How to Live for God
Galatians 2:20
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.
1. Jesus had said that if we follow Him, we must take up our own cross to do so (Mark 8:34). Given that crucifixion is such a painful and shameful death, why is such an extreme measure necessary? Why can’t anything be “salvaged” from our old life, our natural life? (See Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3.)
2. Clearly we were not physically crucified with Jesus, so Paul is speaking spiritually. Why is our identity with Christ, or being “in Christ” so important? Paul contrasts being “in Adam” with being “in Christ” in 1 Corinthians 15:22. How does this help us understand Galatians2:20?
3. In Romans 6:3 and Colossians 2:12, Paul explains that baptism pictures our identity with Jesus in His death and resurrection. How does this also help explain why Paul says that we died, but now are alive? How is this life different from the life we received from our mother and father?
4. In Galatians 2:19, Paul “sets up” verse 20 by saying that in dying with Christ, we also died to the Law? Why is that so important, and how does it set us free from guilt? Can you see how this crucifixion can be a source of great joy?