Christ Lives in Me

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Scripture: Galatians 2:19-21 (NIV)

19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been 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. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

Devotion:

            Paul, in today’s scripture, has written words that are such good news for us. He is explaining here what has happened to him since he believed on Jesus. The wonderful freedom of a life given over entirely to the savior. Paul is declaring that Jesus’ death was not in vain but instead has purchased eternal salvation for all who will humbly come in faith to Jesus. Paul’s words here are emphatic that the law never made anyone right with God. Righteousness is only found in the power of Jesus death on the cross.

            In verse 19 Paul explains that death to the law is a necessary precondition to living for God. We must all come to God as sinners incapable of saving ourselves. Realizing that we are far from what God would have us become. We must allow God to reach out with arms of love to save us from sin and its result, death. We know that God loves to perform this operation. It is in God’s nature to love his creation especially those humans he created in his image.

            Then we come to verse 20. One of the most quoted verses in all of Galatians, and for good reason. It is a dramatic verse that claims a dramatic salvation that happens when a believer first trusts in Jesus as savior. Paul, in this verse, declares that he has been “crucified with Christ” meaning he been changed by the power of the cross. Moving from death to life in the savior. Paul is not saying that he no longer has sin nature within him, but that Christ’s nature is now the controlling force behind how he lives out his life. In this verse we have Paul declaring that God’s love for him (and by extension all believers) is so great that God has come to dwell within him.

            The following verse simply informs us that this grace filled gift of salvation must be so, because if Christ’s death is not enough to save us, we have believed in vain. Christ’s death on the cross was meaningless, and we are still in our sins. We should be encouraged that our faith is really effective. We can rejoice in the fact that we are really loved, redeemed, and saved by God through Christ Jesus in whom we have faith.

Prayer:

            Holy God, thank you that we can have eternal salvation through your son, Jesus. We thank you that we can be crucified with Christ and be born again in him. We praise your holy name that Jesus took our sins upon the cross and triumphed over them. We worship you because you raised him from the grave and you raise us from bondage to sin and death. Glory be to you, Heavenly Father, for providing such a great salvation. Amen.

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