IBS Galatians 2:20 (9-11-14)

Inductive Bible Study for Galatians 2:20  (9-11-14)

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is not 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 for me."

I absolutely love this verse. It reminds me of Romans 6, which Pastor Gitu had me read before I was baptized. Summarized, it says that we should no longer walk in sin because we were crucified with Christ and can now walk in newness of life. In order to live in Christ, our flesh needs to die and be buried. I tried to skip this part! I thought I could live for Christ while still holding onto my flesh and sin. The whole point of becoming a believer is to follow Matthew 16:24 - "The Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."". Denying ourselves is to be crucified with Christ - I just recently started grasping this vital concept. 

Mike, Sara and I just taught a study on John 14 and I was really moved by something Mike said. He was talking about verse 30 and how the ruler of this world (Satan) has nothing on Christ. Satan didn't make Jesus die - He did it of His own free will. God came down from His throne and traded everything perfect for everything sinful. He became a servant to humans, suffered through horrific torture and died the most painful death. Why? Because He loved me and gave Himself for me that I might choose His salvation. We still live in the flesh because we can't do otherwise until we get to heaven, but we can choose to act in the spirit.

How am I to act in the spirit instead of in the flesh? It is decided on which one I feed more. Am I putting my pride, selfishness and desires above humility, selflessness and what God wants for me? I hate having to put others before myself. I hate sharing. I hate that I shouldn't say everything that comes to my mind. I feel His Spirit tugging at my heart every time I have the choice to either do what I want to do or do what I know He wants me to do. My application of this verse is to literally apply these truths to my life. There will always be rough spots in life, and I'm going through one right now. I need to remember that it's not me who is alive - it's Christ.