The concern for justification, thus, can obscure the most important consequence of Paul's insight, namely "For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (2:19-20, NRSV, italics added) If we live in faith, it is no longer "us" who lives at all but Christ who lives in us. This does not seem to be a kind of self-nullification, however. It is self-fulfillment, which when achieved merges "us" with the One who created us. In an almost Buddhist way, "we" become a non-self and the "space" formerly occupied by our unfaithful "self" is now occupied by that One, by Christ.
In our walk of faith, we discover that I Alone is empty of meaning and purpose, that I Together is better but still filled with hurt, and that Not I But Thee is the surest way to a life of meaning and purpose. As Paul says, "It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me." For all but a few, that is a goal and a possibility more than a reality, but it is the goal or a path on which we seek to walk in faith. Amen
