Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Gal 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
I am crucified with Christ.
What exactly does that mean?
It goes on to say...
Nevertheless I live, yet NOT I, but Christ liveth in me.
To be crucified is to be killed. If a person is killed yet they live, we have to ask ourselves how that is possible. You can't kill something and have it live, killed means dead, no longer living. Yet Christ was crucified. Christ was murdered and yet He lived. As the Son of God a miracle was performed. God raised His Son back to life accepting His sacrifice for all of mankind giving mankind hope of eternal life. When we are crucified and yet we live, what does it mean? We aren't killed and then brought back to life. If we are crucified with Christ it has to mean something in us is killed, something in us dies so that Christ can live in us. What is it in us that dies? What are we crucifying, or what is being crucified? I. The I in us is being crucified. Self. The part in us we use to say I am. We cannot save ourselves, Christ must save us, Christ must live in us through faith. Christ lives, and it is Christ in us living that is righteous, not anything of ourselves. Christ living in us is the grace He gives to us, the hope He gives to us. Christ has to live in us by faith. The love of the Son of God was manifest in His dying for us, taking on our sins and being crucified. We could die a million deaths and none of them would warrant a thing because we have no righteousness. Christ's death gives us eternal life, His righteousness alone saves us. It is only through His death that we can live. To be crucified with Christ means any part in us that believes it is righteous has to die.
We cannot frustrate the grace of God and we do frustrate it when we believe that by our own actions we are saved eternally. We frustrate the grace of God when we believe anything we do is righteous in His eyes and warrants anything at all. Only Christ's righteousness brings salvation. Christ is dead in vain if we believe our own righteous acts can save us.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord we live only in Him. All praise and glory, all honor to Him now and forever. In His righteousness alone may we be crucified with Him so that we may live in Him forever.
Amen.
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