(REFLECTIONS ON Galatians 6:11-18)

14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross for the sins of the world, this is the core of what Paul preached and what we believe. May we never boast in anything else except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the message that Paul delivers to us through Scripture today. However, was it only Jesus Christ that was nailed to the cross?

According to Paul, the world has been nailed to the cross as well. That the world has been nailed to cross means the world has no more power over us, cannot tempt us to follow after it instead of God, and cannot be a stumbling block in our pursuit of our Lord.

Yes, Jesus was nailed to the cross, the world was nailed to the cross, but the worldliness in us has also been nailed to the cross. All our sins, shame, pride, envy, and all those things that trap us and bind us into slavery to the world has been nailed to the cross.

We have been nailed to the cross, means that all the values of the world, the temptations of the world, the things that take us away from our relationship with God and that are gnawing at us from within have been nailed to the cross.

All things have been nailed to the cross, through Jesus Christ, no matter if it is within us or outside of us, and all is to be placed under the feet of our Lord and Savior. May we learn to live a life as the crucified as Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20,

20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

That is why for Paul, all those things that lure us and draw us to make decisions and live our life for the world should no longer have power over us. He writes,

12 Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh.

May we no longer live our lives trying to impress people, avoid being persecuted, or to boast in the flesh, because all these things have been nailed to the cross. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul continually tries to bring to light, that which is in darkness, and that is the “different gospel” that he said in Galatians 1 is no gospel at all.

The different gospel should be nailed to the cross, along with the world, and along with the things of the flesh. What should remain is the Gospel, the Good News, which is eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

What is it that needs to be nailed to the cross today? What are the things that we hold onto, that still have control over us and are still alive in us, that prevent us from living in the life that Jesus Christ gave us freedom to live? May we nail them to the cross, as Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross, and may we be free, for “it is for freedom that Christ has set us free.“

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Galatians 6