Deciphering Paul

Galatians 2:20

I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

    

My first thought when I read this verse is, when Paul starts writing, sometimes it is hard to follow him.  He seems to write in circles.  This is one of those times.  So let me see if I can break this down in something I can understand.  Maybe you can too.

I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live;  That seems pretty easy to me.  When we are baptized, we go down in the watery grave, our sinful self dying to the world and raised in Christ.  He is now with us, dwelling in our hearts, even though we are still alive.

yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.  It is not me anymore.  It is not my sinful ways, my selfish pleasures, that should concern me, but I need to be led by Christ and live for him.

And the life which I now life in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, I think this means I should live in the world, but not of the world.  We can live as Christians in this world, but we need to keep ourselves separate from it.  We need to have the faith that God will help us with the temptations of this world.

who loved me and gave Himself for me.  Praise God for saving me from my sinful self!

I hope this clears up something of this verse.  It seems easier to understand if I break it down into pieces and think about each part, instead of trying to decipher what seems like Paul's round-about writings.