Galatians 2:21 says, “I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness is through law, then Christ has died for nothing.” This verse indicates that Christ died to fulfill the requirements of the law that we may have righteousness in Him. In Adam we do not have righteousness; rather, we have a sinful nature. But Christ was crucified on the cross to fulfill all the requirements of God’s holy and righteous law. Now we may have righteousness in Christ.
Some Christians have seen only that Christ died on the cross for our sins. They have not also seen that He died to become our righteousness. Dying for our sins is related to redemption, whereas dying to become our righteousness is related to justification. Redemption is on the negative side, but justification is on the positive side. The cross of Christ is both for redemption and justification. Through His death we have been redeemed from our sins, and through His death we have also obtained righteousness in Him.
In 2:19 Paul says, “For I through law have died to law that I might live to God.” Apart from the crucifixion of Christ, there is no way for us to die to the law. Christ was crucified to make us dead to the law. Even if we in ourselves could die to the law, that type of death would not count in the eyes of God. The only death that matters in His eyes is the death of Christ. Death in Adam is horrible, but the death of Christ is lovely and even lovable, for it accomplishes a great deal for us. Through Christ’s death, we have become dead to the law so that we might live to God.
Through the crucifixion of Christ we have been crucified with Christ. This enables us to crucify our flesh with the passions and lusts (5:24). In other words, we have been crucified with Christ so that we may be able to crucify our flesh.
We all are troubled by the old man, the self, and the flesh. Romans 6:6 says that our old man, not our flesh, has been crucified with Christ. Galatians 5:24 says that those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh. This verse does not say that those who belong to Christ have crucified their old man. However, there is no verse which tells us that the self has been crucified with Christ. The “I” in 2:20 does not refer to the self; it denotes the old man, the person without God. Thus, our old man, not our self, has been crucified with Christ. Furthermore, according to 5:24, it is our flesh which must be crucified. Christ has crucified the old man, but we who belong to Christ must crucify the flesh. Our crucifying the flesh with its passions and lusts is based upon the fact that our old man has been crucified with Christ. Could we crucify our flesh if Christ had not been crucified? Certainly not!
We need to have a clear understanding concerning the old man, the self, and the flesh. There is no need for us to deal with the old man, for the old man has already been crucified with Christ. However, day by day we need to crucify our flesh. The problems in our daily living do not come from the old man, but from the flesh with its passions and lusts. Therefore, based upon the fact that our old man has already been dealt with through the death of Christ, we must go on to crucify our flesh in a practical way.
It is crucial to see the difference between Romans 6:6 and Galatians 5:24. In 5:24 Paul does not say that those who are Christ’s have crucified the old man. He says that they have crucified the flesh. Furthermore, we need to see that no one can crucify himself. It is not possible to commit suicide by crucifixion. For this reason, it is not possible for us to crucify our old man, our old “I.” Although we cannot crucify the old man, we can crucify the flesh. This is not suicide. The crucifixion of the old man had to be accomplished by someone else, but the crucifixion of the flesh must be carried out by us.
How then shall we deal with the self? We must deny the self through bearing the cross. The self is already on the cross. Let us leave it there and not allow it to come down. To cause the self to stay on the cross is to bear the cross.
Now we can see that if Christ had not been crucified, we would not have any basis or foundation for the crucifixion of our flesh. Furthermore, if Christ had not been crucified, we would have no place to leave the self. But since Christ has died on the cross, we can crucify our flesh, based on the fact that the old man has been crucified. Also, we have a place to leave the self. Whenever the self rises up, we need to say, “Pitiful self, go back to the cross and stay there. I do not allow you to come down from the cross and make proposals to me. Your place is the cross.” This is the proper way to deny the self.
The cross of Christ is the basis both for the crucifixion of the flesh and the denial of the self. By means of Christ’s resurrection life we can crucify the flesh and keep the self on the cross. When Christ was crucified, we were crucified also. Now in His resurrection life He lives in us, and we live in Him. With His crucifixion as the foundation, we are now able in Christ’s resurrection life to crucify the flesh and deny the self.
Finally, Christ was crucified to have the world crucified to us and us to the world. This especially refers to the religious world. In 6:14 Paul declares, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.” The following verse indicates that the world in verse 14 refers mainly to the religious world. This religious world is the evil age from which we have been delivered through the cross of Christ.
To go back to the law is to turn away both from Christ and from the cross. To do this is to nullify the grace of God. It is of vital importance for us to see what the cross of Christ has accomplished for us. Through the cross Christ redeemed us from our sins, rescued us from the present evil age, and redeemed us from the curse of the law. Through the cross Christ has fulfilled the requirements of the law so that we may be righteous, and He has enabled us to be dead to the law so that we might live to God. Through Christ’s crucifixion we now have the ground to crucify the flesh and the way to be separated from the world.
As we consider all these matters, we see that not one of them could be accomplished through keeping the law. Because the Galatians were endeavoring to keep the law, Paul considered them foolish and told them that they had been bewitched. In this Epistle Paul was bringing them back to the cross and encouraging them to behold Christ crucified. If we have a clear vision of Christ crucified, we shall never go back to the law. On the contrary, we shall put the law under our feet and remain with Christ who was crucified for us. This Christ is the center of God’s economy, and the cross of Christ is the center of God’s operation to carry out His economy. Today we have no need of the law. What we need is Christ and the cross.
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