Crucified with Christ

July 4, 2:12 AMIndianapolis Christian Issues ExaminerJim Pappas

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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.[1]

When we were born again we received the benefit of the work Jesus Christ did on the cross and the work of his resurrection by faith. When we were water baptized, we undertook an act of symbolic recognition of what Jesus did for us. As we were lowered into the water, we were receiving the death of Christ Jesus. Just as he became obedient unto death, we are symbolizing our obedience of sacrificing our old fleshly, mortal (sin-ruled) nature. As we were raised out of the water, usually lifted up by someone else (representing the power of God), we symbolized the act of Jesus’ resurrection by the power of God.

Thus, we show ourselves to be new creatures in Christ Jesus, committed to walking in Christ Jesus; no longer given over to the whims of the natural, fleshly desires, but walking reborn following the example of Jesus our Lord.

Often we struggle against our flesh to walk as Jesus walked. Could this be because we never appropriated the fullness of what Jesus did for us? When we were born again, and enacted through baptism, we gave up our old life and said, “Jesus, come live in me. Rule and reign in my heart as Lord of my life. Be my Savior and save me from not only my sin, but also deliver me from my sinful nature.”

We believe by faith that our old nature is dead, yet the temptations and the pull of the fallen world around us strive to pull us back through the grave of the death of our old nature and into our fleshly, carnal way of living again.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, after Adam willingly sinned (and we likewise followed his example), there was only one kind of person, a sinner. We were all sinners, and unless we walk perfectly as Jesus did, we are still sinners. Having been born again, we have become sinners saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus (Ehpesians 2:8). The old nature wants to emphasize the sinner part of our nature because we have not yet received our glorified bodies. The new nature says, “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.”[1]

When we received the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior we were spiritually renewed, yet, we still must continually renew our mind, and our flesh is still of this world. We must continuously choose to follow Christ Jesus our Lord or choose to follow some other way with every decision we make. We must keep our eyes on the one who willingly gave his sinless life for us because of his deep, unwavering and pure love for us. We must remember that Jesus bought our lives with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20) and we were even given a say in accepting the purchase, hence, we became born again. Therefore, our lives are not our own, but belong to Christ Jesus whom we willingly received into our hearts and gave him the right not only to permanent residence, but Lordship. He now legally resides in our hearts and desires to bring forth his life through each one of us.

We do not have the power on our own to live a life that truly reflects his love and glory, but Christ Jesus in us does. To keep this fresh in our minds, so we remember to rely on Christ Jesus in us to live a life that glorifies his name and his kingdom, we will use Galatians 2:20 in our daily confessions.

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.[1]

For our actual confession, we will use the Amplified Bible translation, which gives the full impact of what this verse really means.

I have been crucified with Christ-[in Him] I have shared His crucifixion; it is no longer I who live, but Christ, the Messiah, lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith-by adherence to and reliance on and [complete] trust-in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20, Amplified Bible)

1 The Holy Bible : King James Version. electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version. Bellingham WA : Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995, S. Ga 2:20