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Galatians 2:20 - Dead Yet Alive.

Galatians 2:20 - Dead Yet Alive.

Galatians 2:20 (KJV) 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.  

   Salvation is a life and death event. When you trusted in 
Christ, you died. And yet you live--in fact you are more alive now than 
you ever were before. How so? Your old self, your old nature, was 
crucified with Christ when you believed. God looks at you as if you died 
with Christ. Because your sins died with him, you are no longer 
condemned. Now Christ is living in and through you. You have become one 
with Christ. You share the relationship he has with the Father.  
   These are wonderful truths. But what about ongoing sin? How 
is that possible? Your old nature is dead in the sense that you are 
no longer a slave to it. It will at times pull itself out of the 
grave and try to regain control. You may occasionally fold under the 
pressure. But that doesn't change the reality of who you are in Christ. It 
doesn't change the truth of your new life that is a result of him living 
in you. Each day we must put to death the desires of the old self 
and rely on Christ's life to transform us. [The One Year Bible for 
New Believers] 

   A child and a new puppy are virtually inseparable. They can 
spend so much time together that you would think they were a young 
couple in love or a mother and her newborn. Every time you turn around 
they are playing together, napping together, or getting in trouble 
together. They can become best friends.  
   In a sense, fellowship with Christ is like a marriage or like 
that relationship between a child and a puppy. It is a relationship 
so intimate that Christ and the Christian are - or at least should 
be - inseparable.  
   In this passage, Paul describes his close relationship with 
Jesus. Paul reviews his life story to remind readers of the miracles 
God can perform. Paul even goes so far as to say that he has been 
crucified with Christ and that Christ now lives in him. How close are you 
to Christ?  
   Read Galatians 1-2 
   Paul was not one of the people crucified with Christ outside 
Jerusalem. So what did he mean by claiming to have been "crucified with 
Christ" (Galatians 2:20)? Paul meant that his sinful nature had been put 
to death when he accepted Christ as his Savior. In essence, he had 
exchanged one life for another. He had given up control of his life, as 
well as his desire to sin, in exchange for Christ's redemption from 
sin and new life in the Spirit.  
   This spiritual reality holds true for all Christians. When we 
trust in Christ as Savior, God looks at us as though we had died on 
the cross with Jesus. Because we have been crucified with Christ, we 
will also be raised with him (see Romans 6:5). Now Christ lives in 
us, and we are spiritually alive by his power. By Christ's power we 
are also no longer bound by the chains of sin.  
   The next time you face temptation, remember that you have 
been crucified with Christ and that he lives in you. Then resist the 
temptation, confident that Christ will strengthen you and provide a way of 
escape as well. [The One Year Through the Bible Devotional by Dave 
Veerman re vv. 2:17-21] 

   Hudson Taylor, the pioneer missionary to China's interior, 
wrote of the sweetness of the rest he felt in being fully identified 
with Jesus. He said he was no longer anxious about anything - that no 
matter where God put him, no matter how hard the constraints or 
pressures, God's Presence within him would be equal to the task. Somehow he 
had learned how to rest and let the Spirit flow through him.  
   That's one of the benefits of the Presence, if we can learn 
to rest and let the Spirit live in us fully. In order to do that, 
we have to be able to trust in the goodness of His purposes, even 
when our path takes unexpected turns. We have to be able to believe 
that He is living and working within us. And we have to be able to 
let go of all competing props that would hold us up or tempt us to 
rely on our own resources. In some respects, it can be hard work to 
rest in Him.  
   The "hard work" ends when we get the right perspective and 
establish new habits and thought patterns. Resting in Him gets easier with 
practice. At first it goes against our normal tendencies, but over time it 
becomes less of a conscious choice and more of a default posture. We're 
so used to striving and straining that the idea of resting in Him 
seems irresponsible and unnatural. But when we see the fruit of it, we 
realize it was irresponsible and unnatural to do anything else.  
   Choose rest. Let Jesus live in you. Insist that the vine bear 
fruit through the branch. Not only is that your true desire, it's His, 
too.  
   Jesus, do You really live Your life in me? Can I really 
depend completely on Your strength? have Your desires? display Your 
purity and character? walk in Your power? Show me how. Become all You 
want to be in me. [The One Year Experiencing God's Presence 
Devotional by Chris Tiegreen] 

   Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit lives in us (John 
14:17; 1 Corinthians 3:16). And that we can be filled with the fullness 
of God (Ephesians 3:19). And that Jesus is in us (john 14:20; 
Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:27). In other words, every member of the 
Trinity is present in our being. That drives people who love precise 
doctrine crazy, but it's a truth that flows from the experience of the 
earliest Christians. Something had fundamentally changed within them, and 
they experienced divine life. This is how they - and even Jesus - 
expressed it.  
   In our quest to experience more of God's Presence, we aren't 
just after the God who lives with us. We're seeking the God who lives 
in us. And not just as a matter of doctrinal belief but as a 
practical and palpable Presence. When we think of the inner life, we are 
right to envision any member of the Trinity at any time: the Father on 
His throne, the Son in His earthly and heavenly ministry, and the 
Spirit blowing through us or flowing out of us. All the attributes of 
the Godhead are there: the majesty and mystery of the Father, the 
compassion and visible touch of Jesus, the comfort and counsel of the 
Spirit, and many more characteristics than one can list. We can never 
say we are lacking in resources. Even the faith and patience and 
wisdom of Jesus are ours for the asking. We are filled with immense 
power.  
   So why don't we experience such spiritual riches? Perhaps 
because we don't believe we can, or maybe because we don't understand 
the implications, or possibly even because we don't see results at 
first and give up the pursuit. Regardless, God puts within us a life 
we have not yet fully realized. But it becomes more real the more 
we seek, believe, and persist.  
   Jesus, I don't want to fall short of the potential You've put 
in me. Express Yourself fully through me and in me. [The One Year 
Experiencing God's Presence Devotional by Chris Tiegreen] 

The Christian life is not a matter of trying, but of relying. 
[Victor Bible Reader's Companion] 

The proof that your old life is dead, having been "crucified 
with Christ," is the amazing ease with which the life of God in you 
now enables you to obey the voice of Jesus Christ. [My Utmost for 
His Highest by Oswald Chambers] 

Christ must be the very life of the soul, as the blood is the 
life of the body... 1SM114 

LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE:

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2007/20071105-0441.html

EXCELLENT VIDEO SERIES ON EXPERIENCING GOD:


http://sda.biggytv.com/watch/Revive!_-_Dwight_Nelson:_Experiencing_Gods_Grace/revive/  

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:

Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/

Grace Notes: http://www.e-gracenotes.org/index.php

Excellent Spiritual Resource Site: 
http://www.christianlifemediacenter.com/   

More Spiritual Resources: http://www.aBible.com