New International Version

If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker. ‘For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Paul explained that the person he was before his encounter with the presence of Jesus died “with Christ” once he repented and put his faith in Him (Acts 9:1-19). At that moment, Paul’s sinful self died in Christ, and he was resurrected as a new man with a new spirit once the Spirit of God moved into his heart. And who was Paul before this encounter? His name was “Saul,” a man full of religious zeal and ambition, blind to who Jesus really was. He thought Jesus was an impostor who led Jewish people astray, and was convinced that he was helping God by destroying Jesus’ followers. He had no idea how wrong he was! 

Paul thought a lot of himself and not much of Jesus until he encountered the direct power of His presence. Jesus’ pure light simply caused Paul’s physical body to reveal his spiritual condition: blindness. This was both exposed and healed by Jesus. Wow! Look at the mercy that God gave Paul! Can you relate to that? Can you think of a time when God showed you His great mercy when you thought you knew so much but were wrong? After that encounter, Paul knew who he WASN’T and who Jesus WAS. This is why he told the Galatian church that he couldn’t live for his own desires or other people’s approval any longer. He simply lived for Jesus alone, by faith that the One who loved him that much would guide, strengthen, and direct his path home. 

May we all remember the sinful self in each of us that died when we trusted Christ! May we call on His name daily to live through us and lead us by His Spirit in all things so that Jesus might get full glory from our lives.