Galatians 2.20

THE SWEET FRUIT OF JUSTIFICATION
GALATIANS 2:20-21
APRIL 26, 1998

Justification is no sterile term which produces only paper results. In justification we have life! Here the life granted is not corporate, though it is the very foundation of congregational life. But here it is personal, individual--the sweet fruit of the experience of justification.

Paul's whole subject in these two chapters and even the next two, is justification by the grace of God. But in typical Pauline fashion, he draws no lines between justification and sanctification, other than to distinguish each doctrine's glorious luster. We could say that verse 20 speaks of sanctification and indeed, in many ways it does. However, that is not Paul's subject at hand. In his very logical, reasoned explanation of justification, he does not break away to embark upon a second key doctrine. Instead, he only means to show the living reality, the magnificent experience of justification in the personal life. It was no textbook doctrine to the Apostle, which has to be occasionally dusted off as a reminder. No indeed! For here is life for the Christian! Here is the foundation, the root, the whole basis of every moment lived as a Christian. To be justified by faith in Christ is not only to be legally declared in a right standing with God, but it is to have the very life of Christ being lived in and through you.

For the Apostle Paul, justification and its sweet fruit is real Christianity. Do you know experientially the kind of Christianity described by our text? Let us consider this reality of the fruit of justification in the life of every believer.

I. The death of Christ applied

It is fair to say that none of the early apostles moved away from the death of Christ. The bloody crucifixion was never a worn-out, unneeded subject. They lived in the cross of Christ! Paul could say that his only boast and glory was in the cross of Christ (Gal.6:14). The reality of what Jesus Christ accomplished on the believer's behalf at the cross, becomes a reality in which the believer is to live each day.

Let us once again see the context of this passage. Paul was distressed that those who had professed faith in Christ within the Galatian region were considering going after a law/works type of justification. They were confused by the Judaizer's claim that the death of Christ was not enough; that adherence to the Law was also necessary for justification. They were doubly confused when Peter, Barnabas, and other brethren, men who believed in justification by faith alone, gave way in their behavior to the influence of the Judaizers. So Paul stands for the straightforward truth of the gospel. He summarizes it in Galatians 2:16, that no one ever has been nor will ever be justified by the works of the Law and that it is only through faith in Christ Jesus that anyone may be justified.

He takes up the arguments and objections to his teaching on justification. The Judaizers had called Paul and his companions "sinners" because they had abandoned the Law as a means to justification. By their accusations, the Judaizers were also saying that Jesus Christ was "a minister of sin," since He called for faith alone as the means to justification. Paul was saying, 'Enough of such absurdity! The real transgressors of the Law are those who are trying to be justified through the Law!" And then he adds this statement of clarification: "For through the Law I died to the Law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ." In two-fold fashion, Paul said that he personally died to the Law as a means to justification. First, the demands of the Law left him condemned. In other words, the Law itself killed Paul; it left him with no chance of life, no means to justify himself. Second, and more importantly, Paul claimed that he was crucified along with Christ, as the Lord vicariously bore the sinner and his sins on the cross, so that the Law could have no more claim of condemnation and death upon the believer (cf. Romans 7 for a detailed explanation of this truth). Why did Jesus do this? So that "I might live to God." The death of Christ was not simply to put me, as a believer, into a legally righteous standing with God, it also provided the means for me to live unto God. Here is the sweet fruit of justification.

1. Historical

The first matter that confronts us in the application of the death of Christ is that it is the historical death of Jesus Christ to which Paul refers. He is not talking of something which Paul himself was doing. Certainly there are ample passages that refer to mortifying the deeds of the flesh, dying daily, taking up our cross and dying daily (Colossians 3:5; I Corinthians 15:31; Luke 9:23). Those verses speak of the action the believer takes in light of having been crucified with Christ, to die to his sinful passions and the ways of the world. Instead, Paul is speaking of a glorious wonder, a mystery so magnificent that we can hardly fathom it: the believer was crucified with Jesus Christ.

We must understand that he does not mean that when a person comes to faith in Christ they are at that moment crucified with Christ. That would be an impossibility, for the death of Christ is an unrepeatable event! It is a historical reality that occurred outside the walls of Jerusalem at a hill known as Golgotha, somewhere around 30 A. D. Jesus died 'once for all' (Hebrews 10:10). That is why the Roman Catholic practice of the sacrament of the mass is such an unbiblical, heretical act, for in it the priest continually crucifies again the body of Jesus Christ by means of the host or wafer, so that he views it as a propitiatory act [see Saving Faith: How Does Rome Define It? by William Webster, for the actual wording of the Catholic documents related to the mass]. Paul uses a perfect tense verb to describe the fact that "I have been crucified with Christ." The perfect tense refers to a definite point in time when the act of crucifixion occurred and the result of it continues. He "offered one sacrifice for sins for all time"--an unrepeatable event (Heb. 10:12).

If the believer has been crucified "with Christ," then the only time that could have happened was at Calvary when Jesus hung between two thieves, bearing our guilt before God. Do you see the implication the Apostle is making? Keep in mind he has been addressing a group who has been hanging on to self-justification through the works of the Law. They were promoting the laborious task of trying to produce righteousness through slavish adherence to the Law's demands. Paul says, 'Impossible! Can't happen! Need not happen either! When Jesus died, I died. The Law has no more claim on me, nor do I have to clamor in attempts to observe the Law for the purpose of justification. How can the Law condemn me anymore when I am dead to its claims of condemnation over my life? Why do I need to scramble endlessly trying to satisfy the Law's demands when I satisfied them in Christ as I died with Him?'

Charles H. Spurgeon preached a number of times on this text. One sermon was so magnificent, I was tempted to just read it to you today! Listen to how Spurgeon explains this wonderful reality.
The apostle of the Gentiles delighted to think that as one of Christ's chosen people, he died upon the tree in Christ. He did more than believe this doctrinally, however, he accepted it confidently, resting his hope upon it. He believed that by virtue of Jesus Christ's death, he had himself paid the law its due, satisfied divine justice, and found reconciliation with God. Beloved, what a blessed thing it is when the soul can, as it were, stretch itself upon the cross of Christ, and feel "I am dead; the law has killed me, cursed me, slain me, and I am therefore free from its power, because in my Surety I have borne the curse, and in the person of my Substitute the whole that the law could do, by way of condemnation, has been executed upon me, for I am crucified with Christ" [Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. XIII, 642].
2. Personal

This work of crucifixion with Christ is also personal, for the Apostle changed from his use of the first person plural to the multiple use of the first person singular, "I" and "me." "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." What a statement the Apostle makes! He is telling us that the vicarious work of Jesus Christ for the elect was so exacting, that He was such a perfect Substitute, that the believer can claim to have personally died with Jesus Christ. That says something for the Person of our Lord in terms of His being the Second Adam. While the first Adam was federal head and representative of the human race, so that all of us sinned in Adam and died in Adam just as if we were partaking of his sin, even so Jesus Christ is the federal Head of the redeemed race, so that every wound He bore was applied to us, every thrust of the divine wrath upon Him was upon us as well, every condemnation of the Law and consequent propitiation of the Law's demands through Christ was actually upon us as well (cf. Romans 5:12-21).

But I must not use the plural so much that we lose sight of what he is saying. He did not say, 'We are crucified with Christ; and it is no longer we who live, but Christ lives in us." While that may be true as far as the elect are concerned, the Apostle was concerned that we understand the personal, individual nature of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. We are so accustomed to being lumped into a group or given a number to identify us, that we sometimes lose sight of this personal work of Jesus Christ: He elected me personally, He called me personally, He died for me personally, He rose for me personally, He justified me personally, He sanctifies me personally, He preserves me personally, He indwells me personally. When you find that you are having difficulty pressing on in the Christian walk, then pause to reflect upon the personal nature of this truth. God Himself came from Heaven, took on humanity, endured the opposition of men, and ultimately, bore His own wrath for you personally. When you came to faith in Christ, you did not come as part of the mass of humanity, but personally, individually. You cannot ride the group's train to Heaven, but you come singularly to Jesus Christ by faith.

While the Judaizers were trying to lump the Gentile Christians in with the professing Jewish believers and all of their national cultural practices, Paul corrects their thinking by pointing to the singular experience of being crucified with Christ. Why do I need to follow what the Jewish nation says I need to do for justification when "I have been crucified with Christ"? What benefit is there in going through all of the ceremonials and rituals when the price God demands for my justification has been fully paid, so that my debt before God has been satisfied in Christ?

3. Applicable

Therefore, since this death of Christ and my death with Him is historical and personal, then it is certainly applicable to me on a daily basis. "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 delivered Himself up for me." Again, we find an insight from the language the Apostle used. "I have been crucified with Christ," is a perfect tense verb, as we saw, pointing to the historical reality of my death with Christ. But it also implies a continual result or effect due to the historical act of my death with Christ.

This is where we see the Apostle's wedding of justification and sanctification. The reality he stresses is that our crucifixion with Jesus Christ brings on a new relationship to everything we face. See what Christ has done. See your union with Him in being crucified. Now look at the demands of life through the eyes of one who has been crucified with Christ. Now face temptation in the strength of one who has conquered, having been crucified with Christ. Now look at the Law with all of its condemnations and know the peace and liberty that is yours because you have been crucified with Christ.

We must run from trying to practice sanctification apart from this great reality of justification. For the whole basis of our being made into the image of Jesus Christ in the present has its foundation in the death of Jesus Christ in the past--and your union with Him in that death. Live in that reality. Ponder the richness of it continually, that you have been crucified with Christ. Can you ever look at sin in the same way knowing this truth? Can you ever listen to the voice of condemnation by the Law in the same way knowing this truth?

II. The life of Christ experienced

As though the Apostle had not made a most shocking statement in the first place by saying that he had been crucified with Christ--the same experience of all who believe--he goes one step further. "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." I still remember when that glorious reality of Christ living in me settled in my own heart. I was about nineteen years old and struggling through my Christian life, having little doctrinal grounding in the faith. As I read this truth, I saw everything differently! I was overwhelmed to the point of tears to know that Jesus Christ lived in me! Yes, in me! A mere man; a sinner; an unworthy vessel; but by the grace of God, one who had entered into union with Jesus Christ by faith. On the basis of that union by faith, I joined Jesus Christ in His crucifixion so that all of the power of the cross was applied to my life, "that I might live to God." And indeed I can, not because of any special ability that I might have or any special privilege that is mine above other believers. I can live to God because "Christ lives in me."

1. Radical change

Paul is not changing subjects and entering into a lengthy discussion of sanctification. He is still describing justification and its sweet fruit in the life of the believer. Keep in mind the Judaizers whom Paul had alluded to throughout the first two chapters of this epistle. They had no life nor joy in the Lord. They were legalists. They were bound by the ceremonial traditions of the Law. They had gone from one form of legalism--the practice of Judaism--to another in their syncretistic practice of a Judaizing-Christianity. What changes had been made in them other than a few new associations and a slight change in vocabulary? Paul was saying, 'No, the Judaizers just do not understand what I am describing in justification. They think that their law-works provide them merit in God's sight. They have not known the sweet fruit of true justification, when a sinner embraces Jesus Christ alone by faith. They have not known the reality that Jesus Christ lives in everyone who comes to Christ by faith'.

It is quite a common experience that when a person dies, he quits living! Life as he has known it has ended and he enters into a new realm in eternity. What kind of life do we live apart from faith in Christ? We are bound by the curse of the Law and all its condemnation. We are throttled by the power of sin over our lives. We have no capacity, other than sheer will-power, to say "no" to any kind of temptation. Mores of society govern our behavior rather than the life of God. Our conscience, seared to some degree by our own sinfulness and perhaps influenced by others, offers a little guidance in behavior toward mankind. We are shaped by the voice of the world that tells us how to dress, what to say, where to go, what to do. Then we meet Jesus Christ by faith! Everything changes! Life is radically different because you have been crucified with Christ, so that it is no longer you living, rather Christ lives in you.

Obviously this is a startling passage! Does Paul mean that you have physically died and that Jesus Christ has taken over your body? Certainly, that is not the case, for he clarifies, "and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me." He uses "flesh," not in its negative sense as he does on some occasions, but here simply to refer to living in a human body. That is, the life which I am now living in this human body, I live differently, I live by faith in Jesus Christ.

But he does mean to infer that something so radical, so powerful has happened to me that I cannot say that I am the same person. For if I am, then I have not known the power of union with Jesus Christ! My desires, my ambitions, my pursuits have all been affected. That is why Paul could testify to the Corinthians, a church racked by questionable behavior, "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold new things have come" (II Corinthians 5:17). You cannot help yourself at this point. If you are in Christ, then the power of the cross has so affected you that not only is your standing with God one of righteousness, but now you live as though you were dead to the world and Christ is living through you. That's the sweet fruit of your justification.

2. Union personalized

When we use the word "union," we are referring to two or more people or things joined together as one. In marriage, a man with one personality and a woman with normally a totally different personality, are joined together in union with one another. Yes, they still have their different personhoods and personalities, but there is now a mysterious new relationship designed by God, making the marriage a union (cf. Ephesians 5:21ff.). In our text, the Apostle is describing the personalized nature of our union with Christ. Jesus Christ still remains Jesus Christ. You still remain you in terms of your personality and physical nature. But a mysterious union has taken place, one that we can only hope to begin to understand in this life, in which Jesus Christ is living in you and through you. "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 delivered Himself up for me."

This union does not mean that I no longer have any responsibilities in the Christian life. I do not go on automatic pilot when I am converted. Paul is saying, 'Yes, I live, indeed I still get up every morning, still eat my meals, still require sleep, still face the normal demands of human existence. But there is something so different about life, for Christ lives in me. It is not me, alone, facing the demands of life. It is not me, alone, trying to live out the demands of the gospel. It is Christ in me, living in me, living through me His glorious life'. As Leon Morris wrote, "This is a forceful way of making the point that his conversion to Christianity meant a complete change in his way of life" [Galatians: Paul's Charter of Christian Freedom, 89].

How can we describe this union which we have with Jesus Christ? Martin Luther put it like this, "...thou art so entirely joined unto Christ, that He and thou art made as it were one person: so that thou mayest boldly say, I am now one with Christ, that is to say, Christ's righteousness, victory, and life are mine" [Commentary on Romans, 90].

John Calvin follows by stating, "The word death is always hateful to man's mind. Having said that we are nailed to the cross along with Christ, he adds that this makes us alive. At the same time he explains what he meant by 'living to God'. He does not live by his own life but is animated by the secret power of Christ, so that Christ may be said to live and grow in him." He clarifies this by adding, "For, as the soul quickens the body, so Christ imparts life to His members" [Calvin's New Testament Commentaries, 42].

All of life is lived with the strength and presence of Jesus Christ united with us. We are to live with this consciousness of Jesus Christ in us! Those who were trying to justify themselves through the Law were working and scratching to meet the demands of that impossible task-master. So Paul contrasts that scene with the reality of the believer. By faith, in union with Jesus Christ, we have died to the Law and all its demands; and Jesus Christ, our Righteous Lord, is now living His life through us. That is a radical life. That is real Christianity.

III. The work of Christ believed

It is so vital that we seek to understand the work of Christ in our lives. For as our understanding increases, so does our capacity to believe and apply truth to our lives.

Here we are challenged to see that the justifying work of Christ is not simply "legal fiction," but a living reality that is filled with sweet fruit. Notice how the Apostle works this out.

1. Present condition

Paul is insisting that he is not slipping into some kind of mysticism with his statement, "and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." He hurriedly adds, "and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me." Yes, I am still living. No, I am not having an out-of-body experience. The word "now" gives emphasis to the reality of the believer's present condition. He is not dealing in strange mysteries for a few select saints. He is talking about the spiritual condition of all believers. As we come to understand more of the work of Christ on our behalf, more of what took place in justification, we will find ourselves living in greater dependence upon Jesus Christ in daily life.

How are you living "now"? We are not in any respect bordering upon "New Age" thinking of god-consciousness or being a god. Paul says, 'No, I'm still living in this body. I am flesh and blood. But I am not living in this body the same way I used to live'. That is because of the reality that the old Paul was crucified with Christ. The old Paul with his animosity and hatred, with his pride and covetous spirit, met the judgment of God at the cross. There is a new resident in his life: Jesus Christ. "Christ lives in me!"

I remember reading someone's definition of a Christian a number of years ago, as 'a Christian is a person in whom Jesus Christ lives'. That is the essence of Paul's explanation of a Christian in II Corinthians 13:5, "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?"

I often ask those professing faith in Christ, 'Do you know that Jesus Christ lives in you?' How do you know this? In short, the reality of His life will keep showing up in your thoughts, your desires, your longings, your obedience, your tongue. Everything that Jesus Christ touches is affected in some way. Yes, we do grow in this--that is our sanctification--but the reality that He is in me, affecting all of my life, is the reality of a child of God.

2. Dependent upon Christ

Paul clarifies this whole matter of our being in union with Christ, our dying with Him, our being indwelled by Him. "And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me." The Christian life is a faith-life, from start to finish. We begin in faith; we continue in faith; and thank God, we finish in faith! (Colossians 2:6-7).

The Apostle makes use of the present tense to emphasize this truth. 'The life which I am now presently and continually living in the flesh (human body) I am continually living by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered Himself up in a propitiating death for me'. Timothy George is right in remarking, "Not only are we justified by faith, but we also live by faith. This means that saving faith cannot be reduced to a one-time decision or event in the past; it is a living, dynamic reality permeating every aspect of the believer's life. As Calvin put it nicely, "It is faith alone that justifies, but the faith that justifies is not alone"" [NAC, 201].

Here is where we see the practical, functioning reality of Christian living. We are to live daily in dependence upon Jesus Christ as those who are in union with Him. Paul states two aspects of faith's focus in order for us to flesh-out this practice of faith. First, we are to live in dependence upon the mighty Son of God who loved us. His love is an everlasting love. His love is unconditional. His love was before the foundation of the world. His love ushered forth in electing grace by which He chose us for Himself before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:3-14). My Christian friend, you are never to live with the idea of trying to achieve Christ's love or even to keep His love, as though He was a fickle friend. Live with the consciousness of His constant love. Rest in that love. Face all of life with that wonderful reality, that though the world oppose you, though Satan assault you, though all forsake you, the love of Jesus Christ was proved for you when He died in your place and took the wrath of God on your behalf.

Second, my faith in Christ is to be focused upon Jesus Christ being delivered up personally for me. The term, "delivered Himself up for me," points to the cross and all the suffering our Lord experienced for our justification. Paul's confidence was not in his work of personal righteousness. It was not found in his degree of yieldedness. It was not in his labors on behalf of God's kingdom. It was a faith that continually focused upon the sacrificial, atoning, propitiatory death of Jesus Christ by which he was justified. This is why he later wrote, "But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (6:14).

The Apostle's ability to live unto God came through a faith that gave him confidence in Christ's unfailing love and the sufficiency of Christ's atoning, justifying work. He did not run to find some new experience or new gimmick for living as a Christian. He saw that the work of Christ and the love of Christ was personal, his very own. With that confidence, he lived as a Christian. Perhaps we spend too much time trying to find some new experience or angle on the Christian life, when we ought to go back to the cross, to see the love of Christ for us and to see the sufficiency of the death of Christ in our stead. That is the foundation of holy living, so that by faith we daily rest in Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Conclusion

What the Apostle described does not "nullify the grace of God." Indeed, it magnifies the grace of God. "For if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." But it doesn't come by the Law. Righteousness comes by faith in Christ. The kind of righteousness that is sufficient to satisfy God's demands and find acceptance before the throne of God, is not a paper righteousness. It radically affects everything in your life.

Do you know the righteousness of Jesus Christ as your very own? Or, as we saw in this text, do you know the reality of Jesus Christ living in you? My friend, it is only by faith in Jesus Christ.
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