REMEMBER that you who have surrendered yourself to Him are no longer a slave to this earth and your old self. Never, ever, ever, will you have to worry that you are disconnected from the God who made you. He lives in you, He gives you power, and regardless of how bleak life gets, You (through Christ) will win for all of eternity…forever!
That. Is. Grace. That. Is. God. That. Is. The. Gospel!!!!!!!!!
