Galatians 2:20 Explained
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth 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 gave himself for me." — Galatians 2:20 (KJV)
Galatians 2:20 is Paul's most personal statement of what union with Christ means — a death and a new life lived from the inside out.
Context
Paul is defending justification by faith against those adding law-keeping to the gospel. Verse 20 is the climax of his personal testimony: the old law-bound self has died with Christ; what lives now is Christ in him.
What it means
A paradox: 'I am crucified... nevertheless I live... yet not I, but Christ.' The self that tried to earn God's favor has died. The new life is lived 'by the faith of the Son of God' — dependent, not self-powered. The personal note lands hard: 'who loved me, and gave himself for me.' Not humanity in general — me.
How to pray it
Pray this verse in the first person, slowly. Where are you still trying to live 'I' instead of 'Christ in me'? Surrender that. End on the personal clause: 'who loved ME, and gave himself for ME.'
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