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GALATIANS 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.” (KJV, NKJV, RSV)
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (NIV, NASB)
I memorized this verse by singing it. There have actually been several choruses, hymns and other songs written to this verse. Because I sang this verse many times, I also memorized it and can quote it now. I include one of those for you to listen to below.
I have never taken the topic of Jesus’ crucifixion lightly. I do not come from a church tradition that has lots of images of Jesus’ on the cross displayed around our church and in our homes. But, I would never diminish the importance of what He did for us there. Traditionally, Good Friday services were always somber ones, where we remembered the extreme price Jesus paid for OUR salvation.
In contrast, Easter Sunday services were always jubilant and rejoicing over the triumph of Jesus’ resurrection. I believe that Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection each have equal importance in our Christian memories and how we live our lives. However, there was always something extremely serious and stark about our remembrance of His crucifixion.
Mel Gibson depicted what many call “The Passion” in Jesus’ trial and crucifixion on the cross. It was brutal in its depiction. But, I do not doubt for a minute that it was probably the most accurate account ever put on film of what it was probably like.
Paul knew then, that describing our lives as Christians as being “crucified with Christ” was going to bring up vivid memories in those who had seen Him die and vivid imaginations in all of us who followed, who could only imagine how bad it must have been.
Although tradition tells us Paul was beheaded, Peter was crucified upside down and all but John became martyrs for the faith, I don’t think this passage of Scripture is predicting their future ends. Paul is using the image of Jesus’ crucifixion to remind us about the kind of lives we, who have been born again, are supposed to live.
It is really kind of ironic that having been “born again,” now we are to reckon ourselves dead and crucified. What could he possibly have been implying?
I like the word “reckon.” It is kind of a “country-fied” way of saying, “I reckon it’s so, so it must be.” I know it is a KJV way of saying something…but if you know me, you know that’s ok by me! Sometimes, you have to reckon something to be true before you make it true in the experience of your daily life.
Paul’s teaching here on being dead while yet newly alive harkens back to his teaching in Romans. In Romans 6:11 he said, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” He got real specific in the following verses when he told us, “Don’t let sin rein in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God, as those who are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”
I imagine the early Christians weren’t much different than we are. I love the new life that is demonstrated in my being born again. But, it is so easy to be tempted to returning to our old ways, especially in areas where we specifically have already demonstrated weaknesses in the past. He is saying here, that if we want to truly demonstrate righteous lives, alive unto God through Jesus, we need to reckon that we are dead to sin…then make it so in how we live.
Just a little later in Romans 8:18, Paul reminds us, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” How easily do we get drug down when trouble comes to us? We are not the most tolerant of human beings when it comes to a little suffering. We mostly think any suffering is a LOT of suffering.
It appears that Paul had learned these lessons in his walk as an apostle and he would teach us to learn them as well. When he says, “I am crucified with Christ,” he is reminding us of Jesus’ crucifixion and encouraging us to use the same approach toward our past, sinful lives.
We know we can’t live for Jesus in righteousness and still dwell in the swill of sinfulness. Paul is telling us to kill that old lifestyle. And for most of us, that needs to be a daily exercise.
You have seen, I’m sure, that you won’t live that type of life through hard work. As a matter of fact, sometimes, the harder we try to give up some things on our own, the more unsuccessful we find ourselves being.
No, we need to first “reckon” ourselves dead to sin…even before we are. (That’s why it’s called faith.) “I don’t feel real holy yet. But I reckon that if I can agree with Paul that I AM crucified with Christ…even though I still live…the Holy Spirit might just show me the way to have “Christ living in me.”
When we reckon it so, when we are looking for Jesus to show us how He would handle this next situation, He kind of promises that He will. If we can crucify the flesh long enough to maybe keep our mouths closed and wait on Him to tell us the right words to use when I am tempted to be angry or demonstrate my superiority, we might be surprised to find out that what we say is actually what the Lord wants us to say.
When we reckon ourselves to already be dead to sin and Satan sends that visual image my way so I can lust after it again…already being crucified with Christ, I shouldn’t be surprised at the sudden power to just turn away from it and say “NO.” Should I go on with other examples?
Paul was not saying he was crucified like Jesus was crucified…on a wooden cross. He would give his life for following Christ, even as we might be called to do some day. The reference he was making in this Scripture was in reference to a daily walk that he chose to follow. He called all of us to walk the same way.
A crucified life means one of sacrifice, yes. Some of the things we liked to do before we gave our lives to Jesus we might rightly need to leave behind. Some of the ways we talked, some of the people we associated with, some of the places we used to go, might need to be nailed to the cross.
I AM crucified with Christ. Reckon it so! Yet, not surprisingly, I still live…I’m still breathing, working and trudging my way through this life. But the life I am living now, I really should live by the faith in the One who actually did die for me and gave His life for me. If He would die for me, is it any small thing to think that now, I can live for Him?
Questions to consider: Does the imagery of seeing yourself as crucified WITH Christ help you live a more successful Christian life? Paul spoke about the “sin that so easily besets us.” Do you know of specific weaknesses in your life that seem to be the place where Satan tempts you most? In your Christian walk, have you ever discovered that you can do what the Bible tells you to do by believing in it first and then making it to be true? In what areas of your life do you need to give up, sacrifice or put to death some of the things your flesh wants so your spirit can be made more alive?
Other Scriptures to study: Galatians 5:24 “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” Galatians 6:14 “…boast in the cross…through which the world has been crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Romans 6:6 “We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with…” Romans 6:5 “If we have been united together in the likeness of His death, we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.”
A Song to Remember: I am crucified with Christ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-o2LSFUgSk
 
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