I have been crucified with Christ
Galatians 2:20(AMP) I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
If you are going to be a follower of Christ, you must come to the place of being crucified with Him. Jesus endured the cross, not just so that He could live, but that we could live. It was His death that brought life. It will be the same with us. When we are crucified with Christ and die to ourselves, that death will bring life to others.
Matthew 16:24-26(NLT) Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
This is the goal of being crucified with Christ: that you would decrease, and He would increase. When Christ was crucified, it was as if we were crucified with Him. The penalty was fully paid—just as surely as if we had been crucified for our own sins. When Christ rose from the dead, we rose too. Now the risen Christ empowers us to live for Him in a way that pleases God. We used to seek life through our own works, but now we ‘live by faith in the Son of God’.
‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.’ The beauty of what Jesus did on the cross, isn’t just that we gain salvation, but also that we gain Jesus. He lives with us, in us. We can have an intimate relationship with Him.
To be crucified with Christ is not a one-time event, rather a daily submission. If a person does not crucify their own will and desires, then Christ cannot fully live in them. If Christ lives in you, then your life will reflect Him. That means His character takes shape in your life, because you have crucified yourself and are allowing Him to live in you and through you.
Galatians 5:24(NLT) Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
Romans 6:6-7(NLT) We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.
“Christ represents those who place their faith in Him. If we are united with Christ, then we are united to Him in all that He has done for us.
Christ represents those who come to be His so thoroughly, that we are said to have been crucified with Christ, Galatians 2:20a(NLT) My old self has been crucified with Christ; and buried with him, Romans 6:4(NLT) For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives; and raised with Christ, Colossians 3:1(NLT) Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. We are even seated with him in the heavenly places, Ephesians 2:6 (NLT) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus, now as we walk about with both feet on the ground.” -Rankin Wilbourne