But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14)
When you place yourself on the altar as a “living sacrifice,” you are rightly responding to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Essentially, there are two crucifixions that must occur in order to experience victorious kingdom living—Jesus’ and your own. Paul writes of these, “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14, italics added).
To identify with Jesus Christ is to identify with His own surrender. Being “crucified” with Him creates a resultant disconnect from this world’s order as well as a subsequent attachment and alignment with Him.
The word world in the Greek is kosmos. It simply refers to an organized world system or arrangement designed to promote a specific emphasis or philosophy. For example, we will often talk about the “world of sports,” or the “world of finance,” or the “world of politics.” These phrases are not referencing a location or a place. They are referencing an organized system inclusive of certain definitions, regulations, and philosophical worldviews.
When Paul states that he has been crucified with Christ, he is saying that he is no longer alive to this world’s system that wants to leave God out, or worldliness. He is, rather, crucified to the strategies and rules that are set up to try to make humanity acceptable to God independently of God.
Putting God first equates to a relationship whereby you willingly surrender yourself as a “living sacrifice” to the One you love. You, like Paul, die daily.