It Is No Longer I

Transcript

Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 338, It Is No Longer I.

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20.

This is one of the most personal verses Paul ever wrote. He isn't doing distant theology here — he's talking about his own life, turned inside out by the cross of Christ.

Notice that first line: "I have been crucified with Christ." It's not just that Christ died for Paul — it's that Paul, in some real and spiritual way, died along with him. The cross stops being a distant event back in history and becomes the place where the old Paul — full of self-merit, religious pride, effort to justify himself — was decisively buried.

And then comes the declaration that echoes across the centuries: "it is no longer I who live." This doesn't erase Paul. He's still himself — same story, same personality, same gifts. But the center changed. Before, he lived revolving around himself, his own achievements, his own righteousness. Now, the center is someone else.

And who is that center? "Christ who lives in me." Stop and hear that again. It's not just that Christ forgave Paul from a distance, like signing a document and walking away. It's presence. It's dwelling. Christ came to live inside the one who was crucified with him. That's the heart of the gospel — not just a God who forgives from far away, but a God who comes to dwell inside you.

But notice — Paul doesn't become some bodiless ghost floating around. He says: "the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith." He still wakes up every morning. He still works, still travels, still faces persecution, fatigue, hard decisions. Ordinary life continues. But the engine behind all of it is no longer self-effort — it's faith. Faith in someone specific.

And who is that someone? "The Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Notice the pronoun: "for me." This isn't generic doctrine about a God who loves humanity in the abstract. It's personal. Paul is saying: he had my face in mind when he climbed onto that cross. And, my friend, if you belong to him, he had your face in mind too.

That changes everything about how we face today. How often do you react on impulse, decide by your own strength, try to fix everything alone — as if the old self were still in charge? But the truth is: that self has already been crucified. And there is a living Christ, present, dwelling in you, waiting to be the source of your next decision.

So today I want to challenge you: think of one decision coming up today — a conversation, a reaction, a choice — that you'd normally make purely on your own impulse. Before you act, hand that decision over to Christ in prayer. Let faith in him, not your own effort, guide your response.

Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.