Paul was a braggart! But he would only boast in one thing and he did it a lot. He tells us about that in Galatians 6:14, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” The Judaizers, religious leaders, focused on the external displays of religion. In this case it was the ritual of circumcision for the gentiles who were coming to faith in Jesus. They would boast about those gentiles who would submit to circumcision. They became notches on their belt loops. But Paul refused to “boast” in anything except the Cross of Christ.
Legalists rarely talk about the glories of Christ and His wonderful grace, mercy and forgiveness that come to them. They would rather discuss their works or your lack of good works. Those of us sinners who would wash Jesus feet with our hair, we are an embarrassment to those who think living a particular lifestyle or following a certain pattern of rules, rituals and regulations puts them a cut above others. Sinners “glory” in the cross of Christ. Religious people glory in their behavior, their accomplishments, gifts or their knowledge. To those of us who cherish God’s grace the cross means everything. We reject any semblance of self-righteousness in order to glory in Christ’s righteousness. To those who cherish God’s grace, mercy and peace the greatest subject of conversation is the cross of Christ. It’s all about God’s love for us expressed on Calvary. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Romans 5:8–9).
What does it mean that the world was crucified to me? I agree with the UBS handbook, the “…world is used here to describe a way of life in which human worth is measured by external circumstances. In this meaning, it is similar to external matters (“flesh”) in verse 12. To be dead to this kind of world, then, is to regard all those external factors as without value, insofar as one’s being related properly to God is concerned. Christ’s death on the cross made this possible, for in that event is clearly demonstrated God’s way of accepting men, not on the basis of external circumstances such as law, circumcision, religious observances, et cetera, but purely on the basis of faith.