Galatians is a small but precious epistle. It is full of treasures. It has 149 verses and in my forthcoming book, The Grace Bible: Galatians, I unpack every one of them.
Here’s a taste:
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. (Galatians 2:20)
I have been crucified with Christ. My old self – the one that was concerned with rules and sin – died with Christ (Rom. 6:3). It is no more.
Many Christians are trying to crucify the flesh or their old self, but the good news declares, “You died.” This is just about the most important thing that happened to you, yet many Christians are ignorant of it. They do not know that when they were baptized, or placed into Jesus, his history became their history. His death and resurrection are your death and resurrection (Rom. 6:4). The old has gone and the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17).
It is no longer I who live. The self-serving person you once were no longer lives.
Once upon a time, Saul had been a zealous Pharisee intent on destroying the church. But when he met the Lord, that person died and a new person, Paul the beloved son of God, was born.
No longer. Paul repeats the “no longer” phrase to emphasize the change between the old and the new. Your old self no longer lives (Gal. 2:20). We are no longer under the guardianship of the law (Gal. 3:25). You are no longer a slave but a son (Gal. 4:7).
Christ lives in me. The Spirit of Christ dwells within the believer (John 14:17, 1 John 4:13).
Christianity is not a religion of rules and rituals. Christianity is Christ living in you. This is the beating heart of Paul’s message. Because Christ lives in you, you are holy and righteous. Because Christ lives in you, you can be free and fruitful. Christ is not just your Savior and Healer. Christ is your Life (Col. 3:4).
In the flesh. In this earthly body.
Faith in the Son of God. The primary call to action of Galatians is to live by faith in Jesus (Gal. 3:11). We receive the gospel by faith (Gal 3:2), we are justified by faith (Gal. 2:16), and we are adopted into the family of God by faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:26). Real life comes from trusting the Lord.
The King James Version and other translations translate this verse as the “faith of the Son of God”. (The KJV also refers to “the faith of Jesus Christ in Galatians 2:16 and 3:22.) We who have been justified by the faith of Jesus Christ (Gal 2:16) now live by the faith of Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:20). If this was Paul’s meaning, we can say that we were justified and declared righteous because Jesus was faithful unto death, and we are empowered to live in Christ because he is, and will always remain, faithful.
Son of God. Jesus is the Christ (the anointed one; Gal. 1:1), and the Lord (supreme above all; Gal. 1:3), but ultimately, he is the Son of God. His relationship to God the Father defines him (and us; Gal. 3:26).
Who loved me. The love of God is revealed to us through his Son Jesus Christ (see entry for John 17:26).
Manmade religion portrays God as capricious. “Sometimes he loves you, sometimes he doesn’t.” But the gospel of grace declares God’s love for you is constant and shadowless (Ps. 136, Jas. 1:17).
Religion prostitutes the love of God by putting price tags on his affection. “You have to earn his favor.” But the gospel of grace declares that God loved you while you were a sinner and nothing can separate you from his love (Rom. 5:8, 8:38–39).
Religion demands that you impress God with the fervency of your love, but the gospel of grace inspires you to trust in your heavenly Father who loves you without limit (Eph. 3:17–19).
God’s love changes us. It turns sinners into saints, haters into lovers, church wreckers into church planters. Everything that is good about the good news—his forgiveness, acceptance, and righteousness—is good and true because your heavenly Father loves you. He always has and he always will. God never changes.
Gave himself up for me. The cross proves that God loves you unconditionally.
The sacrificial love of God is the heart of the good news (John 15:13, Eph. 5:2). God did not wait for us to repent or get cleaned up before he loved us. While we were in the filth of our sin and self-righteousness, he came and hugged us. God justifies the ungodly (Rom. 4:5).
God will never make you jump through hoops to earn his love. He won’t love you any more if you succeed and he won’t love you any less if you fail. If you lead millions to Christ or none at all, he will love you just the same. There is nothing you can do to make him love you more, and nothing you can do to make him love you less.
His love endures forever.
Paul Ellis
Intentional Faith 