How is the world crucified to Paul?

Explanation:

Paul explains that through the cross of Christ, the world has been crucified to him. We know that crucifixion has to do with putting one to death, so we can paraphrase Paul as saying that through the cross of Christ, the κόσμος is dead to him. The question is, what does Paul mean by κόσμος? Most likely, Paul has in mind the realm of sin, death, and evil.⁶ We can deduce this because earlier in the letter, he explains that Christ delivered us from the present evil age (Galatians 1:4),⁷ which could be a synonym for the world. Paul also explains that before Christ came, that is, before the crucifixion, we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the world (Galatians 4:3). The elemental spirits he has in mind are the negative influences of the world. So there is a pattern in the letter, where Paul says that Christ has delivered us from the sinful world. Also, he uses the term κόσμος to refer to the realm of sin in other letters. For example, in Romans 3:6 he refers to God judging the world, and in 1 Corinthians 1:20–21 he explains that God made the wisdom of the world foolish, for the world did not recognize the wisdom of God.⁸ Thus, when Paul says that through the cross of Christ he has been crucified to the world, he likely has in mind the realm of sin, death, and evil that remains in this world.

Counterargument:

While it might be that when Paul refers to the world he has the realm of sin and death in mind, it is not clear how the cross of Christ makes it so that Paul is no longer influenced by these. Jesus was crucified on the cross, and the realm of sin and death is dead to Paul. So how does Christ’s dying on the cross make it so that the realm of sin and death is dead to Paul? Unfortunately, this view does not answer this question.

Response to counterargument:

Jesus’ death on the cross makes it so that the realm of sin and death is dead to Paul because before Christ’s death, Paul was subject to that realm. In other words, before Christ’s death Paul was trapped in a sinful nature with no means of reconciliation before God, and no means by which to recreate that nature. The best Paul had to reconcile with God was the law of Moses, but because the law of Moses could not make anyone righteous (Galatians 3:21), it lacked the power of recreation. And without recreation, one could not uphold the whole law, and if one could not uphold the whole law, one was under a curse (Galatians 3:10). Thus, before Christ came, one was trapped by the realm of sin and death in that one was trapped by the sinful nature, which leads to death. Through his death on the cross, Christ takes the curse of Paul’s sin upon himself (Galatians 3:13), so by placing his faith in Christ, Paul is justified before God. Further, Jesus makes possible a new creation (Galatians 6:15), because those who place their faith in him are enabled to produce spiritual fruit through the Holy Spirit.

Explanation:

We can deduce how the world has been crucified to Paul by looking to Romans 6:1–23. There he expands on the theme that through the crucifixion of Christ, the world has been crucified to Paul. He explains that our sinful natures were crucified with Christ so that we would no longer be slaves to sin (Romans 6:6). In other words, through Christ’s death on the cross, and our association with him, we are no longer enslaved to the realm of sin.^9,10 Further, Paul explains that by uniting with Christ in his death, we also unite with him in his resurrection (Romans 6:5). This means that because Christ has died and been raised, death no longer has dominion over us (Romans 6:9).¹¹

So, the world has been crucified to Paul by associating with Christ’s death, which releases us from the enslavement of sin. But how does Christ’s death on the cross release us from the enslavement of sin? Paul says in Rom Galatians 6:3 that we are baptized into Christ’s death, and in Galatians 6:7 that those who have died have been set free from sin. In other words, by uniting with Christ’s crucifixion by faith, the realm of sin is now dead to us.

Counterargument:

While we are free to use Paul’s other writings to clarify his meaning in Galatians, he does not seem to have enslavement to sin and resurrection in view in Galatians 6:14. We can deduce this because Paul opens Galatians 6:15 with the conjunction for. This conjunction signifies that what Paul is about to write is connected with his statement from Galatians 6:14. That is, he is about to explain what it means that the world is crucified to him.¹² And what he writes is that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but a new creation. In other words, the world is crucified to Paul in the sense that circumcision is no longer required.

Response to counterargument:

Paul uses circumcision as a paradigmatic example that symbolizes the law. We can deduce this because in Galatians 5:3 he says that if anyone is circumcised, they must uphold the whole law. In some sense circumcision is the outward commitment that one is willing to uphold the whole Mosaic law. Of course, the problem Paul address in Galatians is that upholding the law will not make one right before God, because the law is not able to make anyone righteous (Galatians 3:21). Instead, the law enslaved until Christ. Why is it that the law makes no one righteous, and enslaves? Because humans are sinful by nature, so we cannot live according to God’s will without the aid of the Spirit. Thus, when Paul says that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, he adds, but a new creation. In other words, the law cannot make anyone righteous because of sin, so circumcision or uncircumcision are meaningless. Still, by placing his faith in Christ, Paul participates in the Spirit, and the sinful realm of the flesh is crucified to him. Thus, Galatians 6:15 does not rule out the notion that when Paul says the world has been crucified to him, he has in mind enslavement to sin and resurrection. Rather, for Paul, circumcision is a symbol of enslavement to sin in the sense that if one depends on circumcision as a means of justification, one is bound to the whole law, which cannot make anyone righteous. Thus, the circumcised one is enslaved to sin.

The problem with this view is that it seems to overlook the contextual nature of Paul’s comment. Paul has just explained that the Judaizers want the Galatians to get circumcised so they can glory in the flesh (Galatians 6:13), and then he says the world has been crucified to him (Galatians 6:14). This view takes it that when Paul says the world has been crucified to him, he means world in a broad sense, as in, realm of sin, but the context suggests something narrow in mind. Paul seems to have something specific in mind when he compares glorying in the flesh with crucifying the world, which this view does not get at. Why is glorying in the flesh a worldly affair? Interpretation 2 does a better job trying to answer this.

Explanation:

Paul says that he will only boast in the cross of Christ, and then explains that by the cross of Christ the world has been crucified to me. That Paul uses the personal pronoun me means that he has in mind his own subjective experience.¹⁵ In other words, he is saying that through the cross of Christ, the world has been crucified to Paul himself. So we want to understand what it means that the world has been crucified to him. He could use the term world to refer to the physical world, but Christ’s death on the cross does not mean we should no longer engage in the world. Likewise, Paul could use the term world for sin, but we still live with sinful, even if redeemed, natures, until the life to come. Most likely what Paul has in mind when he uses the term world is allowing worldly advantage to dominate his mind.¹⁶ In other words, Paul used to live his life by seeking advantage and prominence. Paul was a Pharisee, who was zealous for the law, and making a name for himself in his community through worldly means was his priority.¹⁷ Now Paul says that such worldly advantage is dead to him because of the cross of Christ.

Counterargument:

While Paul uses the personal pronoun me to say that the world has been crucified to him, surely Paul has more than his own subjective experience in mind.¹⁸ Rather, he likely has in mind the two eras of the old and new covenants.¹⁹ Before Christ, Paul was enslaved by the law and all that it entails. Now that Christ has come, he is free from the influence of the world. Of course, the confines of the old covenant and freedom in the new covenant apply not only to Paul but to all believers.

Response to counterargument:

It is true that Christ ushers in the new covenant, and it is true that, although Paul uses the personal pronoun me, his thinking can be applied to Christians in general. In other words, through the cross of Christ, the world is crucified to Christians in general. Still, we want to understand Paul in the context of his letter to Galatians, and there he seems to be focused on the fact that because of Christ, worldly advantage is now dead to him. The first part of Galatians 6:14 highlights this point because there Paul says that he will boast in nothing except the cross of Christ. In Paul’s ancient context, the notion of boasting in the cross would have struck his audience as somewhat absurd.²⁰ To die on a cross was violent and shameful. Still, the cross is the glory of Christ, because on the cross Christ took the curse that we deserve (Galatians 3:13). Therefore, Paul says, he will not boast in worldly advantages such as circumcision, or his position as a Pharisee. Rather, he will boast in the cross of Christ, through which all worldly advantage has become dead to him. That Paul uses his own subjective experience to explain that through the cross of Christ, worldly advantage is dead to Paul, does not rule out the broader theological implication that Christ has ushered in the new covenant.

Explanation:

Paul says that through the cross of Christ the world has been crucified to him and he to the world. It is not right away clear what he means that the world has been crucified to him, because by world he could mean the physical world, the realm of sin, or allowing worldly advantage to dominate one’s thinking. When we reach Galatians 6:15 he clarifies, so that we can conclude that in fact, the world has been crucified to me means that worldly advantage no longer dominates his thinking.²¹ We can deduce this because Paul opens Galatians 6:15 with the conjunction for, which indicates a connection between Galatians 6:15 and Galatians 6:14. He goes on to explain that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but a new creation. In other words, since the world has been crucified to Paul, one should not focus on circumcision as a worldly advantage, nor should one focus on uncircumcision as a worldly advantage. Since the world has been crucified to believers, worldly advantages should no longer dominate one’s thinking. Instead, all that matters is that one is a new creation by the power of the Holy Spirit.²²

Counterargument:

When Paul uses the phrase new creation in Galatians 6:15 it is not clear that he has in mind the recreation of the believer. Rather, he most likely has in mind that Christ has inaugurated a new era in salvation history. We can deduce this because Paul has already referred to the present evil age (Galatians 1:4), and the elemental spirits of this world (Galatians 4:3), but with the advent of Christ he can speak of a new creation. That the new creation refers to the advent of Christ ushering in a new era in salvation history infers that when Paul says that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters, he does not have one’s personal worldly advantage in mind. Rather, Paul is saying that in the old covenant era, things like circumcision mattered, but with the advent of the new creation, that is, the new covenant era, they matter no longer.²³

Response to counterargument:

The interpretation argued for is consistent with the notion that Jesus Christ ushered in the new covenant era. Still, one cannot rule out the subjective element of Galatians 6:15. All along, Paul has been dealing with how one is justified before God. One is justified not by works but by faith. That Paul highlights the difference between works and faith shows that he has in mind the individual’s relationship with God. Further, when we reach Galatians 5:16–24, Paul contrasts the difference between those who live by the flesh and those who live by the Spirit. Those who live by the flesh live according to their natural desires, from which the law is not able to set them free. On the other hand, those who live by the Spirit produce spiritual fruit. In other words, those who live by the Spirit are a new creation. Thus, there is a strong connection between the objective fact that Christ ushers in the new covenant era and the reality that the believer undergoes a change that might be considered a new creation.

The only problem with this view is that it risks narrowing the focus of Paul’s meaning. It may be that he has in the back of his mind his subjective experience in seeking worldly advantage as a Pharisee, but he can also imagine all the other ways that the world has influenced him. Thus, it is not only that Christ’s crucifixion means that worldly advantage is dead to Paul, but every worldly influence including greed, lust, and jealousy. Unfortunately, this view does not capture the possible breadth of Paul’s meaning.