Galatians 2:20 · kjv
Crucified with Christ: I Live by Faith
“Estou crucificado com Cristo; e vivo, não mais eu, mas Cristo vive em mim; e a vida que agora vivo na carne, vivo-a pela fé no Filho de Deus, que me amou e a si mesmo se entregou por mim.”
Galatians 2:20 (KJV) declares, "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." The verb "am crucified" is "synestauromai" (συνεσταύρωμαι), a perfect passive, meaning an action completed in the past with ongoing present effect—Paul's co-crucifixion with Christ is settled and continuing. The compound preposition "syn" (σύν, with) indicates organic union, not imitation. "Liveth in me" is "zei en emoi" (ζῇ ἐν ἐμοί), the indwelling of the risen Christ through the Spirit (Romans 8:10). Paul wrote Galatians around A.D. 48-55 to churches in Asia Minor tempted by Judaizers demanding circumcision. Verse 20 is Paul's autobiographical centerpiece responding to Peter's hypocrisy at Antioch (verses 11-14). The phrase "gave himself for me" uses "paradontos" (παραδόντος), the same verb Isaiah 53:12 LXX uses of the Suffering Servant "delivering" His soul. The genitive "faith of the Son of God" ("pistei te tou Huiou tou Theou") may be subjective (Christ's own faithfulness) or objective (faith directed toward Him)—likely both. Cross-reference Romans 6:6, Colossians 2:20, 3:3, and Philippians 1:21.
Chapter Context
Galatians 2 recounts Paul's second Jerusalem visit and his public confrontation with Peter at Antioch. Judaizers had infiltrated the churches, insisting Gentile believers submit to Mosaic law. Peter withdrew from Gentile meals under their pressure, and Paul rebuked him to his face (2:11-14). Verses 15-21 unfold Paul's doctrinal response: justification is by faith in Christ, not works of the law. Verse 20 is the experiential heartbeat of that argument. Paul personalizes the gospel—it is not an abstract transaction but a death-and-resurrection union. This verse sets up Galatians 3-4's extended defense of grace and anticipates 5:24's "they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh."
How to Apply This Verse
- Locate your identity in co-crucifixion, not in performance. When accusations, failures, or religious pressure try to redefine you, remember that your old self was already put to death with Christ. The perfect tense of "synestauromai" means the verdict stands forever.
- Live each day by faith, not by feelings. Paul says the life he now lives "in the flesh" (in this mortal body) is lived "by the faith of the Son of God." Moment-by-moment trust in Christ's sufficiency is the ordinary rhythm of the Christian life.
- Let the phrase "loved me, and gave himself for me" become deeply personal. Paul singularized the cross: not merely for the world in general but for him specifically. Meditate on Christ's love as individually directed toward you and let that assurance fuel surrender.