Our Death on the Cross and New Life in Christ

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Scripture: Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

20 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

Devotion:

            In this scripture we find Paul telling us that he has been crucified with Christ. This is puzzling to us today. Paul obviously has not literally be crucified. He is standing here making this declaration. What does this saying mean? The rest of the verse gives us some evidence about which Paul is talking about.

            Paul is referring to his death to the sin nature as the author of the New American commentary says :” Elsewhere Paul used the expression “to die to” not only with reference to the law but also in relation to the self, sin, and the world.192 In each of these cases Paul meant that his relationship to these entities—self, sin, world, law—had been so decisively altered by his union with Christ that they no longer control, dominate, or define his existence.[1]” So we can see that Paul is not thinking of his physical death, but a kind of spiritual death which is a deposit or a guarantee of his eternal life in heaven with Christ.

            This begs the question can we live this life in our present lives? Or was this only possible for the apostle or other “super” Christians. I know most Christians would love to live a life that is dead to sin and alive to God, myself included. The truth of the matter is that we weakened humans are extremely aware of our sins and shortcomings in this life and we have become discouraged that our life can ever be victorious like Paul or the other saints through the ages. We doubt our ability to live up to the examples of such recent saints like Pope Saint John Paul II and Mother Theresa.

            Yet the scripture here and elsewhere seems to hold out hope that we too may be changed into Christians who live a victorious life over the powers of self, sin, and the world. The first requirement must I believe must be time. Paul did not become an apostle overnight he spent years preparing for the ministry we see him doing in the pages of the Bible. So, we must be kind to ourselves and not try to hurry the process that the spirit is working within us.

            Faith, relentless faith is the other most needed element in the transformation into the kind of Christian we know that God wants us to be. Hardships, setbacks, and opposition are all needed building blocks to having the kind of Christian men and women that can live truly dedicated lives to our Lord and Savior in these difficult time.

Prayer:

            Lord grant us the audacity of hope needed to serve you in truly outstanding ways. This world is in danger of losing faith in you. Restore unto us the joy of your salvation and the power of a life lived filled with the Holy Spirit. Empower us to live lives that show forth the love and healing power that the early disciples had. Strengthen us for the battle ahead. Amen.


192 See C. F. D. Moule, “Death ‘To Sin,’ ‘To Law,’ and ‘To the World’: A Note on Certain Datives,” Mélanges Bibliques en hommage au R. P. Béda Rigaux (Gembloux: Duculot, 1970), 367–75.

[1] Timothy George, Galatians, vol. 30, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 199.

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