Are You Crucified with Christ?

Tip! Praise and thanksgiving - This is the earnest, heartfelt prayer where we come before the Lord thanking and praising him for his mighty power and love. We may praise him in both our earthly and spiritual language.

"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. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." (Galatians 2:20-21 NKJV)

Here, in his own person, the apostle Paul describes the spiritual or hidden life of a believer. The old man or person is crucified, ("...knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. " Romans 6:6 NKJV), but the new person is living; sin is conquered, and grace is available. We have the comforts and the triumphs of grace; yet that grace is not from ourselves, but from another.

We believers see ourselves living in a state of dependence on Christ. Hence it is that though we live in the flesh, yet we do not live after the flesh. Those who have true faith live by that faith; and this faith is secure in Christ's giving Himself for us. He loved me, and gave Himself for me.

It is as if the apostle said, The Lord saw me fleeing from Him more and more. Such wickedness, error, and ignorance were in my will and understanding, that it was not possible for me to be ransomed by any other means than by such a price. Consider well this price. This price was Jesus Christ's life.

Tip! 'Asking of God' and 'receiving' from the Lord - direct request to God, immediate connection with God - that is true prayer.

Now notice the false faith of many. And their profession is accordingly; they have a form of godliness without the power of it. They think they believe the articles of faith correctly, but they are deceived. For to believe in Christ crucified, is not only to believe that He was crucified, but also to believe that I am crucified with Him. And this is to know Christ crucified.

Consequently we can learn what the nature of grace is. God's grace cannot stand with people's merit. Grace is no grace unless it is freely given in every way. The more simply the believer relies on Christ for everything, the more devotedly we will walk before Him in all His ordinances and commandments. Christ lives and reigns in us, and we live here on earth by faith in the Son of God, which works by love, causes obedience, and changes us into His holy image. Thus we can neither abuse the grace of God, nor can we take it in vain.