Galatians
Study 15:
Gal.2:20
Not I
but Christ
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.
Gal. 2:20
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This
verse,
like many others,
has been used to produce hymns or choruses for God's people to sing;
but when scripture was penned, it
was not done so that we could sing pleasing tunes to the words,
nor to put them in a frame and hang it on
our
walls. When Paul wrote the words above he was writing what he
was
living. And whilst singing these truths may be a blessing, living them
out must be our first priority, lest we are found singing a
lie. This verse is, for me, the key
verse to the epistle of Galatians. It sums up the teaching of
all
six chapters well.
We
started off by saying that the first
two
chapters
give us some history of Paul's life that is an example of
what he
teaches in the letter. We have seen, for example:
1. In
Salvation
It
was ' not I but
Christ' in the matter of salvation Gal.1:15-16. Before
he was saved Paul, being a
Pharisee was
seeking to establish his own righteousness by the law. That
is,
he
was trying to find acceptance before God by doing what was right
according to the Mosaic law. Yet by his own testimony he
discovered it only showed the sin in his life. Rom.
7:7-11, and
he died. No matter how hard he
tried to keep the law he found he was at war within
himself; he could not do that which he knew was the right
thing
to do. The law, instead of bringing life brought death. He discovered,
in his own words:
The sting of death is sin;
and the
strength of sin is the law.
I Cor. 15:56
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He was also very zealous for his cause in
Judaism
persecuting those who were of the Spirit, another
characteristic
of legalism: for he saw the Christians as blasphemers and sought to
arrest and kill them; he even gave consent to the stoning of the first
martyr Stephen. Acts
7:58; 26:9-11. Quite
clearly Paul's righteousness after the law only brought
death, to
Paul in his spirit and in body to Christ's members.
Then God got hold of Paul: on the way to Damascus Jesus appeared to
him. Paul was told what to do, and God sent a man
to him to
tell
what to do and he was born again. Acts 9:1-19.
It was God however who took the initiative and it was He who
brought Paul into new birth. No work of the flesh at all. Paul then
learnt that true righteousness is in Christ and not in
himself or
the law.
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That no flesh should glory in
his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is
made unto us wisdom, and righteousness,
and sanctification, and
redemption:
I Cor. 1:29-30
Brethren,
my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they
might be
saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not
according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s
righteousness,
and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not
submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law
for
righteousness to every one that believeth. For
Moses
describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which
doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness
which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who
shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from
above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to
bring
up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word
is
nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of
faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy
mouth
the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised
him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth
unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on
him
shall not be ashamed.
Rom.
10:1-11
For he hath made him to be
sin for us,
who knew no sin; that we
might be
made the righteousness of God in him.
II
Cor. 5:21
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We are
made
the righteousness of
God in Christ. That is we become in Christ all that
God wants and
expects us to be, all that we could never be by ourselves. Hence the
folly of trying to become righteous by legalistic / flesh religion. By
being found in Christ by new birth we learn that being what
God
want us to be is by life
and not law.
2.
In
Apostleship
It was 'not I but Christ'
in the matter of apostleship Gal.1:1
Paul
was a Pharisee by his own learning and efforts; he was taught under the
feet of the great Gamaliel; by his own confession Paul said
he,
of all people, could boast more
than anyone else. He worked his way up to being one
of the
top
Pharisees of the day. He was the son of a Pharisee
he had
every right
in the flesh to boast.
Then
stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor
of the law, had in reputation among all the people,......
Acts
5:34
I am verily a man
which am a Jew,
born in Tarsus, a city in
Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and
taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and
was zealous toward God,
as ye
all are this day.
Acts 22:3
But when Paul perceived that
the one
part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the
council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee:
of the hope
and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
Acts 23:6
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The
Pharisees
was the strictest
of the Jewish sects around at the time. The name Pharisee has
two possible meanings: separated
ones, or specifier,
Either meaning implying that only they had the correct interpretation
of God's law. They seemed to have been born out of the
struggles
of the Maccabean period in reaction to the Hellenising
tendencies
of the Jews. And this is very revealing of legalists: seeing
themselves as the only one holding the truth of God, making
themselves something special and apart from all others; usually
beginning in reaction to something.
But when God got hold of Paul He made him an apostle, it wasn't Paul's
doing or working or choice it was God's alone. It was 'not I but Christ' and
instead of boasting in his self pride, Paul from
new birth
onwards led a life
of humility
and abasement. Weak in the flesh Paul was strong in God
fulfilling his calling in the Spirit.
For I think that God hath set
forth us the apostles
last, as
it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world,
and to angels, and to men.
I Cor. 4:9
For I am the least of
the apostles,
that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the
church of God.
I Cor. 15:9
Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ by
the will of God, according to the
promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
II Tim. 1:1
Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory,
but
in mine infirmities. For though I would desire to glory, I
shall
not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any
man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he
heareth of me.
And lest
I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the
revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger
of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I
besought the
Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto
me, My grace is
sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I
rather glory
in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.0
Therefore I
take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in
persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am
weak, then
am I strong.
II Cor
12:5-10
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3. In being
crucified with Christ
It was 'not I but
Christ '
in the matter of being crucified, that is becoming dead to the past
life. We saw in the previous study
that on new birth that we are baptised into
Christ's death.
The old
man is crucified, and also we become dead to the law by the
body
of Christ. But that's not all. In Galatians there are three
crucifixions mentioned: the one here 'I am crucified';
the crucifying
of the flesh in Gal.
5:25 and that of the world in Gal. 6:14.
All these are different aspects of the applied finished work in a child
of God, which we shall consider as we progress through this letter. But
the important thing is that
is is an
act of God, by baptising us into
His death we are [Co]-crucified with Christ. No one ever
crucified himself! Someone else had to do it. In our case God put us
into His Son and there applied the work of the cross to us. It is
indeed not
I but Christ
The words "
I
am crucified
with Christ.." also implies
an act done in the past but is still continuing. Paul is talking
here of,
not the old sinful man - for that was once and for all,( Rom 6
deals
with that)
but, the old me; the one trying to find favour with God
through
my own
efforts, through the keeping of the law. Even after new birth we must
understand that we can so easily, walk off in the flesh to
try
and seek our own righteousness, and
fall from grace.
He was cut off from the past the old way of life
and it
had no hold
on him.
Consider the events in this second chapter once more: Judaisers came to
insist on the keeping of the Law of Moses, at one time Paul would
have
been the first to insist on the law being imposed, yet now even when
Peter tries it on, Paul is so dead to those things he can stand up and
rebuke even Peter himself, and openly teach that we should not
have anything to do with the works of the law! He truly had
been
crucified with Christ and was not going back from that God
had
shown
him.
4. In the
life he
now lives
It was 'not
I but Christ '
in the matter of living the Christian life.
"Christ
liveth in
me ". That is Christ was the source of his life.
Paul was,
to change the picture, a branch in the vine and was utterly
dependent on Christ , through the Spirit , to live the life that God
wanted of him here on the earth. Not from a list of rules and
regulations, or by the works of the flesh, but by the life
that
was from above. All his springs
were truly in Him from above and it was
lived by the faith of the one who was crucified.
We have read previously from Rom. 8
that
if we do not have the Spirit
of Christ then we are none of His. But being born anew means that we
have His Spirit and are His; we are then to live by the faith
of
the Son of God, it being God's purpose to conform us into the
image
of Jesus, for as His Life is lived out in us we
become more
like Him.
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So then they that are in
the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but
in
the Spirit, if so be that
the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of
Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body
is
dead because of
sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if
the
Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead
dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken
your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Therefore,
brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live
after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall
die:
but if ye
through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall
live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are
the
sons
of God...............................................
.........................................And we know that all things
work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For
whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to
be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn
among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also
called: and
whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he
also glorified.
Rom.
8:8-14; 28-30
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5. Summary
These first two chapters then set the scene:
they
show
us in practice the difference between living by the Spirit
and
that by the flesh. After this personal testimony Paul now turns to the
Galatians and their condition, and an exposition of the themes already
hinted at in theses opening chapters.
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