“I 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 the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and give Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20.
What is the context of this verse? Consider the two immediately surrounding verses:
19: “For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.”
21: “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly (in vain, to no purpose).”
We have died to the Law; we are crucified with Christ. If we are dead how can we be alive? We are alive because Christ lives within us.
The Law cannot produce the life of Christ within us, in fact the Law is incapable of producing life, to the contrary it produces condemnation and death. If the Law can only produce guilt and condemnation and death, then why do we seek to practice the Law, why do we teach it, why do we not instead seek to show the church that we have died to the Law, that we are free from the Law (Romans 7:1-6) and married to Jesus Christ? (See also 2 Corinthians Chapter Two and Romans 3:19 - 31).
Can it be that we do not trust the grace of God to accomplish the work of God? The people of Israel are delivered from Egypt but do not make it to the Promised Land. Lazarus comes forth from the grave but his grave clothes remain on him. The church is confused as to her husband, she does not realize she has died to the Law, she thinks one minute that she is married to the Law and the other minute that she is married to Christ. Whose wife is she? How shall she act? Whose house does she live in? Who does her heart belong to? Whose clothes is she wearing? Where is her attention directed? Who does her heart beat for?
Whose ring is on her finger? Does she wear two rings? Does she put one ring on and the other ring off throughout the day? Throughout the week? Throughout the worship service? Throughout the small group?
Do the Law and Christ have joint custody of us? Do we live with one husband one day and the other husband the next day? Who exactly are we? Whose are we? Are we dead to the Law or not?
A resolution of the above questions is critical to our life in Christ - without a resolution we are living as adulteresses (see Romans 7:3). The very reason we can be free from sin as our master is that we are not under the Law.
“For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!” (Romans 6:14 - 15).
Ah, but what is the reality in the church? More often than not it seems we allow the fear that unless we are kept under the Law that we will live lawless and sinful lives to drive us to our dead husband - the Law, a husband which can only bring us transgression and condemnation. Consider the absurdness of it all, because we are afraid that we will sin we go to our old husband who can only produce condemnation and sin. What sense does this make? Do we think that we deserve to be beaten? If so, then why did Christ die?
Can we not trust our true Husband, Jesus Christ? Can we not embrace Him? Can we not allow His life to live in us and through us? He put His wedding ring on us, can we not stop removing it and putting it back on, removing it and putting it back on, removing it and putting it back on? How tragic that we remove the ring that Christ put on our finger and replace with that from our old husband, the Law.
In Romans Chapter Six Paul anticipated the very questions that bombard us today, voices insisting that without the Law there will be sin - he is incredulous - “May it never be!” (Romans 6:15). Are we unconvinced?
Do we have battered spouse syndrome? We don’t believe we deserve better.
Oh but how our Lord Jesus loves us. He died for us so that we might live with Him, in Him, and through Him; and that He might live in us. He so greatly desires that we would trust Him and His grace and His love for us; that we might learn what love is, the mystery and might of the Holy Spirit, what it is to be the sons and daughters of the Living God.
Christ calls you to Himself, to live in His grace, to know life as He lives it in you and through you. Trust Him, receive Him, know that He is your Husband - oh Church - know that Jesus Christ is your Husband and you no longer live in the house of the Law.
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