August 18, 2024
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in selections from Exodus and Galatians? Here’s today’s reading:
Galatians 2 (NIV)
1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters with me,
To the churches in Galatia:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,……Continue Reading
Galatians 2
20 “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.
”knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.“
Galatians 2:16 NKJV
The courage of Paul to confront Peter in his fear of man. How did he have this courage? Because he knows that his life is Christ’s…that “the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God…”
A Christian has been crucified with Christ…we share in Christ’s death so that we may share in His resurrection. There must be a death…how else can we be made new? How else can the Word be true with it says “the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.”?
What are we holding onto that separates us from Christ? What secret “besetting” sins have we made allowance for, even though we are commanded to make no allowance for the flesh?
We have been crucified with Christ. We are to reckon ourselves dead to sin. How can one who has died to sin still live in it?
This is no passive process. While else would the Word be full of commands on how we are to live? But we are commanded to not be only hearers of the Word, but doers…otherwise we deceive ourselves.
We have been crucified with Christ…the record of our sins, indeed, the entire penalty of our sins has been set aside and nailed to the cross. Those sins are dead to us…so let them die. Again, this is no passive process. But if I am to proclaim that it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me…what kind of life would I be living if it is Christ Himself who lives in me?
I heard a great quote today from Alistair Begg…”there can be no secret discipleship. Discipleship will either destroy our secrecy, or secrecy will destroy our discipleship.”
We cannot have it both ways. We cannot enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season while also asking God to conform us into the image of His Son, which is what God has said He will do. We cannot be friends with the world, while at the same time calling Jesus our friend.
This is not because God wants to DENY us something. It is because He is our creator…He made us in His image…and before sin, we were precisely what He intended…and He declared we and the rest of creation were “very good.”
But then, we decided to not trust that God had our best interest in mind…we decided to listen to another voice, and to decide for ourselves what was best. And in that decision, we brought brokenness and corruption into the creation.
But God.
He loved His creation, and He loved us…to the point that before the beginning of time, He already knew that He would restore His creation back to “very good”, back to how He intended it. He knew we could not remake ourselves…we could not pay the necessary penalty for our sin. And so, “for those He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might become the first born of many brothers.”
God became a man in Jesus Christ that He might restart His creation…a sinless man, the “second Adam” would be sinless for all eternity, and He would redeem all of creation, including all mankind who would believe and trust in Him.
This new creation has already begun.The birth of Jesus Christ marked the beginning of the redemption of creation. When we believe and trust in Jesus, by denying ourselves, picking up our crosses daily, and following Him…we are active beneficiaries of Christ’s redemptive work. If we believe in Christ, we are made new creations…we must be made new, and that is what Jesus does.
Galatians 2:20 is absolutely profound. And verse 21 ensures that no one begins to think that they are something through the way they live…but rather, that we give all glory to Christ for His Spirit’s power in our lives…as we submit to Christ in all things, we experience the power of the Holy Spirit…right now.
The Lord knew what He was doing when He chose Saul who became Paul for Paul was a Pharisee when he was brought to Christ. Paul knew the scriptures and was like a dog on a bone attacking Christians so they were imprisoned or killed because they believed in Jesus. Now however, Paul was preaching the truth of the gospel even risking his own life and to boldly proclaim Christ and correcting error. Such a witness and example to us all. Paul was warning about the false teachers that came in to lead believers astray and put them into bondage to the law. They were probably Judaizers who held that a person could only be saved by obeying the law. This was such a error that Paul had to address it. This would had nullified the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ of what He did on the cross. vs 21 {I do not frustrate the grace of God; for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.} vs 16a {Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ—–. This was huge for the gospel for there is no hope without Christ Jesus. God bless.
Paul, Barnabas, and Titus were warmly greeted by some of the church leaders in Jerusalem. They were James, Cephas, and John. When seeing these three names together you immediately think of the three disciples that were with Jesus when others weren`t like the transformation of Christ. But even though Peter {Cephas} and John are here; this James is not that James. James the brother of John was the first apostle martyred by Herod Agrippa 17 years after his call to serve. [ All the Men of the Bible] And we already had said that this book was written in AD 48. The James that is spoken here is James the half brother of Jesus. He is also the writer of the book of James. He rose in leadership in the church but became a believer after Christ died and rose again. Just an example note. Paul was so bold about speaking the truth that he called out Peter for compromising between the Jews and Gentiles. Peter was afraid of what the Jews thought and started eating with only the Jews when they were there and discounting the Gentiles. It doesn`t say when Paul called out Peter. This shouldn`t be believers. We are all one in Christ.
How can you have. It is for FREEDOM that Christ has set us FREE. and wrap yourself in chains again. Reminds me of a slave that was told of the emancipation of proclamation And said I know nothing of that and return to slavery. Is there any better words in our vocabulary. I have been crucified with Christ And I know longer live but Christ lives in me!!! Hallelujah!! Go back to the shackles of religion. I’d rather die. Good point Sean. Hey Peter. You have ham on your breath. So blessed to be part of a church that will not step off the solid rock and the living word. As last Sundays Sermon was an example. We will not be swayed by the world. But by the Word
Yes, this is Truth: ‘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. ‘
In this chapter, Paul does fill in some time frames of what he did after his conversion and how he interacted with those in Jerusalem, the hub of Christianity after Jesus’ ascension. And what a balance he struck in wanting to verify this gospel of grace that God had given him with those in Jerusalem but also not being beholden to them or letting them change it because he had gotten it from God. It shows that we are accountable to people on one level and they can keep us in check, but we are ultimately accountable to God. And Paul’s conviction of the gospel and the equal footing it gave to the Gentiles with the Jews (a radical concept, btw) is best expressed when he courageously confronted Peter and called him out. It is a good indicator of what kind of person Paul was and the strong conviction he had about the grace that came through Jesus Christ. And what a great compliment that grace is in offering salvation and empowering the Christian life. We need that grace that justifies because how could obedience to the law ever make us right with God. But that grace then extends to how and why we live the Christian life. There appears little grace (or at least goodness) in being crucified, and yet there is, because we realize we must die to ourself in order to live for God. So Jesus becomes not only the means of my salvation but also the means of my living. He lives in me and through me as long as I choose to make it about Him and not me. Now that takes faith as we operate moment by moment trusting that Jesus knows best. But is it really hard to trust One who loves me and gave Himself for me?!? It shouldn’t be. And yet even as God’s power flows in me and through me to help me be obedient, I still don’t set aside the grace of God, because those works do not save. Jesus does.
To be crucified with Christ are not words we should take lightly, we know what crucifiction means and it was not easy, We must acknowledge everyday our choice to die to sin and make choices to live a life pleasing and accepteable to God. He went through the physical pain and death so we did not have to but that act makes it possible for us to live eternally with Him. So there is freedom with Christ as we die to the bondage of sin and death.
Galatians 2
Galatians 2 Paul confirms it to be the same message they are preaching: that one cannot be saved by keeping the law. Salvation is found only through faith in Christ, we have been given that freedom in Christ through our faith. If our righteousness came through the law then Christ wouldn’t have had to suffer on cross.