Our Dynamic Life In Christ
OUR DYNAMIC LIFE IN CHRIST
Galatians 2:20 (ESV) 20 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.
Next coming Sunday, the world will celebrate the most important Christian holiday, which is the Resurrection Day of Jesus Christ. Today, because of everything that is going on with Covid-19 Pandemic, all of us will be forced to celebrate it in our own homes, instead of all being at church as we have done in the past. I know it is going to be a real challenge to be able to appreciate its true essence, but my prayer is that we all can pause and truly reflect on all the blessings that we have received because of His death and resurrection. I am also asking all of our parents, especially those with little kids, to be more creative this week in how you will impress in your families the significance of Christ’s work.
I believe that if there’s a time we need to be reminded about the dynamic or amazing life we have received from Jesus Christ after we have accepted Him as our personal Savior and Lord, it should be times like today wherein we are all going through difficult testing of faith. You see, one of the biggest misconceptions many believers have about eternal life is that it is something that we will only enjoy in the future or when we get to heaven. This idea absolutely falls short with regard to the extensive blessings that we have received in Jesus Christ. Here is a direct quote from Dr. David Jeremiah, which I took from one of his recent sermons:
Most people are surprised that the resurrection has anything to do with the present, but the Bible tells us that because Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the grave, He now gives us the same power that was used to bring Him back from the dead so that we can live our lives every day in resurrection power.
I totally agree with him. And so, I would like to bring to our attention an awesome verse given to us by the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, which is Galatians 2:20. This verse, I believe, will help us learn about: OUR DYNAMIC LIFE IN CHRIST.
To give you a little background regarding the book of Galatians, it is crucial to know that Paul wrote this letter to believers who were starting to believe some false teachers who were saying that salvation in Christ is not complete without obedience to the Laws of Moses. This concern is plainly conveyed in Galatians 1:6-7 (ESV): 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
Looking at these verses, it is clear that Paul wanted to clarify to these believers that this teaching was definitely not the “Gospel of Christ,” but “another gospel.” And they should be careful not to be deceived and abandon the true Gospel.
The fact is that what Christ accomplished more than two thousand years ago, His crucifixion and resurrection was more than sufficient in order to totally save us from the curses of sin—past, present, and future. Now, if there is one verse that can deliver this message so distinctly today, it would be our text this morning. For this reason, I feel that we need to be more familiar with this verse and hopefully commit this verse to our hearts and minds. Examining this verse, there are three elements of our salvation we need to fully understand:
I OUR IDENTIFICATION WITH CHRIST
As we begin to read our main text, there’s a potential for confusion because of how the first phrase is stated – “I have been crucified with Christ.” The question that arises with this statement is: “How can Paul or all believers be crucified with Christ when His crucifixion happened around 30 A.D.?”
I would like to help all of us understand that the basis of our dynamic life in Christ can really be traced in our identification or union with His crucifixion and resurrection. How can this be possible? Well, there are two gracious acts of God that we need to be familiar with:
A. The Substitutionary Work on the Cross
This teaching simply means that when Jesus was crucified, He did not suffer because of His own sins. He was an innocent victim! However, He went there as our substitute. Instead of us dying for our sins, Jesus Christ bore all our sins on the cross. The apostle Paul referred this doctrine plainly in 2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV): 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
When Jesus went to the cross with all the sins of the world on Him, He paid the penalty of all sins. This penalty of sin is death as God established in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15-17). Therefore, His death for us gave Him the authority to forgive and save everyone who believes in Him.
B. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The second gracious act of God comes from the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The best verse that explains this teaching is 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (ESV): 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
Based on these verses, “the baptism of the Holy Spirit” is the effective work of the Holy Spirit in uniting the believer into “Christ” or the “universal body” of Jesus Christ. This act of God happened on the very day you and I accepted Jesus Christ as our own personal Savior.
If you have been publicly baptized by immersion at the church, the reason why it was so important is that it represented this invisible work of the Holy Spirit in our lives as believers. Paul explained this truth in Romans 6:3-4 (ESV):3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Therefore, what Paul is saying is that at the time we believed in Jesus Christ and received Him at our Savior, our dynamic life has begun because not only were we cleanse and forgiven, we were also placed in Jesus Christ. Do you know the effects of this truth in your life? Let’s move to the next point.
II OUR INTIMACY WITH CHRIST
After the apostle Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ,” he then proceeded and stated, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” This second phrase is so powerful that we must take the time to fully understand it. You see, since you have already been united in Christ, now, you have in you the resurrected life of Jesus Christ day in and day out. You and I literally have the indwelling Christ in us that gives us the power to overcome every sin, every darkness, and every difficulty that the enemy throws at us to destroy us. The question is, whether or not, we are willing to believe this truth.
This indwelling Christ in our lives brings us intimacy with the Almighty God. God knows how helpless and vulnerable we are against our powerful spiritual enemies. So, He did not just give us a guardian angel to secure us, He gave us Himself, so that He could be the dynamic source of power every minute and every hour of our lives. Allow me to give you three areas where this power is demonstrated:
A. In Securing Our Salvation
When Jesus was teaching about Him being the Good Shepherd and His ability to give His sheep eternal life, He also emphasized the security of His sheep in Him:
John 10:27-30 (ESV) 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
Clearly, once we are in Jesus Christ, no one and nothing can take away our eternal life from us.
B. In Supporting Our Service
Another area where we desperately need help is in serving God. Because of everything He has done for us, we want to convey our deepest gratitude to Him by serving Him. However, on our own, we are often distracted and inadequate to serve. This incompetence is the reason why He indwelt us. This is the most effective way we can be fruitful in our services to Him. Jesus Himself reminded us:
John 15:4-5 (ESV) 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Yes, He is the Vine where we, as branches, get our nutrients and energy to bear fruit. He clearly reminded us that we are nothing and unable to bear fruit on our own. So, the more we abide and depend on Him, the more we can be productive in our services to Him.
C. In Surmounting Every Satanic Attacks
The Bible is quite clear that we all live in the spiritual realm where we are always under the attacks of Satan and His demons. It is sometimes scary to think that we have invisible enemies. However, we need to constantly remind ourselves that we should not be afraid in this life because Christ dwelling in us makes us real overcomers. Here is how God puts it for us:
Romans 8:35-39 (ESV) 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When you begin to read verse 35, we read some visible enemies we can encounter in life. Then you have verse 36, where you read the common perception by others, especially those who don’t believe in God – it is as if God’s people are being killed and slaughtered like sheep. But, as you transitioned to verses 37-39, God would give us the real situation of God’s people – “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Beloved, that’s exactly how we should see ourselves during these challenging times. We will overcome anything and everything because the One who loves us lives in us.
Let’s constantly revisit these three areas and be reminded that we are significantly intimate with the Christ who loves us. He is literally helping us live our lives every single day. It would be a great shame to continually fail to take advantage of it.
III OUR INSPIRATION IN CHRIST
Finally, let’s move to the last sentence of our verse – “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.” This third part of the verse emphasizes the most appropriate response we can give to Jesus Christ, who has given us a dynamic life today. And what is that response? To be inspired to live by faith in Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us.
In order to fully understand our response, first, we need to emphasize the idea that “we live in the flesh.” How many times have we used being in the flesh as an excuse for failing to live for Christ? Now, bear with me because this is a lengthy passage, but I will simplify it later:
Galatians 5:16-24 (ESV) 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we carefully examine these verses, the apostle Paul makes a very distinct description between living according to the works of the flesh and living according to the Spirit, who lives in us and represents Christ inside of us. Evidently, the flesh leads us to live a sinful life, while the Holy Spirit produces a godly life in us.
Going back to the third part of our verse, the apostle Paul testified that once he totally understood what Jesus had done for him, he decided to stop living a sinful life. Instead, he started living in a way his faith in Christ is demonstrated. Just like Paul, I trust and pray that our faith in Jesus Christ can truly inspire us to live a godly life that can demonstrate that we believe in Him. This is why Paul said these words in 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
If in case you missed why Christ deserves our commitment to live for Him, Paul added this phrase – “who loved me and gave himself for me.” Think about it! Christ could have loved us and not do anything to deliver us from sin. But He knew He couldn’t love us and stay in heaven. And so, He came and gave His own life for our salvation. How could we not appreciate Him and be compelled to live for Him? Without a doubt, He deserves all the praises, all the love, and loyalty we are giving Him today.
As I close this morning, I pray that we would have a much clearer understanding of these declarations – “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.”
How many of us are living the dynamic life that God has designed for us? If you are living in fear or if you are living as if Jesus is distant from you, you are missing out. Live in faith. Live, believing that He has your back—and that He is committed to helping you overcome anything and everything that Satan throws at you in this life.
- Dr. Jeremiah Lepasana