Introduction: A Declaration of Spiritual Independence
In our world today, the prevailing message is one of self-actualization. "Find yourself," the world cries. "Be true to yourself." "Follow your heart." We are encouraged from every corner to build our own identity, to promote our own brand, to be the captain of our own soul. In this cultural sea of self-promotion and self-love, the Apostle Paul's declaration in Galatians 2:20 lands like a thunderclap. It is radical, counter-cultural, and for many, completely bewildering.
Paul is writing this letter with a holy passion, a righteous anger. The churches in Galatia, which he had founded on the pure, unadulterated grace of God, were being led astray. False teachers, known as Judaizers, had infiltrated the flock, insisting that faith in Christ was not enough. They taught that to be truly right with God, one must also adhere to the old Jewish laws, particularly the rite of circumcision. They were trying to mix law with grace, works with faith, human effort with divine accomplishment.
It is in this context of defending the very heart of the Gospel that Paul makes this intensely personal and powerful statement. He is not offering a piece of abstract theology; he is baring his own soul. He is showing that Christianity is not an addition to our old life; it is a complete and total substitution. It is a declaration of independence not from God, but from the tyrannical rule of Self.
This verse is the Christian's Declaration of Life, and it unfolds in four revolutionary movements.
I. The Foundational Fact
1. The Christian life does not begin with a resolution, but with a crucifixion. Paul says, "I am crucified with Christ."
Notice the tense. It is a past event with present, ongoing reality. This is not something we are trying to achieve; it is a spiritual fact for every believer, established at the moment of our salvation.
2. What does it mean to be crucified?
Crucifixion was a Roman method of execution designed for maximum pain, shame, and public humiliation. It was a death reserved for slaves and the worst of criminals.
When Paul declares, "I am crucified," he is identifying with that shame, that finality. He is saying that the person he once was the self-righteous Pharisee, the persecutor of the church, the man who trusted in his own pedigree and religious performance-that man is dead. He was tried, found guilty, and executed in the person of Jesus Christ.
When Jesus of Nazareth was nailed to that rugged cross on Golgotha's hill, He did not die a private death. In the economy of God, He was the great representative of all who would ever believe in Him. He took your place, my place. Our sin, our rebellion, our prideful self-sufficiency-all of it was placed upon Him. God the Father, in that dark hour, did not see His beloved Son; He saw our sin. And He judged it. The gavel came down. The sentence was executed. When Christ died, the old "I" died with Him. The power of sin to condemn us was broken forever. The chains of the law, which we could never perfectly keep, were shattered. We have been legally and spiritually executed.
II. The Living Paradox
From the ashes of this execution rises the most glorious paradox: "Nevertheless I live..." Death gives way to life.
1. But this is the crucial point where so many stumble. The life we now live is not a resuscitation of the old self. It is not simply turning over a new leaf or trying harder. It is an entirely different life, from a completely different source.
2.Paul makes this crystal clear: "...yet not I, but Christ liveth in me."
This is the miracle of regeneration and the mystery of the indwelling Christ. The very life force of the resurrected Son of God now animates the believer. Imagine a lamp. It may be beautifully crafted, with a perfect bulb and a clean shade, but it is dark and useless until it is plugged into a source of power. The moment the current flows, it fulfills its purpose and shines. We are that lamp. Our efforts, our goodness, our morality are powerless to produce the light of God. But when, through faith, we are united with Christ, His life-His divine current-flows through us. It is His patience that we can exhibit, His wisdom that can guide our decisions, His love that can flow through us to others.
3. The Christian life is not a life of imitation, but a life of impartation.
We are not just trying to act like Jesus; we are allowing the life of Jesus to be lived through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the great exchange: our weakness for His strength, our emptiness for His fullness, our brokenness for His wholeness.
III. The Practical Dynamic
This sounds glorious, and it is. But how does it work on a Monday morning when the alarm clock goes off and the pressures of life descend? How do we live this out in the "flesh," in these mortal bodies with their limitations and temptations? Paul provides the practical dynamic: "...I live by the faith of the Son of God."
1. Let's look closely at the language here in the King James Version, for it is profoundly rich. It says we live by the faith of the Son of God.
While it is certainly true that we have faith in Jesus, this phrasing suggests something even deeper. It implies that we are living by means of His own faithfulness. Jesus, in His earthly life, lived in perfect, moment-by-moment trust and dependence upon the Father. It is this very quality of faith, this perfect faithfulness of Christ, that becomes the operating principle of our new life.
2. Our faith is often weak and faltering. But we are not sustained by the perfection of our own faith; we are sustained by the perfection of His.
We are trusting in the one who is eternally trustworthy. It means that when we face a trial, we access His endurance. When we face a temptation, we rely on His victory. When we are confused, we depend on His wisdom. Living by faith is a continuous act of surrender, a constant leaning on His faithfulness, not our own. It's waking up each morning and saying, "Lord, I cannot do this today. But you live in me, and I will trust in Your faithfulness to live this day through me."
IV. The Ultimate Motivation
Why would God orchestrate such a profound and costly exchange? Paul brings it all home with the most personal and moving motivation imaginable: "...who loved me, and gave himself for me."
1. After soaring to the heights of theological truth, Paul lands on the bedrock of a personal relationship.
Notice the singular pronouns: "me." He doesn't say "who loved the world," although that is true. He doesn't say "who loved the church," which is also true. He brings it down to the individual soul. "He loved me." He gave Himself for me."
2. Before the foundation of the world, the Son of God set His love upon you.
He knew your name. He knew every sin you would ever commit, every time you would fail Him, every selfish thought you would ever have. And He loved you still. His love is not a reaction to our worthiness; it is the source of it. And this love was not a passive sentiment; it was an active, sacrificial love. He gave Himself. The ultimate gift, for the least deserving.
3. This is the fuel for the crucified life.
It is the understanding that I am so profoundly and personally loved by the King of the Universe that I can gladly surrender the sordid throne of my own heart to Him. Why would I want to live for myself when the one who lives in me is the one who loved me and gave Himself for me? This love dissolves our pride, melts our rebellion, and makes a life of surrender not a burden, but a joyful response.
Conclusion: Embracing the Great Exchange
Brothers and sisters, the message of Galatians 2:20 is the antidote to the wearying, burdensome religion of self-effort. It is the charter of our freedom in Christ. So the question for each of us today is this: Are we living the exchanged life?
Have you acknowledged the foundational fact of your crucifixion? Do you daily reckon your old self to be dead with Christ, refusing to obey its sinful desires?
Are you experiencing the living paradox? Is there evidence that it is no longer you who live, but Christ who lives in you? Is His fruit-love, joy, peace, patience-manifest in your life?
Are you walking in the practical dynamic of faith? Are you actively trusting in His faithfulness moment by moment, or are you still trying to live the Christian life in your own strength?
Are you motivated by His personal love? Does the truth that He loved you and gave Himself for you compel you to yield every part of your life to Him?
To live out Galatians 2:20 is to abandon the futile project of self-improvement and embrace the divine project of spiritual transformation. It is to say "no" to the clamor of the Self and "yes" to the gentle voice of the indwelling Savior. It is the great exchange: your filthy rags of self-righteousness for His perfect robe of righteousness. Your sin for His salvation. Your death for His life.
If you have never made this exchange, the invitation is open to you today. Confess that your old self is bankrupt and deserves death, and believe that Jesus died that death for you. Invite Him to take His rightful place on the throne of your life.
For those of us who are believers, let us leave here today renewed in this truth. Let us go forth not to try harder, but to trust deeper. Let us live not in our own power, but in the power of the One who loved us and gave Himself for us, and who now, wonderfully, miraculously, lives His life in us.
