Galatians 2:20 says, 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. Paul means that when Christ died, the believer died with Him: the old self, condemned under the law, came to an end. Yet the believer is alive, with a new life whose source is Christ living in him. That life is lived day by day by trusting the Son of God, and its root is personal: He loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20 comes at the climax of Paul's account of a public disagreement with Peter at Antioch. Peter had stopped eating with Gentile believers because some Jewish Christians insisted the law of Moses still had to be kept. Paul confronted him, and his argument runs through verses 15-21: no one is justified by the works of the law, but only by faith in Christ. Then Paul makes it personal. The law condemned him, and in Christ that sentence was carried out. He died with Christ, so the law has no further claim on him. But he did not stay dead. He lives a new life, and it is Christ's own life in him. This is why Galatians 2:20 is a favorite verse for Lent, when Christians reflect on the cross, and for baptisms, testimonies and life verses. Below are 12 KJV passages in three groups: the verse in its setting, what it means to be crucified with Christ, and what it means that Christ lives in me.
I am crucified with Christ: Galatians 2 in context
1. Galatians 2:20
"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."
Take the verse phrase by phrase. I am crucified with Christ: in Greek a perfect tense, a past event with lasting results. When Christ died, the believer died with Him. Nevertheless I live: this is not the end of the person but the start of a new life. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: the new life has a new center and a new power. The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God: it is lived in an ordinary body, day by day, by trust. Who loved me, and gave himself for me: Paul writes in the singular. The cross was for the world, and it was for him.
2. Galatians 2:19
"For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God."
The verse before gives the key: For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. The law demanded death for sin, and in Christ that sentence was carried out. Once a person has been executed, the law has nothing more to say to him. That is what Paul means by dead to the law. He is not saying God's commands do not matter. He is saying the law can no longer condemn him or be the way he tries to earn God's favor. And the purpose is positive: that I might live unto God. Freedom from the law's curse opens the way to a life given to God.
3. Galatians 2:21
"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."
Paul finishes the argument: I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. To frustrate means to set aside or cancel. If people could be made right with God by keeping rules, the cross would have been unnecessary. This is why Paul fought so hard in Galatia. Adding works to faith may look like extra devotion, but it actually says Christ's death was not enough. Galatians 2:20 is the alternative: not my effort plus Christ, but Christ living in me. See our Ephesians 2:8-9 meaning.
4. Galatians 6:14
"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."
At the end of the letter Paul returns to the cross: God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Being crucified with Christ changes a person's relationship with the world, its values, its approval and its way of measuring worth. The world is dead to him as a source of glory, and he is dead to the world as one of its own. This is the verse Isaac Watts set in When I Survey the Wondrous Cross: Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ my God.
Nevertheless I live: dead to sin, alive to God
5. Romans 6:6
"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."
Romans gives the fullest explanation of being crucified with Christ: our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. The old man is the person we were before Christ, ruled by sin. That self was put to death with Christ. Destroyed here means made powerless, put out of business. Sin is still present, but it is no longer master. Notice the word henceforth. The point of the crucifixion is freedom from slavery. A believer no longer has to obey sin, because the self that was enslaved has died.
6. Romans 6:11
"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
What should a believer do with this truth? Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Reckon is an accounting word. It means to count something as true because it is true. Paul is not asking Christians to pretend or to make themselves dead to sin by willpower. He is asking them to believe what God says has already happened, and to live accordingly. When temptation comes, the believer can say: that is not who I am anymore. I died with Christ, and I live to God.
7. Colossians 3:3
"For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."
Paul tells the Colossians, For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. The believer's real life is now bound up with Christ, safe in God, the way a treasure is hidden in a vault. No one can reach it to destroy it. This is the security of Galatians 2:20. If Christ lives in me and my life is hid with Him, my standing does not depend on how strong I feel today. The next verse looks ahead: When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory (Colossians 3:4).
8. Luke 9:23
"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."
Being crucified with Christ is a once-for-all fact, and it is also a daily practice. Jesus said, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. In Jesus' day a man carrying a cross was on the way to die. To take up the cross is to say no to self-rule and yes to Christ, not once but daily. Galatians 2:20 explains how this is possible. We do not crucify ourselves by our own strength. We agree, each day, with what God has already done, and we follow the One who lives in us.
Christ liveth in me: who loved me, and gave himself for me
9. Colossians 1:27
"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"
Paul calls it a mystery, once hidden and now revealed: Christ in you, the hope of glory. That God would live in human beings, and in Gentiles who had been far off, was beyond anything people expected. Yet it is what Galatians 2:20 means by Christ liveth in me. Christ dwells in believers by His Spirit (Romans 8:9-10). This is not a figure of speech. It is the source of every real change in a Christian's life. And it is a hope of glory: the Christ who lives in us now guarantees that we will share His glory later.
10. John 15:5
"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."
Jesus describes the same life in a picture: I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. A branch does not produce grapes by straining. It bears fruit because the life of the vine flows into it. That is what yet not I, but Christ means. The Christian life is not a heroic effort to imitate Jesus from a distance. It is a life that flows from Him. The branch's part is to abide, to stay connected by faith. See our John 15 KJV.
11. Philippians 1:21
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
Paul wrote from prison, not knowing whether he would live or be executed: For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. This is Galatians 2:20 lived out. If Christ is your life, then living means serving Him, and dying means being with Him, which is better. Either way you cannot lose. Few verses show so clearly how the cross changes a person's priorities. Paul's life was not about his career, his comfort or even his survival. It was about Christ. That is the freedom of someone who has already died with Christ and now lives in Him.
12. Ephesians 5:2
"And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour."
Paul ends Galatians 2:20 with who loved me, and gave himself for me. In Ephesians he uses nearly the same words for the whole church and makes them a pattern: walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God. The love that gave itself for me is the love I am now to show others. The life Christ lives in me is His self-giving life. A believer who knows he is loved like this does not need to grasp for approval or protect himself. He can give himself away, as Christ did.
A short prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You that I am crucified with You. The old self that was condemned has died with You, and the law has no more claim on me. Thank You that I live, yet not I, but You live in me. Help me to reckon myself dead to sin and alive to God, to take up my cross daily and to abide in You. Let the life I now live be lived by faith in You, the Son of God, who loved me and gave Yourself for me. Amen.
Go deeper: a SOAP study prompt
Pick one verse above and write: - Scripture: copy the verse by hand. - Observation: what does it say? Who is speaking, to whom? - Application: what does it mean for you today? - Prayer: turn it into a two-line prayer.
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Frequently asked questions
What does Galatians 2:20 mean?
Galatians 2:20 means that a believer has died with Christ, so the old self condemned by the law is gone, and now lives a new life whose source is Christ living in him. That life is lived by daily faith in the Son of God, and it rests on His personal love: He loved me and gave Himself for me.
What does it mean to be crucified with Christ?
It means that when Jesus died on the cross, everyone united to Him by faith died with Him (Romans 6:6). The penalty of sin was paid, the law's condemnation was satisfied, and the power of the old sinful self was broken. Believers are called to count this as true (Romans 6:11) and to take up the cross daily (Luke 9:23).
What is the context of Galatians 2:20?
Paul is describing his confrontation with Peter at Antioch over whether Gentile believers had to keep the law of Moses (Galatians 2:11-21). His conclusion is that no one is justified by works of the law, only by faith in Christ. Galatians 2:20 is his personal testimony of what that means.
Is Galatians 2:20 a good life verse?
Yes. It is one of the most popular life verses, testimony verses and baptism verses, because it sums up the whole Christian life: death to the old self, new life in Christ, daily faith and the personal love of the Son of God. It is also often read in Lent and Holy Week.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross · John 15 KJV · Romans 5:8 Meaning · 2 Corinthians 5:17 Meaning · The Old Rugged Cross · Identity in Christ · The Cross · Lent
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