The All-Encompassing Scope of Galatians 2:20

I AM [not ‘will be’] Crucified With Christ: Nevertheless I Live [as a vessel]; Yet Not I, But Christ Liveth IN ME: and the life which I now live in the flesh [while on earth] I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (KJV) 

Galatians 2:20 is first about Our Co-Death with Christ as seen in the dry baptism of Rom. 6:3.

3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized [set or placed] into Jesus Christ were Baptized [forever set] Into His Death? Romans 6:3 (KJV)

13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized [set or placed] into one body [of Christ], whether we be Jews or Gentiles…  1 Corinthians 12:13 (KJV)

This was a dry baptism’ into Jesus’ death,” no water was involved. Water baptism belongs only to Israel. For more information go to: http://www.artlicursi.com/articles/paul%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cone-baptism%E2%80%9D

What’s more, by our union with Christ by faith, we have risen with Him.’ We now possess His resurrection life as our Only Real Life (meaning, the eternal resurrection Life of Christ as “spirit of life,”)

4 Therefore we are Buried With Him By Baptism [being engrossed] Into Death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in Newness of Life. Rom 6:4

We can prove, mathematically, by simple addition and subtraction, how that we as believers in the Cross-work of Christ on our behalf now have only His ‘One Life as our Life.

- We formerly had the one life of our “Old Man”                    +1

- Subtract our Old Man” who “IS crucified” with Him         -1

- Now ADD “Christ who IS our Life                                        +1

Now we can total these to see that we have only One Life’     1   The One Life of Christ is our ALL!

God would consider that only that which is ‘eternal’ is ‘real.’ His Life is the eternal or “everlasting life.”

11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 1 John 5:11-12 (KJV)

The word “life” in most cases as Jesus and Paul used the word "life" is the Greek zoe, meaning, the life of God that is in Christ. This is in comparison with the Greek ‘bios,’ which is the physical life and the Greek ‘psuche,’ which is the psychological life.

Thus, having died “with Him” and risen “with Him… the result is that His resurrection life now IN usas our Only real, eternal, legitimate, Life that has “blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ (Eph. 1:3).

Thus, we’ve been returned to being ‘living vessels to bear His life as much as Paul was a “chosen vessel” (Acts 9:15) unto Christ. We now bear His life so as to express His Life and His divine Nature as the ‘glory’ or expression of His life.

4 When Christ, Who Is Our Life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:4

27 [You] To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which Is CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory: Colossians 1:27 (KJV)

In Galatians 2:19 Paul tells us exactly how and why we died and came to have Christ’s Life as our new life.

19 For I through the law [by its legal demand of death for sin] am dead to the law [with Christ, so that it has no more claim on me], that I might [freely now] live unto God. Galatians 2:19 (KJV)

For in Christ, we have died to the Law which had prompted sinning 56b … the strength [Gk. dunamis, power] of sin is [derived from] the law. 1 Corinthians 15:56 (KJV)

13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances [laws] that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; Colossians 2:13-14

So, verse 20 expands on the truth of verse 19. Paul deals with the same point but in more detail in verse 20. Paul says he died ‘to the law’ at the cross with Christ. In Gal. 2:20 Paul details exactly how he ‘died to the law.’ When Paul’s was crucified with Christ He was forever separated from the law’s demands; and so it is for us.

The word “crucified” in Gal. 2:20 and Rom. 6:6 actually means Paul was co-crucified simultaneously WITH Christ. When Satan’s “princes of this world” 1Cor 2:7-8) crucified Christ on the cross, God was crucifying Paul’s “Old Man” there as well. What occurred to Christ Physically occurred to Paul Legally and Spiritually.

Paul’s death and our death with Christ is a positional or legal crucifixion. The law demanded the death penalty for sin. The emphasis here is not upon Christ being crucified for’ Paul, but that Paul himself was co-participating in the Christ’s crucifixion. This is how Paul and we as believers have died to the law (Gal. 2:19). Paul’s Co-Death with Christ was his escape from the ‘death-penalty’ claim of “the law (Rom 6:14) and also Paul’s death freed him from the power of the Sin-nature [Rom. 6:6-7) that is located “in the flesh” of Paul and us (Rom. 8:3).

3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh [due to our sinful flesh], God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned SIN IN THE FLESH: Rom. 8:3

6 …  our old man [our old, independent, self-soul] IS Crucified With Him, [so] that the Body of Sin might be destroyed [Grk. kartargeo, made of no effect, [cf. Gal 5:4], [so] that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For He That Is Dead Is Freed from Sin [freed from Sin’s dominion over him]. Romans 6:6-7

Note in both Gal 2:20 and Rom 6:6 the words “I AM crucified with Christ” and “our old man IS crucified.” Both “am” and “is” tell us our death with Christ is ONGOING, as our “present state” or ‘present position.’ Our co-death with Christ was not just some ‘past event’ or something that must yet occurNo! For “it is finished” with and in Christ’s Cross-work, and its fruit of … ‘new life’ and ‘liberty’ continues.

So, by Christ’s Cross we are ‘free from the sin’s death penalty ofeverlasting destruction” (2Thes. 1:9) and also from Sin ‘dominion’ lording over us by its fallen nature still resident “in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3b). Our Old Man IS dead but the Sin-nature, still present in our flesh, has been rendered Powerless (6:7 above).

The Greek tense for have been crucified means that Paul’s crucifixion had a permanent effect. God crucified Paul on the cross, where he and we also stand crucified forever. His crucifixion has a present finished effect. We need only to identify with this truth of our co-death with Christ… by faith. We died to Sin and to the law by the [dead] body of Christ.” (Rom. 7:4) Christ released us from every duty to the law so that we might now “live unto God.” Paul came to the point of his crucifixion in God’s eyes and now Paul saw the truth of this for himself.

This isn’t something Paul did; it was something that God did to and for him. Paul can’t take credit for his co-crucifixion. All glory goes to Jesus Christ. Paul did not do anything to earn nor deserve this victory. God does not command us to crucify ourselves for sanctification. We stand in the total efficacy of Christ’s Cross-work for us. This was Father God… making us “accepted IN the beloved.” (Eph. 1:6).

6 To the praise of the glory of his [God’s] grace, wherein He Hath Made Us Accepted IN the beloved [In Christ]. Ephesians 1:6 (KJV)

Our co-crucifixion with Christ completely frees us from any obligation to ‘the law’ and ‘religious tradition.’

13 And you, being dead … hath he quickened [made alive] together with him [Christ], having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances [religious laws] that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; Colossians 2:13-14 (KJV)

God sees us as having a perfect standing by Christ’s crucifixion as us, such that WE do not have to earn or ‘merit’ our salvation. We receive ‘salvation’ as the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8-9). God has released us from any Performance-Based Relationship such as Israel had and that religion preaches even today. He gave us this privileged position … “In Christ.”

Jesus engrafted us into this new union with the Godhead, whereby we’ve gained power to live the Christian life. As a flower gets its energy from its roots, so we get our life and strength from the indwelling Life of Christ as our “ALL

17 Therefore If Any Man Be In Christ, He IS A New Creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)

Most people misunderstand the point of Galatians 2:20, even though it is a very popular verse. We cannot crucify ourselves. This victory comes by the fact that we died ‘to the law’ with Christ’s crucifixion. The law cannot purify or save us and cannot sanctify us (Rom. 8:3a) ... we are saved and sanctified “IN Christ.”

30 But of him [Father God] are ye IN Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 1 Corinthians 1:30 (KJV)

We live out our new life in Christ by faith in the truth of ‘the word of God” rightly divided as it applies to us today. We have His life and live… by His faith, NOT our Good Works this is the pure grace of God.

6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace … Romans 11:6 (KJV)

When we have believed into Christ,’ acknowledging our inability save or sanctify ourselves by works. Now it is by our ‘IDENTIFICATION WITH’ and ‘Faith IN’ Christ, in His Death and Resurrection as being our Death and Resurrection, that we can live the kind of Life that expresses … Christ as the Content of Our Vessel.

This kind of identification with Christ results in Christ Living His Life Through us. We then enjoy the fruit of the exchange of life’ that occurred when Christ gave up His life both for us and then gave His Resurrection Life to us … in order to “complete” our creation as intended (Col. 2:10). Paul notes this exchange of life here;

21 For he [Father God] hath made him [Jesus] to be sin for us [on the cross], who knew no sin [He never sinned]; [so] that we might be made the righteousness of God in him [in union with Christ’s resurrection life]. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (KJV)

This is the miracle of our new life in union with Christ, which works by faith in all that He accomplished for us at the Cross.