His Word is a Lamp: Galatians

I have been crucified with Christ. 
It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave Himself for me. Gal. 2:20, ESV

Galatians 2:20 helps us see how Paul applied the gospel to himself. It reveals an accurate orientation to the gospel.
It hadn’t been all that long since Paul had preached the gospel to them in the region of Galatia. Yet, the church was being lured away from the truth of the gospel of Jesus to a form of Judaism that prescribed following the law once again, which was no gospel at all (1:6-7). So then, Paul applied the (true) gospel to himself to show that each disciple of Christ needs the gospel- needs it in an ongoing way in order to live life now, in the body God's given to us.

There are four (among many) applications for us specifically from Gal. 2:20:

1. We have died with Christ: We must decide to follow Jesus in faith and personally accept His sacrifice on our behalf. This means we are crucified with Him.
2. He lives in us: When Jesus died, we died with Him and when He rose, our Savior graciously filled our lives with Him. We no longer live for ourselves but for Jesus and we no longer live through ourselves but we live through Jesus.
3. We live by faith: This is the crux of Christianity. It’s a life lived by faith. Works, following the Old Testament Laws, and sacrifices to find forgiveness are no longer needed. Christ fulfilled it all and now we look in faith to Him to live out our daily lives.
4. He loved us and gave Himself for us: The greatest love was expressed through the greatest act of devotion when Jesus willingly gave His life for us. Thus, He is worthy of our faith and devotion. It is an insult to the King of Glory to add anything to His gospel. When He said, “It is finished”, He meant it. 

Now it’s up to us to apply the gospel to ourselves, just as Paul did. Once our faith is in Jesus, we need to prayerfully remind ourselves of the truths of Galatians 2:20 everyday.

Let’s keep in step with the Spirit as we walk forward with Jesus (Gal. 5:25),
Pastor Andy

Questions for Reflection:

1. What does Christ living in us mean? How can we live our lives through Him?
2. How do we walk by the Spirit (5:16)?
3. These early Jewish Christians were being lulled away from the truth of the gospel by persuasive false teachers. What whispers of the world are seeking to lull Christians away from the truth in our times?

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