I have been crucified with Christ.
Paul's radical identity shift — and the invitation to share it.
The episode in a glance.
- 01'Crucified with Christ' means your old self is dead and buried.
- 02The life you now live is resurrection life — powered by faith.
- 03'Christ who lives in me' — Jesus isn't distant; he's present.
- 04This is the exchanged life: your old life for his new one.
Read along.
Galatians 2:20 — '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.' This is Paul's autobiography in one sentence.
'Crucified with Christ' — Paul isn't talking about physical death. He's talking about identity death. The old Paul — the self-righteous, violent, proud Paul — was executed on the cross with Jesus.
'No longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me' — this is the exchanged life. Paul's old identity is gone. Jesus' life is now flowing through him. That's not a metaphor. It's a reality.
And the fuel? Faith. 'The life I now live, I live by faith.' Not by performance. Not by willpower. By trusting the Son of God who loved him and gave himself for him. That's the whole Christian life in one verse.