The Unfolding By Betty Crabtree

February 02, 2025

I have a favorite verse, one of many, taken from the book of Galatians, ch.2, v.20, that says “I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.” He loved me! Amazing, and He still does.

In I Corinthians 3;16-17 KJV we read, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” The Message Bible says it this way. “You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God and God Himself is present in you?

No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred- and you, remember; are the temple.” Back to Galatians 2;20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live but Christ 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.”

Now let me share how its explained in the Message Bible. “What actually took place is this; I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn’t work. So I quit being a ‘lawman’ so that I could be ‘God’s man’. Christ’s life showed me how and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with Him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion and I am no longer driven to impress God.

Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not mine but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.” Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule keeping, peer pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily. (Read Galatians 3;13-14) I think, “Oh, wow”!