HOW DO WE NAVIGATE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE?

 

Three times in Galatians 2:20, Paul uses the pronoun "in" (ἐν). Christ lives "in me" (ἐν ἐμοὶ). I live "in flesh" (ἐν σαρκί), and I live "in faith" (ἐν πίστει). The triple use of the pronoun "in" (ἐν) explains how we navigate the Christian life. There are three points on our navigation chart: Christ, flesh, and faith. The intersection of those three points determines how we live the Christian life.

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 faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 

My life on earth is life in tension. 

Christ lives in me, but I live in the flesh. Christ "in me" (ἐν ἐμοὶ) is a figurative expression for "the state of being filled with or gripped by something" or someone (BAGD, 259). Paul writes, "For in Him (ἐν αὐτῷ) all the fullness of deity lives in bodily form" (Col. 2:9). The fullness of all that God is fills, grips, and controls Christ. Christ lives in me in the sense that He fills, grips, and controls me. It is not His fullness that lives in me for I am not Christ (or God), but His person fills and grips my life for His purpose.

Yet I live in flesh (ἐν σαρκί). The word flesh here is not used in its ethical/theological sense, as in Romans 8:7-8. Here the word is physiological, referring to the mortal bodies our souls inhabit in our lives on earth. Flesh lacks the article indicating that we should understand it in qualitative terms. The pronoun "in" (ἐν) is locative, indicating the place in which we live, the sphere of physical life on earth. (BAGD, 258; Burton, Galatians, 138). 

The tension is intentional and obvious. Paul rejects any notion that the divine life and our physical lives are "mutually exclusive," as some were teaching (Longenecker, Galatians, 93). Christ lives in me as I eat, drink, work, and play. He transforms our lives in the most elemental ways. Because Christ grips and controls me, He is there when I watch sports or movies. He enters the home with me. He interacts with co-workers through me. Christ is involved as I debate politics or argue about theology. Because Christ lives in me, even the most basic facets of life are filled with His transforming presence.

My life on earth is life in faith.

The expression "I live by faith (ἐν πίστει) in the Son of God" is placed in the clause so that the two prepositional phrases starting with "in" are next to each other for emphasis. Literally, it reads, "the life I now live in flesh, in faith, I live in the Son of God." The prepositional phrase can be either instrumental or locative, and there is a subtle but significant difference between the two. The New American Standard Bible translates it as instrumental "by faith." Faith is the means or instrument by which we live the Christian life (BAGD, 260). By faith becomes somewhat mechanistic. We are trusting Christ for the results in our lives. We achieve what we achieve by faith in the Son of God.

However, the two phrases "in flesh" and "in faith" are best taken as parallel constructions. Both "flesh" and "faith" are anarthrous, stressing the qualitative aspects of each. Both prepositions are best taken as locative, indicating the sphere in which we live. Just as it is not "by flesh" (the means), but "in flesh" (the sphere), so it is not "by faith" (the means), but "in faith" (the sphere) that we must live the Christian life (Meyer, Galatians, 93). Faith is the "atmosphere" in which we live and breathe (Lightfoot, Galatians, 119). The Son of God is the object of our faith. We think and act in the atmosphere of faith in the Son of God, who dominates our lives. We are not just trusting Christ for results. We are trusting Christ for life.

The Christian life involves total immersion in Christ, like a fish in the water. Our lives become autonomic, like breathing air as we live in an atmosphere of faith. In Physics, we achieve equilibrium when the elements exist in perfect balance. So too, in the Christian life, there is equilibrium in Christ. Like a marble at the bottom of a bowl, no matter how the bowl of life is turned, we are stable in the atmosphere of faith. In biology, there is homeostasis, the organism maintains a stable inner state despite outside changes. Like our bodily temperature regulates to remain stable, so faith in the Son of God regulates all of life so that we remain stable. Our awareness of Christ becomes so enveloping that we sense His presence in all we do and say.

Living in the atmosphere of faith in Christ is how we navigate our Christian lives.

DETHRONED EGO

 

Painted on the rocks high above the main street in Skagway, Alaska, are some often photographed images. Legend has it that the clock, set to 7:20, memorialized the time of Abraham Lincoln's death. However, 7:20 is the normal clockmaker setting used to display the symmetry of a clock and likely advertised a local store. The other two engravings - Kirmse's Curios and Moe's Frontier Bar - were historic businesses in Skagway dating back to the gold rush days. People flocked to these streets from all over the country drawn by advertisers who promised they would get rich quick with all the gold in the mountains. In reality, the merchants in the tiny boomtown were the ones who made the most money. Ego drove gold fever. Self-promotion is inherent to human nature.

To know God, self must be dethroned and Christ enthroned in our lives. Paul wrote, "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 faith in the Son of God" (Gal. 2:20).

The KJV translates it "nevertheless I live" but the first δὲ is continuative not adversative so should be translated "and." The second δὲ should be understood as adversative and translated "but." "I no longer live" continues the thought of being crucified with Christ followed by the contrast - "Christ lives in me." The literal word order in the Greek text is dramatic - "live no longer I, but lives in me Christ" (Burton, Galatians, 137). The "I" (ἐγώ) is emphatic and directly contrasts with the emphatic "Christ." Ego and Christ cannot coexist in the Christian life!

LIFE B.C.

The "I" (ἐγώ) summarizes life before Christ. Paul says in verse 19 that "I died ... that I might live." The I who died (v.19) is the I who no longer lives (v.20). The I who lives has been merged into Christ. The natural man died. The person who was driven by the human ego no longer lives. Living for self is the person I was before Christ. Self-identity and self-promotion focus on the almighty I. Ego drives life apart from Christ. Once I become a Christian I no longer have a separate identity from Christ. My life is merged into His life (Lightfoot, Galatians, 119).

LIFE A.C.

We expect Paul to write, "I no longer live but I live in Christ." However, he is so caught up in the transformation of what it means to be a Christian that he writes, "Christ lives in me." The old me died. The new me is Christ. It is not that I now live in Christ but that Christ lives in me (Bruce, Galatians, 144). The present tense of the verb (ζῇ) indicates that Christ lives in me in an ongoing, continuous way. He is always in me. Paul is talking about our present life on earth not our future life in heaven. Our merger with Christ is now not later. There is no place that I can go and no activity that I can do that Christ is not in me as I do it. The Christian life is nothing less than the life of Christ operating in the Christian. Christ is resident within us. He is the controlling, operating power in our lives today.

We don't wait for this transformation to happen in heaven. Paul makes this clear when he writes, "and the life which I now live in the flesh." The life is "now" (νῦν) not later. It is in the flesh (σαρκί) not in the spirit. Flesh (σαρκί), in this context, refers to the physical, mortal body not the ethical, immoral nature of the human heart. The pronoun "in" (ἐν) expresses the sphere in which life operates. Paul is talking about living in the sphere of the physical body (Burton, Galatians, 138). 

The relative pronoun (ὃ) can be understood as a cognate accusative or an adverbial relative pronoun. The NASB translates it as a cognate accusative sometimes called a content accusative meaning that the content of the relative pronoun must be brought out by the translator. So the NASB supplies "and the life which I now live" (Turner, Grammar, 3:245-246). It could also be an adverbial relative and translated "whereas I now live" (Moule, Idiom Book, 131). The adverbial relative explains how Christ lives in me. I think it probably best to understand it as a cognate accusative stating that the life I am now living in my physical body must be lived dependently not independently, on Christ not for self. 

EGO OR CHRIST?

God dethrones ego to enthrone Christ. This is the central transformation of the Christian life. All immorality is narcissistic. Ego drives every sin we commit. Moral behavior can be altruistic but, sadly, narcissism taints even our finest altruism. God dethrones our egos to transform our lives. Every moral failure - racism, abortion, sex outside of marriage - is self-centered at its core. We will never change the social order by law. Christ must dethrone self one "self" at a time to change society. 

Following Christ means allowing Christ to dethrone my ego. The Christian life is not about me. It is all about Him. My self-identity is wrapped up in Him. My self-interest is merged into His will. I no longer live because Christ lives in me.