Galatians 2:20 explained: what “no longer I who live” means

I remember when it hit me that trying my best to obey God is not the same thing as walking by the Spirit. By conflating the two, I had unintentionally removed all supernatural power from the Christian life. Through the ultimate demonic trickery, even in my effort to obey God, I was actually putting off the Spirit. The impact that this revelation had (and still has) on me cannot be overstated, for it was the difference between operating under the law versus under grace; between fruitless effort and productive effort.

You see, whether or not you are walking by the Spirit is not about whether you are trying. It isn’t about whether you are going to church regularly, reading enough scripture, spending enough time in prayer, sharing your faith with others, making disciples, or any other sort of religious activity. It’s about how you view your present spiritual state.

In attempting to please God, are you straining to become something you are not, to do things contrary to your will/nature? Or are you simply being exactly what you are because you cannot be anything else?

Walking by the Spirit doesn’t begin with thinking to yourself, “What does God want me to do right now?” Nor does it begin with more directly asking God, “What would you have me do right now?” Nor even does it begin with praying, “God, help me to do your will.” For, while none of these are inherently wrong, they can all be said (and often are) with the underlying belief that you and the Spirit of God are very different from one another, in which case, you have already lost the battle, reducing yourself to mere flesh and putting off the very thing (the Spirit) that God has given you in order to walk in victory.

Paul says, “[Since] we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). Notice where he begins: since we live by the Spirit. If we do not start there, then our efforts to “keep in step” will be futile. Relating this again to the analogy of a branch connected to a vine (where we are the branch, Christ is the vine, and the Spirit is his life that flows into us), then we can see more clearly what Paul means. To say that “we live by the Spirit” means something like “the Spirit is the source of our life,” “we were born of the Spirit,” “the Spirit defines who we are,” “we have the same nature as the Spirit,” etc. Therefore, this belief about our identity, our nature, and all that we have in common with God, must be the starting point of our thinking, from which we then live our lives. Again, our identity drives our actions.

This merits a much deeper conversation about our Christian identity, which this chapter (and in a way, the whole book) is devoted to. As much talk as there is in today’s church about our “identity in Christ,” there is not nearly enough. And even when it is discussed, I find it is often missing the clarity that is needed to be highly useful. It’s one of those “interesting ideas” that not many people know how to apply, and very few realize how absolutely central it is to the mechanics of the gospel.

But, to be sure, “identity in Christ” isn’t the kind of message we should preach just once a year to make sure we’ve covered our theological bases. It isn’t just a random topic for you and your small group to study, after which you move on to other things. It isn’t just one among many other ways to grow spiritually, nor is it just one among many subjects that are equally beneficial. In a way, I would argue, it is everything. It is the key to understanding all that we’ve been given. It is the foundation of the gospel which should pervade everything we teach. And as such, it is worth our tireless pursuit to attain the revelation together, all the way to glory.

Like Christ vs. In Christ

A Bible word search will reveal to you that the phrases “in Christ,” “in him,” “in the Lord,” etc. (those which refer to Jesus) appear over 200 times in the New Testament. Guess how many times “like Christ” appears. Zero. The words “like him” appears twice—Philippians 3:10 and 1 John 3:2. Even if you use a translation that is less literal, you will not find “like Christ” more than five times, and the other three of them are an inaccurate translation of the Greek.

Here is the point that I am trying to make. “In Christ” is the most common biblical description of the state of a Christian, yet to most, it has become a practically meaningless expression. We read past it without a thought, assuming it to be merely flowery language. On the other hand, “like Christ” is hardly biblical at all, and yet it has become, to many, the highest goal of the Christian life. This may seem like nothing, but it makes all the difference in the world as to how we understand our righteousness.

The gospel of “Christ-likeness” is deceptively works-based if we fail to recognize that our likeness is purely the product of our oneness. In other words, we are never to think of ourselves as like him apart from him. The life of Christ is not a mere example that we are supposed to follow. If it is, then we are most utterly under the law, and we have nothing but self-righteousness. Instead, Christ is a person with whom we have been joined. The only light we shine is Light himself. From the beginning to the end of the Christian life—from infancy to maturity—it is Christ’s righteousness that is manifest in us. This is why Paul speaks of “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Philippians 3:9). Sanctification is not so much the process of Jesus making us more like himself; it is Jesus himself being more and more manifest in us, which is the fruit of our ever-increasing faith. “[N]ow the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law . . . the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Romans 3:21-22).

We do not fix our eyes on ourselves, claiming to be perfect. We fix our eyes on Jesus, our new life, and we dare to believe that “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Anything apart from him is not truly who we are. Do not let anyone convince you—Satan or otherwise—that this is a blasphemous thought. It is in your Bible, and it is time to start believing it. It takes the utmost humility to believe and receive this grace, for it allows no room whatsoever for even a trace of self-righteousness. We do not claim to be Jesus, nor even to be like Jesus. Rather, we claim to be in Jesus, and he in us. For “Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11). It truly is all by grace through faith.