Living the Crucified Life, Part 2

“For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and 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 up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” Galatians 2:19-21

“Christ for me! Yes, it’s Christ for me.
He’s my Savior, my Lord and King.
I’m so happy, I shout and sing.
Christ for me! Yes, it’s Christ for me.
Every day as I go my way, it is Christ
for me!”

Because of Christ’s sacrificial death on Calvary, you and I can confidently voice the words to that chorus, which for years served as the theme song of the Youth for Christ organization. In light of our current theme of study, we might want to change one word in that chorus. Instead of “Christ for me,” we should be more inclined to say it is “Christ IN me.”

Certainly, Christ is for me. Paul teaches, “...If God is for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31) But far more than Christ being for us, what a source of confidence in assurance to know that Christ is IN us. “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

That knowledge, combined with the experience and awareness of “Christ in me,” produces a perfect trust in God so that we can say with the Apostle Paul, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).