The Freedom of Christ in Me

The Freedom of Christ in Me

Those who struggle to live the Christian life are the ones trying to live the Christian life. It is impossible to live. Fortunately, we don’t have to live it, Christ does. Many people think that living the Christian life is keeping the Ten Commandments, going to church, giving to the poor, and basically being “good.” However, the Christian life is so much more than that. It is the life of Christ Himself. When people look at all they think they have to do, they don’t understand verses like Galatians 5:1, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free…” (New Inductive Study Bible). They see the Christian life as bondage to a lot of rules and regulations. However, the freedom that is the central concept of Paul’s epistle to the Galatians is evident when the Christian life is seen as Christ living it through the believer. All the believer has to do is trust Him. What could be more freeing? Trusting in Christ to live through us is a simple concept, yet it is difficult in practice. However, an understanding of this concept can make that practice easier. The explanation can be found in Galatians 2:19-20.

Galatians 2:19 states, “For through the Law I died…” (New Inductive Study Bible). The first fact that must be understood is the death of the sinner. Because I am unable to keep the Law, I must be punished to satisfy the Law, and that punishment is death (NISB, Romans 6:23). Jesus Christ died on the cross as my substitute, satisfying the Law, in order that I would not have to experience true death, eternal separation from God. However, I did experience death, death to sin (NISB, Romans 6:11). If the verse stopped there, I could look forward to eternity in Heaven, but that is all. The verse does not stop there; it goes on to say, “…so that I might live to God” (NISB, Galatians 2:19). So in the present I am to “live to God.” How can I do this? I can’t. Fortunately, Paul continues in verse 20, “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” (New Inductive Study Bible). The death to sin I experienced was through identification with Christ. When He was crucified on the cross, I was crucified with Him; when he was buried, I was buried, and when He rose again, I also rose again. The second fact that must be understood is the regeneration of the believer. II Corinthians 5:17 says that I am a “new creature” (New Inductive Study Bible). And this “new creature” has been created in union with Christ. God gave me new life by giving me a new source of life, Christ in me. So when Galatians 2:20 says, “…the life which I now live in the flesh” (New Inductive Study Bible), it’s referring to the fact that I am still here on earth living in my same earthly body, but that life is lived by faith, faith in the new creation I became, faith in Christ. And when Galatians 2:20 says, “…it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (New Inductive Study Bible), it’s referring to the fact that God put His very character in me, so as long as I am living in reliance on Christ, that character will be my life, the Christian life.

How do these facts apply to my everyday life? It is simply a matter of focus. If I am focusing on anything other than Christ to make it through the day, I am denying Him. Some of the things I could be focusing on could be very “good” things in the world’s eyes – keeping the Ten Commandments, going to church, giving to the poor, and basically being “good” – but none of these things are Jesus Christ. Some of these actions may result from my focusing on Christ, but if they are the result of anything else, they are nothing. As Watchman Nee illustrates through the conversation with a young brother, “The Lord has shown me that I can do anything, but that he has said, ‘Apart from me ye can do nothing.’ So it comes to this, that everything I have done and can still do apart from him is nothing!” (234). My responsibility as a Christian boils down to one thing: to know Christ. If I focus on Him, He will live the Christian life through me.