Morning Devotions With Pastor Dan – July 22, 2020
I have been looking at Paul’s life all week, and the things that he tells the believers in Galatia about the gospel and the state of his old nature as he lives for Christ. That he has been crucified with Christ. Just look how Paul says this in…..
(Galatians 2:20)…..I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
How is being “crucified with Christ” even possible? – What do these words even mean? We can’t go back in time and join Christ on the cross, but we can be united with Christ in His death (Romans 6:3-9). Note that baptism into Christ is baptism into His death (6:3-4), being united together in the likeness of His death (6:5), crucifying our old man with Christ (6:6), being freed from sin (6:7), dying together with Christ (6:8), and living with Him away from the dominion of sin (6:8-9). If we have been baptized into Christ we can say together with Paul – “I have been crucified with Christ.”
To become one with Jesus Christ, a person must be willing not only to give up sin but also to surrender his whole way of looking at things. Being born again by the Spirit of God means that we must first be willing to let go before we can grasp something else. The first thing we must surrender is all of our pretense or deceit. What our Lord wants us to present to Him is not our goodness, honesty, or our efforts to do better, but real solid sin. Actually, that is all He can take from us. And what He gives us in exchange for our sin is real solid righteousness. But we must surrender all pretense that we are anything, and give up all our claims of even being worthy of God’s consideration.
Once we have done that, the Spirit of God will show us what we need to surrender next. Along each step of this process, we will have to give up our claims to our rights to ourselves. Are we willing to surrender our grasp on all that we possess, our desires, and everything else in our lives? Are we ready to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?
We will suffer a sharp painful disillusionment before we fully surrender. When people really see themselves as the Lord sees them, it is not the terribly offensive sounds of the flash the shock them, but the awful nature of the pride of their own hearts opposing Jesus Christ. When they see themselves in the light of the Lord, the shame, horror, and desperate conviction hit home for them.
If you are faced with the question of whether or not to surrender, make a determination to go on through the crisis, surrendering all that you have and all that you are to Him. And God will then equip you to do all that he requires of you.
Oswald Chambers
For some it means a death “to the Law” (2:19). And that is true, those who have been crucified with Christ have died to the Law (Romans 7:1-6). But here in our text, it is more than that, it means a death “to self,” “It is no longer I who live.” It means we have crucified “the flesh” (Galatians 5:24).
We should understand that crucifying the flesh requires the deepest and most profound sense of obedience – It’s a serious matter because before our obedience to Christ – we were in bondage to sin – but now – Christ is our rule and authority in life – (Colossians 2:8-10) (Colossians 2:20-22) (Colossians 3:17). So, the one who has been baptized into Christ and submits to Jesus as his/her authority in all things – is living a “life crucified with Christ.”
I think the whole weight of what Paul is saying in (2:20) is that we as Christians must first offer ourselves to God in simple obedience – We must love God enough – trust him so completely – submit our will to His will so thoroughly – and anchor ourselves in hope so securely – that we will do anything He says, simply because He says it. As followers of Christ, we must be willing to crucify ourselves, but the question is, “Are we willing?”