Hymns: Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me

In this little series, I take a brief glance at some 21st Century hymns, as a 20th Century boy 😀. I’ve only discovered these in recent years. For secular music, my golden period was probably the 1970’s. And for modern Christian hymns, it was probably the early 1980’s.

I sometimes feel like a fish out of water in the 21st Century, but I want to get used to it. Yet Not I, is quite popular even in churches that haven’t embraced the very modern Hillsong-style music. The title is based on a verse from Galatians.

You can view the lyrics in the video or here. I’m not going to give a line by line commentary of the song. I am just expressing some thoughts that it brings to mind.

What did Paul mean when he said that he had been crucified with Christ? It’s metaphorical language. It means that his old self—defined by sin, self-reliance, and law-keeping—has died, and his new life is now entirely rooted in Christ’s presence and power. It’s a metaphor for spiritual union with Jesus’ death and resurrection, showing that believers share in both His sacrifice and His new life.

I think of union with Christ as little like being on a relay team. Let’s suppose that you have the fastest runner in the world on your team. He runs so fast that his team will always win, whatever their shortcomings. So, when I face life and death, I’m not on my own. I’m united with Christ. And so, I can face it all with confidence – in Him, not me.

I remember back in the 1980’s and 1990’s if I traveled to the UK by train, when I got to customs, the security guys would always target me, ask me questions, and search my luggage. Maybe I look like a terrorist 😀. But, often, when I went on a coach, the coach would just go through customs. For whatever reason, they trusted the coach. And being in Christ is a little like being in that coach. I often quote this verse in my blog:

John 5:24
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

Here are five New Testament verses that touch on our union with Christ:

Colossians 1:27
– “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Ephesians 2:5–6
– “God made us alive with Christ… and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”

The last verse here might sound strange because it speaks in the past sense, though these Christians were still on earth. How can you be on earth, yet seated in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus? I think of it as similar to being granted a scholarship to Cambridge University. If such a thing happened, I would think of myself as a Cambridge University student, even before I got to Cambridge. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened 😀, but I am seated with heavenly places in Christ Jesus, and a time will come when I will be physically there.

I think of “Yet Not I” as being a little different to most modern worship songs. It’s the sort of one that I could imagine lasting a long time. What’s the oldest hymn still regularly sung in evangelical churches? Let’s ask Microsoft Copilot:

Here’s two that it mentioned.

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”: Evangelical churches embrace it for its rich theology—anticipation of Christ’s coming—and its haunting, memorable melody.

• The text comes from Latin “O Antiphons,” chanted in monasteries as early as the 8th century.
• The tune most commonly used today is traced to 15th-century France, giving it both textual and musical antiquity.

“Be Thou My Vision” (8th century Irish hymn): Still beloved in evangelical worship for its Celtic roots and devotional tone.

So, this series is about new hymns – but see how I always like to sneak a few old ones in 😀.