Category: Letters – Galatians

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Galatians 2:21 An attempt to earn righteousness through the Law nullifies God’s grace.

GALATIANS 2:21

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly (NIV – for nothing).

SUMMARY

To receive “righteousness” is the same as to be “justified.” Both means to be saved to “eternal life.”

The Jews attempted to receive “righteousness” through the Law, which means to rely on the rituals and ceremonies of the Law of Moses to be put right with God.

But sinful man is unable to comply with God’s law. Therefore, the only way that we can receive “righteousness” is through God’s grace, which is His mercy.

The Galatians attempted to earn “righteousness” through the Law. Thereby they nullified “the grace of God.” Stated differently, since they trust in the rituals and ceremonies of the Law, they do not trust the grace of God.

The grace of God resulted in Christ’s death. Christ’s death was God’s will and it was the delivery mechanism through which God made His grace available to sinners.

Both faith and grace are required to be saved.  God justifies sinners on the basis of their faith but faith does not merit justification. God, therefore, justifies people by grace through faith.

RIGHTEOUSNESS

To receive “righteousness” is the same as to be “justified” (2:16). It means to be saved. Galatians 3:21 reads very similar to 2:21, but use “impart life” instead of receiving “righteousness” through the law:

“For if a law had been given which was able to impart life”

This “life” refers to “eternal life” (Gal 6:8). To be justified therefore means to inherit eternal life.

To receive “righteousness” or to be “justified” should not be understood as a complex forensic process. These are simply two of many Metaphors of Salvation and means to be reconciled to God. The GNB renders this as “put right with God” (Gal 2:21).

GRACE VERSUS LAW

Our verse contrasts two systems of receiving “righteousness:”

To receive righteousness “through the Law” is the same as to be “justified by the works of the Law” (Gal 2:16; cf. 5:4), which means to rely on the rituals and ceremonies of the Law of Moses to be put right with God. It is to trust in your own efforts.

But Gal 2:21 asserts that sinful mankind is unable to comply with God’s norm, namely His law (e.g. Rom 3:9-10). For that reason, we receive “righteousness” through God’s grace, which is His mercy.

Law and grace, therefore, stand in opposition to each other.

NULLIFY THE GRACE OF GOD

The Galatians nullified “the grace of God” by striving for “righteousness … through the Law” (Gal 2:21). Consequently, for them, “Christ will be of no benefit” (Gal 5:2). The reason is that, if one relies on the rituals and ceremonies of the Law, it means that one does not rely on the grace of God. The article that discusses the Traditions of the Elders explains how these detailed rules and regulations, with their focus on external behavior, actually drives people away from God.

GOD’S GRACE IS THROUGH CHRIST’S DEATH.

Galatians 2:21 also implies a relationship between God’s grace and Christ’s death. The question is, what is the cause, and what is the effect? Did Christ’s death cause the grace of God or did the grace of God cause Christ’s death? In the introduction to the letter, we read:

“The Lord Jesus Christ … gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (Gal 1:3-4).

In other words, the grace of God came first and resulted in Christ’s death. Stated differently, Christ’s death was the delivery mechanism through which God made His grace available to sinners.

Exactly how Christ’s death atones for sins is a contested area. There are many Atonement Theories. Each of them tries to explain how Christ’s death saves God’s people. I explain the theory which I prefer in the article, Christ’s death proved that God judges rightly.

BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH

In the current verse, “righteousness” comes through God’s grace. But elsewhere in the Bible, “righteousness” comes through faith:

“Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (Gal 3:6; also Rom 4.3)

“Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith” (Rom 9:30).

Also the previous verses, “we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law” (Gal 2:16). In other words, both “faith” and “grace” stand in opposition to “the works of the Law.” And both faith and grace are required to be saved. We must, therefore, ask about the relationship between faith and grace. This is explained in the article, By Grace Through Faith. In short:

God’s grace is available to all people, but only some are saved. There is, therefore, another factor that makes a distinction, and that is faith. People are saved, not by grace alone, but “by grace … through faith.” 

Grace and faith are, actually, a single concept: Because their deeds are sinful, and man, therefore, is totally unable to save himself, God justifies sinners on the basis of their faith. But because faith does not merit justification, God’s people are justified by grace (Rom 4:16).

TO: Galatians Table of Contents
TO: Summary of Galatians chapters 1 to 3
NEXT: Overview of Galatians 1 & 2

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Galatians 2:19-20 “Died to the Law” means obedience to the letter of the Law is no longer required.

SUMMARY

Paul wrote, “Through the Law I died to the Law.” “Through the Law” means that the Scriptures foresaw that this would happen. “I died to the Law” means that Jewish Christians are “released from the Law” (Rom 7:6) and now no longer have to serve “in oldness of the letter” (Rom 7:6). In other words, strict obedience to the Law is no longer required. This is consistent with the entire trust of Galatians, namely that Gentile Christians do not have to be circumcised.

GALATIANS 2:19-20

2:19 For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST

These verses teach a mysterious unity between Christ and the believer:

      • “I have been crucified with Christ” (Gal 2:20)
      • “Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20)

The “In Christ” page discusses this unity. It concludes that Christ is the Vehicle through which we are saved.  He “gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (Gal 1:4).  Without Christ, there would not have been any rescue.

DIED TO (THE LETTER OF) THE LAW

Gal 2:19-20 use death and new life as metaphors to explain the radical change in Paul’s life.  He previously lived subject to the Law, but he has now “died to the Law” (2:19).  He was “crucified with Christ” (2:20).  “Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live … I live by faith in the Son of God”.

Paul also uses the metaphor “died to the Law” in Romans 7:4, where it is explained as:

“released from the Law … so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter” (Rom 7:6).

To die to the Law, therefore, means not to have to serve the “in oldness of the letter”.  In other words, strict obedience to the Law is no longer required. This is consistent with the entire trust of Galatians, namely that Gentile Christians do not have to be circumcised. It is also confirmed by veiled implications in the two preceding verses that the Law is no longer applicable:

The question, “is Christ then a minister of sin?” (Gal 2:17) seems to indicate that Paul’s opponents argued that Paul’s teachings, namely that Gentile Christians do not have to observe the Law of Moses, imply that Christ is “a minister of sin”.

That which Paul “destroyed” (Gal 2:18) is “the barrier of the dividing wall” between Jew and Gentile, namely “the Law of commandments contained in ordinances” (Eph 2:15).

DIED THROUGH THE LAW

“Through the Law,” Paul died to the law. This means that the Law itself predicted the death of the Law. This is a point that Paul often makes to support his teachings:

“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets” (Rom 3:21).

“… the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures” (Rom 1:1-2).

“The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU” (Gal 3:8, quoting Gen 12:3).

In the phrase “through the Law,” the “Law” is not limited to the law of commandments but refers to the Old Testament in general or the five books of Moses more specifically. For instance, Romans 3:21 refers to the “Law and the Prophets”.  In that case, the “Law” is the five books of Moses. And in Galatians 4:21 and following, Paul recalls the story of Abraham and his two wives from the “Law”.

CHRIST LIVES IN ME.

We are “in Christ”, but Paul also claims that “Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). These are two different concepts. To “have the Spirit of Christ” (Rom 8:9) means that “the Spirit of God dwells in you” (Rom 8:9), which means to be “led by the Spirit of God” (Rom 8:14; Gal 5:18).  Created beings do not exist independently from their Creator. We need God to continually sustain us. Sin has severed our link with God, but God wants to repair it.

In the “new heaven and … new earth” (Rev 21:1) “God … will dwell among them (men), and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them” (Rev 21:3).  Perhaps that will be literally true, but perhaps it means that the invisible bond between the Creator and His creatures will be completely repaired, guiding man’s every thought and motive for good, because God is good.

GOD LOVED US.

“The Son of God … loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Gal 2:20). Some people seem to think that Jesus loves His creatures, but the Father needs to be convinced by the death of His Son to forgive our sins. However, Gal 1:3-4 also says that “Jesus Christ … gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age”, but then adds “according to the will of our God and Father” (Gal 1:3-4).  John 3:16 is a well-known verse that says that the Father is the Driving Force of Love behind the Cross. We should not think of Christ and the Father as different. Christ said: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).  That the Word was willing to become a human being and even to allow His creatures to kill Him, because that was the only way that He could “rescue us from this present evil age”, indicates how much God loves the people He made.

TO: Galatians Table of Contents
TO: Summary of Galatians chapters 1 to 3
NEXT: Galatians 2:21

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