The Exchanged Life a Study in Galatians 2 20

I want to share with you today, friends, in our devotional time, The Exchanged Life, a study in Galatians 2.20. This verse has meant a lot to me through the years. When I was a younger man, I visited the ancient ruins of the city of Ephesus in Greece, which is now Turkey. Perhaps some of you have traveled there as well.

Well, when I was there, I saw an outdoor marketplace called an agora, where items were bought and sold. Slaves were bought and sold in that ancient marketplace called an agora. Redemption in the Greek is the word agorazo, which has that word agora in it.

So agorazo means that Christ entered the marketplace of sin and purchased me by his blood. He saved me from the penalty of sin. Now, the little participle ek in the Greek means to take out of.

If you place that little word ek in front of that word agorazo, you get the word ek agorazo. Ek agorazo means that Christ not only entered the marketplace of sin to redeem me, but he also brought me up and out of the marketplace of sin with the thought of never returning there again. So my redemption in Christ Jesus means that he saves me both from the penalty of sin and the power of sin.

This is the exchanged life best described by Galatians 2, 20, which states, 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.

This is the exchange life, friends, where we can have a walk of consistency with God if we are willing to submit to God and rely upon him for our daily living. To better illustrate this, I often use the jacket illustration I'm holding in my hands, my coat jacket. And if I tell my right sleeve to raise itself while nothing happens, my coat jacket has no life or power of its own.

However, once I put my coat jacket back on, put my arms in here in these sleeves, I now say to it, right sleeve, raise your hand and arm and hand go up. It now has power to do so because of the fact I have put on my jacket. So to the Christian life is impossible to live in the flesh.

But when we are clothed with the Holy Spirit, we have power over sin. In Romans 13, 14, we read, but beyond the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. And in Galatians 5, 16, we have the apostle Paul's admonition.

This I say then, walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Through the years, I have studied the various translations of this text from Galatians 2.20 on the exchange life. And I've combined them into one translation, which for me at least best sums up Galatians 2.20 and helps me to understand it better.

I have earnestly sought God in prayer, asking him to make this verse a reality in my life for daily living. I want to share with you friends, perhaps it would be of some help to some of you as well. Here now is that combined translation of Galatians 2.20, my E.A. Johnston translation, so to speak.

I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ lives in me.

In the life, I now live in the body. I live by faith, by cleaving to, abiding in, and adhering to, like white on rice, relying on, and completely trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me on a bloody cross called Calvary. And here, friends, is a little prayer we can pray, not only for this verse, but for any verse of God's word that we wish to apply to our lives.

Here now is that little prayer. Father in heaven, by your Son, Jesus Christ, I come to you now and ask you for the grace to make this verse a reality in my life, by the power of your Holy Spirit, for my good and for your glory. I pray this in the strong name of Jesus.

Amen.