Welcome to DELIGHT IN GRACE, The teaching ministry of Rich Powell. Pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. It is no longer I who live. but Christ who lives in me. That's Galatians two twenty.
Christ living in me. that is the power and the point of the Gospel. Entrusting ourselves to Jesus is not a prayer we pray to be free from hell. No, it is a whole new life. becoming a whole new creature.
Pastor Rich works through Galatians 2:20 through 21 to hash out what it means for the Christian to have God. working in him. To give the power to give to desire and work out his good purpose. Let's listen in. Have your Bibles, you can turn to Galatians chapter 2.
We'll be reading verses 15 through 21.
Well, what a blessing to be here today. Yeah, it's just probably a little bit more. We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners. Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law. but through faith in Jesus Christ.
So we also have believed in Christ Jesus. In order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law. Because by the works of the law, no one will be justified. But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too are found to be sinners. Is Christ then a servant of sin?
Certainly not. For if I revealed what I tore down, I proved myself to be a transgressor. For the For through the law I died to the law.
so that I might live to God. 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. I do not nullify the grace of God.
For if righteousness worked through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. It's pretty uh Oh, ouch. Father, we come to you this morning. Again on this day, Lord, to Remember what you have done. To hear from you, Lord.
We realize today, Lord, that it's the most important thing that we will ever do. is to hear from the Creator of everything that exists. And to hear what you have done, and to hear, Lord, how you have loved us. and how you have made every possible provision. For us to be reconciled to you.
Lord, that you love us even in our sins, that you have reached out to us. Love this. Yeah. died for us. Lord, given us a hope that we did not have before.
There was no hope.
So Lord, as we hear your word this morning, As we hear it taught, as we hear it preached. Lord, give us ready minds, Lord, to understand. Lord, to hear and to do. Thank you, Lord, today for your graciousness, your love, your tender loving kindness to us. And for all you do, in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen. Thank you, Sam. Good morning, church.
Some of you visiting here this morning, as the text was began to read this morning, it says, For we are all Jews by birth. You're like, what on earth is that all about? This is not your typical resurrection text. And yet it is. And today I have the privilege of unpacking one verse.
It's like somebody said, you have one job. Right? It's one verse. But man is it ever a verse? It's one of the best in all of scripture in the New Testament.
And the context of this, if you'll remember now, Paul is writing to the Galatian churches because there are those who are coming to them and saying, no, no, no, no, you have to obey the law. If indeed you are truly saved people, you still have to become like a Jew and obey the law. And Paul says, nuh-uh, that's a rich power translation. That ain't right. Rich Powell Southern translation.
That is not true. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. The context of Paul saying this is just after he had lovingly, graciously. truthfully. confronted the Apostle Peter.
because his actions were not in line with the truth of the gospel. This is a pivotal existential moment in the history of the church. for the sake of the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. Yeah. Because the point that Paul is making is this, the very last verse of chapter 2, verse 21.
I do not nullify the grace of God. For if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. And the resurrection of Jesus Christ is God's certification that indeed it is finished. The debt is paid in full. The righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled for us.
And the resurrection of Jesus Christ certifies that very reality. And so Paul says what he does. In Chapter 2, verse 20: I have been crucified with Christ.
So, the point, the whole point he is making here. is this. As I've said before, If your walk of faith in Christ boils down to nothing more than keeping a moral code. You have missed. The point of the gospel and you have missed the power of the gospel.
This is what Paul is arguing against. This is what he's battling against, even to the point of lovingly, graciously, truthfully confronting an apostle, a fellow apostle of Jesus Christ, whose behavior was not in line with the truth of the gospel of grace. This is massive for us. This has day-to-day, rubber meets the road, life implications for us. That's why Paul is so adamant about it.
So let's break down what he says here in verse 20. I have been crucified. with Christ. I have been crucified with Christ. What does that mean?
I, the old self, The self-preeminent I. The one that was born self-preeminent. We're all born that way. The natural alienated person, the person alienated from God. Because you are a child of Adam.
I'm not talking about the king kids, you know, I'm about to Colossians 2.20, we are guilty. The record of debt and its legal demands against us was the Mosaic law, and Christ has. nailed it to the cross. The record of debt and its legal demands. All right, so I have been crucified with Christ.
What is the meaning of that? Wednesday with Him right up there on the cross. My guilt is nailed to the cross. It's a reality. This is an indicative.
This is God saying, this is what's true. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live. It's no longer that self-preeminent I. Living for me.
protecting, gratifying myself. Paul says in in first in 2 Corinthians 5.15, and he died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for him who for their sakes died and was raised. That's the difference. Here's the truth of the matter. A lot of people talk about Christians about all the things that they can't do.
All the things you have to do, all the things you can't do. And too many people in the world today think of Christians in terms of you're not allowed to do this or that or this or that. Listen, what this verse is telling us, 2 Corinthians 5, 15 and Galatians 2.20, is that if you are in Christ, there is a whole universe of things that you can do that an unregenerate person cannot do. Because you are reconciled to God and you are indwelt with His Spirit. Jesus died and was raised from the dead to ensure that you and I can be made righteous.
His resurrection ensures that you and I can be made righteous. That's the two sides of justification. One is declared righteous. That's judicial righteousness. And then the other side is practical righteousness, being made holy like Jesus Christ.
in the day-to-day. And so Paul says, it is no longer I. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live. That self-preeminent I is nailed on the cross.
But Christ lives in me. Christ lives in me. In what sense does he live in me? Three senses here that Christ lives in me. Number one, the presence of Christ.
the presence of Christ. He prayed for this. Did you know that? Just uh just a few nights before. As he was in the garden, Jesus was communing with his Father.
I want you to turn to John 17 with me. Turning your copy of the scriptures to John chapter 17. And we're going to read verses 22 to 26. This is Jesus communing with his father just before he would be betrayed by Judas and handed over to the Roman authorities and then taken before the Sanhedrin with an illegal trial and the day before he would be nailed to a Roman cross. He prayed this.
Look with me beginning at verse 22. The glory that you have given me. I have given them, he's talking about his followers, that they may be one, even as we are one. Watch this. I in them.
and you in me. I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.
Those are powerful words. from the one who created the universe and the one who spread his hands to die for you. I in them. What is that? This is God's promise, I will never leave you, taken to a whole new level.
Taken to a whole new level. His good perfect and powerful presence in us. In what way? Point number two: Christ who lives in me, the presence of Christ. Number two, the Spirit of Christ.
Now this is not of the Spirit of Christ like in the Christmas Spirit.
Okay. That's not the kind of spirit we're talking about. We are talking about the third person of the Trinity who is called the Spirit of Christ. For example, Galatians chapter 4 and verse 6. We'll get there one of these months, okay?
Galatians chapter 4, verse 6. Because you are sons. Adopted children of God, because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. crying, Abba, Father. The Spirit of Christ, Christ in us, is in us in the very presence of the person of the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit.
And we sang about it this morning, the three in one. He is the Spirit of God in our hearts. Jesus said this to his followers, John 16:7. He said, It is to your advantage that I go away.
Now, to them, that was unfathomable. He was their rabbi. They had followed him for the better part of three years. And what, you're saying you're going away? What is this?
He says, It's to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, The helper will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. He's speaking of the Holy Spirit.
Now, see how he's assuming his resurrection there, right? To go away, to ascend back to the Father bodily, physically. But get this, this is something to understand. Jesus walked with his disciples and he said, It's to your advantage that I go away. Think about this.
God In you. than walking beside you. That's what Jesus was saying. Think about that. Let that stir some conversation.
It is no longer I who live, but what? Christ who lives in me. In what way? Through his spirit. The Spirit who is the very power of God.
The very power of God. Romans 8:9, Paul says it very clearly: if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him.
So, Christ who lives in me, the presence of Christ through the Spirit of Christ. Third point: this is the grace of God in Christ. Remember, we studied Ephesians and all the grace that God has lavished on us in Jesus Christ?
Well, here it is: the very presence of God. of God himself in us. The grace of God in Christ. What does the grace of God mean? Though I want you to think about it very practically.
When I talk about the grace of God, we're saved by grace, we live by grace. The grace of God means this: that God has given himself to me. He has invested himself. in me. And he didn't just do that in history.
He does it. Today and every day. God gives Himself to me. He invests Himself in me. That is the grace of God.
That is what we mean when we talk about a community of grace, our mission, our vision, that we are an intentional community of grace that loves God, demonstrated by loving people in a culture of what? A community of grace and a culture of discipleship. A community of grace, meaning something like this. If you see somebody back in the counseling office and they're looking at some booklets and they're looking, a young lady looking at a booklet that's talking about self-harm. And you go by and you see that.
If you are not a gracious person, you will share a prayer request with other people about this young woman, and you will keep your children away from her. But if we are a community of grace, you know what you will do? You will come alongside her and put your arm around her and say, How can I walk with you through this? You see, that's what grace does. And that's what God has done for you.
He gives himself to us. That's what grace means. The grace of God in Christ. In two ways. Number one, he gave himself for me.
It's what Paul says. He gave himself for me. He loved me. to the degree that he sacrificed himself in my place. You can't give any more than that.
He gave himself for me. That's the grace of God. And we celebrate that.
Alright, so he's a substitute. He took the penalty that I deserve. Separation from God Is the just reward for sin, and he took that in my place.
So he gave himself for me. But the grace of God in Christ is also this reality. He lives in me. He lives in me. The one who was dead is alive.
And not just in a spiritual sense. He is physically alive. He walked out of the grave. And he gives himself to me Gay. By day.
In fact, he has taken up residence in me. Through his spirit. The reality of his presence with me is the fact that I have been reconciled to God, holy God. and my self-preeminent self was alienated from him, deserving of separation. And Christ came And he took the blow of God's necessary holy wrath for me so that I could be reconciled to God.
He lives in me is the reality that day by day I live in the reality. that I am reconciled to God. Think about that. Listen, if there's anything that occupies your mind, it should be that. That he gives himself to you to the degree that he absorbed all the wrath that you deserve and he's opened the door so that you now are reconciled to holy God.
Live in that. reality. Christ lives in me. He's the grace of God in Christ. And that's why we are called to follow him.
We are called to abide in him. Just like the illustration of the tree that I use constantly, a branch. of an apple tree. The branch does what? It tries hard to produce those apples.
No, it doesn't. What does the branch do? It abides in the tree. Loved ones, listen to me. That's where you and I must be labor-intensive.
That vital connection of drawing life from the life source is what will produce the fruit. The branch produces nice, crisp, red, delicious apples because why? Because it's an apple tree and it abides in the tree. That's why, not because it's trying hard to. But because it abides in the tree.
And so he says, I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And then he continues to say, the life I now live in the flesh. What is he talking about in the flesh? This corruptible tent that one day will have to be set aside and folded up. Every one of you in here this morning.
is sitting in a corruptible tent. that will have to be shed. It can't last for eternity.
Some of you are happy about that. Others of you, particularly on the younger side, are like, I don't know, I feel pretty good. Don't be deceived. It's corruptible. It will wither.
Believe me, I know. Four and a half hours of yard work yesterday. The life I now live in the flesh In this corruptible tent under the sun, and we say under the sun because we know that there is something beyond the sun. It is God's dwelling place. In the life that I now live in the flesh, I give myself to vital connection.
to this one who is the source of life. To draw from the resource of his presence and the reality of my position in him. Year 2000. Group sang hijo del Rey. Our kids loved it.
They would sing it all the time. That's how they learned Spanish, that one song. Ijo del Rey, Susangre Fluya and me, son of the king, child of the king. His blood flows through me. is alive in me.
And I don't mean that just Mystically or theoretically, it's true, Christ is alive in me through the presence of His Holy Spirit. And his resurrection made that a possibility and a reality for me. And so he says, the life I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God.
Now that's where we need to start unpacking it and getting down to where the rubber meets the road, isn't it? I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I like what Paul says in Philippians chapter 2, verse 13. This is from the Holman Christian standard. He says, For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out his good pleasure.
enabling you both to desire and to work out. his good purpose. First of all, let's understand what faith is. What is faith? No.
Faith is not wishful thinking. Faith is not mere credulity.
Well, there's no evidence, but I'm just going to believe it. Nonsense, that's not faith. That's credulity. There's a lot of people exercising credulity today. But it's not faith.
Every one of us looks to some kind of an authority to trust. But our faith is in God. Faith is taking God at His word and entrusting myself to Him. through Christ. Taking God at His word and entrusting myself to Him through Christ.
I live by faith in the Son of God.
The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God. Because of three realities. Number one, he is my identity. I live by faith. I am entrusting myself to Christ, number one, because He is my identity.
I am, I am a child of God. You need to repeat that to yourself often, if indeed it is true. Just because you're a human doesn't make you a child of God in this sense. You can only be that if you are in Christ. Remember what I said?
Faith is taking God as Word and entrusting myself to Him through Christ. I am a child of God. John says that is what we are, 1 John 3:2. He also said, John chapter 1, verse 12: as many as received him to them he gave the right to be called. to become children of God.
As many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God. Have you received Jesus Christ? Have you welcomed him? Do you trust him? Do you take him at his word?
Do you surrender yourself to him? Do you entrust yourself to him? Then you become a child of God. That is my identity. It's what Jesus meant when he said, I in them.
I in them. Peter puts it this way: if that is true, I am a partaker of the divine nature. Powerful stuff. A reality in which we live. Paul wrote to Titus, he says he has purified for himself his own special.
people for his own possession. purified for himself a people for his own possession. In other words, I look, I look nowhere else. For my identity and my self-image, I am a child of God. I am accepted and deeply loved by the one who alone his opinion matters.
I don't need the accolades and the opinions of others. I am who God says I am. And so I keep my gaze fixed. on Jesus Christ who stands at the finish line. with his arms open.
He is my identity. I live by faith in the Son of God, taking God at his word and trusting myself to him through Jesus Christ. He is my identity. I trust that. I believe I entrust myself to that.
Secondly, he is my territory. Say, what do you mean by that, Rich? The Lord is my portion. And that is a word that refers to an inherited plot of land. The Lord is my portion, says the psalmist.
He is my portion, he is my inheritance. In other words, he is my price. He's my prize. What does he mean by that? Colossians, Paul says in Colossians chapter 3.
Here it is, you ready? Your life is hidden with Christ. in God. Your life, Christian, your life, you who say, I am a child of God. Because you have surrendered yourself, you have entrusted yourself in faith to Jesus Christ.
Your life is hidden with Christ. in God. He is your territory. He is your element. Like water is the element For a fish.
He is your element. Your life is hidden with Christ and God. The believer is in Christ, enveloped in his righteousness. Secure. And John says it this way: whoever abides in him does not sin.
He cannot sin because his seed remains in him. 1 John 3, verses 6 and 9. In other words, abiding in Christ and sinful behavior are mutually exclusive behaviors. You can't be doing both at the same time. Listen to me, please.
This is a reality for the child of God. An unregenerate person cannot do this. This is getting down to the nitty-gritty of what it means that Christ lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God.
Abide in me, and you will bear much fruit. And by that the Father is glorified. Notice the progression there. Abide in me, and you will what? Bear much fruit.
And by that my Father is glorified. What's the first point? Abide in me. He doesn't say Try hard to bear fruit so the Father is glorified. Let me repeat this.
He does not say, try to bear much fruit, so my Father is glorified. He does not say that. He says what? Abide in me. Because without abiding in Christ, you can't bear fruit that glorifies the Father.
See where we're going with this? Where do you need to be labor-intensive, Christians? Where do you need to be labor-intensive in your vital connection to the life source? Your passionate pursuit of him, your study of Jesus Christ, your walk with him, your communion with him. That's drawing life from him.
And the more time you walk with him and spend with him and delight in him, the more you become like him at the very level of your affections and your attitudes. And the outflow of that will be the fruit that glorifies the Father. This is radical. But this is what it means. When it says, 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. To abide in Christ. Jude says something very interesting, Jude 21. That's verse 21, because there's only... one chapter in Jude.
It's not even a chapter because it's just verses, right? Anyway. He says, keep yourselves in the love of God. Keep yourselves in the love of God.
Now, it's not that the reality of your position in God's love is something that's up to you. Be conscious of the fact that you are continually in God's love and operate in that reality. operate in that reality. Moment by moment. Conscious.
Yeah. of God's love for you because the love of Christ is your territory. It's where you belong. There is nothing that you can do in Christ. There is nothing that you can do to make God love you less.
There is nothing that you can do. to make God love you more. You are fully accepted and loved in him. Uh He's my identity. He's my territory.
Number three. He is my ability. He is my ability. Again, Philippians 2.13, for it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out his good purpose. Do you see the means of transformation there?
That is an outflow of transformation. It's God working in you. To steward the new life he has entrusted to you, to steward the new life of love, of time, of relationships, of gifts, of opportunities, redemptive opportunities. He is my ability, empowering my obedience to live the gospel. Jesus said to his apostles, Acts 1.8, you shall receive What?
Power after The Holy Spirit has come upon you. Christ living in me. To do what? To live the gospel. To know him, to make him known.
Love, forgiveness, hope. Reconciliation, reflecting Christ. And when the Bible uses terms like walk in or put on, walk in the Spirit or put on Christ, it is appealing to the reality that you in Christ can say no. to the selfish desire of the crucified self. Where the rubber meets the road.
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. Thank you, Jesus. Because Paul said that I may know him. He considered all the stuff that was meaningful to him before he was in Christ.
He considered all of that what? Rubbish, trash. That I may gain Christ. That I may Work for him, is that what he said? That I may know him.
The power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings. That I am, I live with abandon and I'm committed to him to the degree that I don't care what men do to me. I belong to Jesus Christ and I'm his and I will enjoy him forever. Praise God. That I may know him in the power of his resurrection to do what?
To walk in newness of life. To walk in newness of life. Jesus said, John 10. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them. I like that.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they what? Follow me. You see, loved ones, we're talking about Galatians, and if your walk of faith in Christ is boiled down to, distilled down to, simply keeping a moral code, you have missed the power and the point of the gospel. Jesus said, My sheep Hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. You see, it's not keeping a moral code, it's following a person.
And where you need to be labor-intensive is in your pursuit of Jesus Christ. I'm going to say that again. Where you need to be labor-intensive is in your pursuit of Jesus Christ. You want transformation, you want to reflect Jesus Christ, you want to live to glorify God, you need to be labor-intensive in your pursuit of Jesus. Because it's not about trying harder to be better.
It's about becoming like Christ. And we don't do that by simply trying. We do it by communing with Him and delighting in Him. That's where it comes from. Be a student of Christ.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. Jesus says, Follow me. Follow me. In John chapter 13, here's an example of it. John chapter 13 and verse 15.
For I have given you an example that you should also do just as I have done to you. What did Jesus just do? John chapter 13, what did he just do? This is in the upper room. He just did a filthy, smelly, disgusting job.
He washed his disciples' feet. He served them. He served them. The master creator of the universe just washed the smelly feet. of his human followers.
And who do we think we are? In fact, he was going to do something even more tremendous. And this. But he said I have given you an example so that you should do just as I have done to you. There it is.
There's the point. I've given you an example. And he says, do as I have done. And then later on, he says, happy are you if you do these things. That's why Peter says, 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 20, the Peter who is just being rebuked here in Galatians 2, that Peter later on he said, he gave us an example so that we should follow in his steps.
You see, that's pursuing Christ. It's walking with Christ. Following him. Paul said to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 11:1, follow me as I what? Follow Christ.
Follow me as I Christ. I'll also look at a New Testament example of this. Zacchaeus. Luke chapter 19. What kind of guy was Zacchaeus?
Not pleasant. Nobody liked him. But there was something missing. There was something missing. He was empty.
Something missing. And he wanted to, he heard about Jesus and he heard all the good stuff about Jesus. He says, I want to see Jesus.
So being of. Challenged stature that he was, He did what? Can you imagine the indignity of such a person climbing a tree? I mean, what if you walked out here and saw Andrew up in one of these crepe myrtle trees? See, Andrew, what on earth?
Not because you're short or anything, but it's Imagine the indignity. But he did that because he wanted to see Jesus. And then, to make matters worse, Jesus stops. And he looks up at Zacchaeus. It's like And then he says what?
This despised man who nobody liked said, Zacchaeus, come on down. I'm going to your house today. What? And it wasn't just Zacchaeus that said that. Everybody in the crowd said.
What? This man who is despised by everything, because Luke 19 records that the people grumbled. The people grumbled that Jesus chose to go to this man's house. And so Jesus goes to his house, and Zacchaeus practices hospitality, and he communes with Jesus. He interacts with Jesus.
And what does Jesus say? When he's done visiting with Zacchaeus, what does he say? Salvation has come to this house. What kind of change did we see in Zacchaeus?
Well, let me paraphrase it. He changed from a greedy goon To being a man of grateful graciousness. Why? Why? because he had spent time with Jesus.
That's why. He welcomes Jesus. And he spent time with Jesus. And that changed his life. Listen to me, folks.
That's how grace works. Zacchaeus wasn't deciding to follow a list of things he ought to do. He encountered Jesus. He welcomed him. And he spent time with them.
And that changed his life. That very same thing is true for you and me here today. And the resurrection of Jesus Christ made that possible. In today's context. You could be mistreated or disrespected like Zacchaeus was.
We could be mistreated or disrespected by a friend.
Some of you are saying, Rich, who on earth is friend?
Well, it's an all-encompassing cross-cut that we use: friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors. Fran, okay? Friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors. We all have friends in our lives. It's people you live and work among, right?
So let's say that you are mistreated or disrespected.
Well, what's the example of Jesus? 1 Peter 2, verses 22 to 23. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, He got even. Is that what he said?
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten. But continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. God, I am yours. I'm receiving this mistreatment.
I'm not going to fight for how I deserve to be treated. Father, I am entrusting myself to you. Because I am yours. And you love me. You have accepted me.
I'm reconciled to you. Do you see how this can radically transform your life? in the context of your work environment. Your home. In the marketplace?
This is the grace of God at work. Yeah. So we're not fearly, we're not merely following. a moral code. That inward reality.
Christ lives. In Me. Christ lives in me. And what is the law? of Christ.
It's actually very simple. Yeah. It's very simple. But it's also very difficult. and impossible if you are not regenerate.
The law of Christ is to love one another. As what? I have loved you. You see the example there? See the following there?
Love one another as I have loved you. What does it mean to love? Oh, how has Jesus loved me? He drew near. And he invested himself in me.
That's how you love. That's how Christians love. Even those who are unlovely, aren't you grateful for that? Because God loved me when I was unlovely. And some of you are more unlovely than I was.
Because I was a Christian kid. I grew up in a missionary pastor's home. I was a good kid. No, I wasn't. I was impatient.
And short temper. Very selfish. But God rescued me. And the resurrection of Jesus Christ made it possible that one, I could be judicially declared righteous, that I have the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and number two, that I could be made holy like Jesus. Because 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.
Loved ones, there is grace. We are not just saved by grace. We live in the grace of God. We live by grace. Because this is the argument that Paul's making.
What point does it make to just be saved by grace and the rest of your life you're just simply trying to do what you're supposed to do? That's not grace. You live by grace. Where is it you need to be labor-intensive in your pursuit of Jesus Christ? Because the more you follow Him, the more you study Him, the more you commune with Him.
The more you delight in him, the more you will what? become like him. I guarantee that. 'Cause that's what the Bible teaches. Paul writes the law of Christ this way, Philippians 2, verses 3 to 5: Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others what?
more significant than yourself. Let each of you look not only for his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ. And then, where does he go from there? He goes into that great high Christological statement.
of how Christ In the glory of God, as God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. but he emptied himself and came in the form of a servant and became obedient to the point of Death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name. that at the name of Jesus Every knee will bow. There's not one knee in here today that will not someday bow at the presence of Jesus Christ.
Will you bow? As a vanquished, conquered foe. Or will you bow? As a worshiper. to the one who loves you and gave himself to you.
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. The example. the outflow. Jesus said, Because I live you will live also.
So walk in newness of life. It's possible because Jesus walked out of the grave. Would you stand with me, please? Father, we stand in the middle of the city. In awe.
And we can do no other. As we bow humbly before you, Acknowledging the magnitude of your love, the depth of your grace. The grace that you have lavished upon us in the Lord Jesus Christ. And Father, we can but say that worthy is the Lamb who was slain. The one who said, I make all things new, the one who said, I was.
dead and I am alive again. Father that The miracles of Jesus and the greatest miracle is the resurrection from the dead, paints us a portrait and gives us an anchor. in the confidence that indeed you are the one who makes all things new. And you can make things new inside of each one of us. And what a wonderful, powerful, hopeful truth that is for every one of us in this room this morning, Father.
Challenge our hearts, I pray, Lord, if there's someone here this morning that does not know you through Jesus. Has not received Christ, does not know your forgiveness. Father, I ask that you would draw them to you through your goodness, that your goodness would lead them to repentance, Father. that they may know eternal life. That they may know your forgiveness and transformation.
For we who are in Christ, Father, may we be guilty of one thing only, and that is pursuing Jesus Christ passionately. Because he is alive. And His Spirit lives in me. Thank you, Father, for this gift and this amazing grace. in all that it is now and what it means for our future.
We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Thanks for joining us today. This message titled, It's No Longer I Who Live, but Christ Who Lives in Me. was preached on April 20th, 2025 at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem.
You can join us on Mondays for more messages in this series from Galatians called Our Freedom in Christ.
