20 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. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
The second paradox in the verse takes us further: 'I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me'. The marvellous statement at the end of the verse, 'The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me' bears witness to the substitutionary death of Christ for our salvation. But the substitutionary idea is of wide application, and it continues into the whole sphere of Christian life, not merely its beginning, at justification. It applies just as much to the life that we now live. It is very striking to observe that the words of the second paradox here, which can be translated 'No longer I, but Christ liveth in me' are paralleled almost exactly by Paul's words in Romans 7:17, 'No longer I but sin that dwelleth in me'. In the one, life is a tragic upheaval and disorder; in the other, indwelling sin is replaced by an indwelling Christ. And Christ is our substitute for life as well as in death. No longer that - with its dark shadows and bleak despair, but this with its infinite possibilities. The 'no longer I' means that our 'ego' is crossed out, done away with; but a new 'ego' appears in its place. However, we have to qualify that again and say, 'Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me'. That is to say, the life that we live in the flesh, taken by itself and apart from Christ, is, as it were, a dark, parasitic growth that is a parody of real life; but at last, this ugly tyrant that has 'taken over' our life, is dealt with and put to death, and a new power takes over. And the new life, which from one point of view is a total replacement of life by Christ, the risen, living Saviour, by His Spirit, is at the same time a true life for us. And for the first time, we become our real selves. We become peopled. 'The life that I now live' is a 'borrowed' life, borrowed and deriving wholly from Christ. This is what it means to live by the faith of the Son of God! Having taken our place outside of our lives, for our justification, Christ now takes His place within our lives, for our sanctification.