The Dead Living Base Text: Galatians 2:20 I. Introduction A. The dead living 1. A rather odd concept! 2. By definition, that which is dead is not alive 3. How can anything be the "dead living"? B. Galatians 2:20 C. Paul here describes how it is that there are the dead that live D. Let us consider this verse today! II. "I Have Been Crucified With Christ" A. Paul begins by a declaration that he has been "crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20a) B. Crucifixion: the way in which Jesus was killed 1. Matthew 27:32-50, Mark 15:21-37, Luke 23:26-46, John 19:17-30 2. A horrendous way to die! 3. Our familiarity with the more "spiritual" ways of considering crucifixion often dulls the force and meaning of it! 4. It was the most painful, public, and humiliating way to die! 5. English word "excruciating" derives from Latin for "from the cross"! C. Taking up the cross a constant message of Jesus 1. Matthew 10:38, Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:27 2. When saying such things, Jesus has not yet Himself died on the cross! 3. Sure, He knows it will come (cf. Matthew 16:21/Luke 9:22)... 4. ...but He speaks of something that is true even in the present! 5. A cross, even then, was the symbol of humiliation and loss 6. Hence what is explicit in Luke 9:23: the need to deny oneself daily and to pick up the cross 7. Therefore, when Paul speaks about being "crucified with Christ," he in a very real sense expresses how we publicly, often painfully, and in humiliating ways, may or should suffer on His behalf! D. Yet what Paul says here goes deeper-- he speaks of his death! E. How is it that Paul was "crucified with Christ"? F. He provides further explanation in Romans 6 1. Romans 6:1-11 2. Yes, baptism is mentioned, and it is the means by which we die in Christ! 3. In verses 3-7, Paul demonstrates that baptism represents us dying and being raised in Christ in a spiritual way 4. It is clear, therefore, that our baptism represents the moment of our death in Christ G. But is that all that Paul is conveying? 1. The main point of the passage is not to explain baptism! 2. The death and resurrection that is present within baptism is the point of the passage! 3. Hypothetical argument: if we have received grace because we have sinned, should we not sin more to gain more grace? (v. 1) 4. Answer: absolutely not! How can we who died to sin live in it (v. 2)? 5. Verses 3 through 10 indicate how we have died to sin! 6. Romans 6:6: the "old self" was crucified with Jesus to bring the body of sin to nothing, so that we would not be enslaved to sin! 7. Romans 6:7: he who has died is set free from sin 8. Therefore, we need to die if we will be freed from sin! H. Romans 3:23: wages of sin is death 1. This is why we need to die: that is the payment of sin 2. The cause of physical death: Genesis 3:19, Romans 5:12 3. Spiritual death will come to so many (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9) 4. This is why the “old self” must be put to death! I. The essence of the matter: Romans 6:11 1. If we will "live to God," we must consider ourselves "dead to sin" 2. We can only do that by dying in Christ 3. We die in Christ when we are immersed in water in His name for the remission of our sins J. Therefore, we must be or have been "crucified with Christ"! III. "And the Life I Now Live in the Flesh I Live by Faith in the Son of God" A. Paul says that he has been crucified, and yet he is currently alive! B. This paradox is reconciled in Galatians 2:20c: the life Paul lives is by faith in the Son of God! C. This matter even seen in Romans 6 1. It is not just that we are "dead to sin" 2. Baptism is not just a "death"-- it is also a "resurrection" (Romans 6:5)! 3. We put off the "old man of sin" to walk in "newness of life" (Romans 6:4) 4. The life Christ lives He lives to God, and thus it should be for us (v. 10-11) 5. But what is this "new life"? D. We are still in the flesh, and still have conflict! 1. It is not that we are transformed bodily in baptism! 2. We still live "in the flesh," and subject to the temptations of the flesh 3. Romans 7 illustrates the challenges we face 4. Galatians 5:17-24: opposition of the spirit and the flesh 5. Not to be understood strictly: "spirit" as the impulses to do that which is according to God, "flesh" as the impulses to do that which is according to sin and the world (cf. 1 John 2:15-17) E. The new life must be "in faith"! 1. Romans 1:17 2. Hebrews 11:6 3. While we sought our own will and our own desires while in the "old self," we must now seek God and live by faith in Him in the "new life" 4. The essence of repentance! F. This is only possible through the Son of God 1. He is the one who loved us and gave Himself for us (Galatians 2:20d, John 3:16) 2. It is through His blood that we can even have this association with the Father (1 John 1:1-7) 3. Since He is now Lord, it is fitting to live by faith in Him (Matthew 28:18) G. This is how we can be the "living dead" 1. We are dead to sin, having been baptized into Christ's death (Romans 6:3) 2. But we are still alive, and we now live to God through faith (Romans 6:11, Galatians 2:20) 3. We speak in spiritual terms-- the old man of sin is dead, and now a new creation in Christ lives to God (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17) H. But how is this realized? IV. "It is No Longer I Who Live, But Christ Who Lives in Me" A. We then return to Galatians 2:20b: a startling statement indeed! B. Paul indicates that as the new creation, it is no longer he who lives, but Christ in him! C. Does this mean that Paul is now Jesus? 1. We cannot understand him in physical terms! 2. Paul is indeed still Paul, and we do not cease being ourselves when we become Christians D. But what Paul is saying is quite profound! 1. Even though it is Paul who lives, there’s not much "Paul" about him-- it is all about Jesus! 2. He does not seek his own will, but the will of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:17, Ephesians 6:6) 3. This is appropriate, since Jesus Himself provided the example of doing the will of another, and not one's own will (John 6:38) E. How can this be? 1. Recognition: not within us to direct our own steps (Jeremiah 10:23) 2. When we lived according to our own will, we reaped sin, suffering, and death! 3. We now live by faith in God (2 Corinthians 5:7), not by sight F. How do we do this? 1. We walk as Christ walked (1 Corinthians 11:1, 1 John 2:5-6) 2. We can do this slavishly, in terms of doing the same things Jesus did, love and mercy and compassion! 3. We also do this by doing the same type of thing that Jesus did: interpret the Scriptures properly and live by them (cf. Matthew 4), seek the will of God, not our own will (John 6:38), etc. 4. By this we may know if we are His disciples! G. Our lives should be so patterned by Jesus Christ and our faith so complete that we should be able to say, as Paul does, that it is no longer we who live, but Christ in us! 1. A challenge indeed! 2. Do we have this type of faith? 3. Do we seek the Lord’s will in every aspect of life (Colossians 3:17)? 4. How can we "live by faith" and do otherwise? V. Conclusion A. The "living dead" may sound odd, but it is the only way to be pleasing to God! B. We have seen how Galatians 2:20 indicates that we are to be crucified with Christ C. We also must then live by faith in the Son of God so that it can be said that it is no longer we who live, but Christ in us! D. Let us die to sin and live to God! E. Invitation/songbook