Christ took me to the cross with Him, and I died there with Him. (Galatians 2:20 | Laubach)
“Christianity does not begin with something you do; it begins with something God has done for you in Christ.” -Mark Hankins
Theologians ask, “How could Paul say he was crucified with Christ when Paul was not even in Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified?” Some believe Paul is talking about a spiritual state he has somehow attained after thirty years of serving God. When you think this way, somehow you are tryingto be identified with Christ. This way of thinking places you right back in Jerusalem at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where there is neither life nor glory.
When Paul said, “I died there with Him,” he was saying “Through revelation knowledge I know when Jesus died, I died. When He was made alive, I was made alive. When He was raised, I was raised with Him. When He sat down, I sat down with Him. God saw me there. Everything Jesus did, He did it for me.”
When you get in the Spirit, instead of seeing your death, shame, guilt, sorrow, sickness, and poverty, you can see your condition in Christ and the fact that you were crucified with Him.
Confession: The mystery of the Gospel and the glory of the Gospel is Christ in me! (Colossians 1:26-27)