Week 6
Jews, like Gentiles, are Saved by Faith (Part 2 of the Conflict)
15 We, being Jewish by nature and not from the sinful Gentiles, 16 know that a person is not justified from the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus the Anointed. We also believed in the Anointed Jesus so that we may be justified from faith in the Anointed and not from the works of the law, because no one will not be justified from the works of the law. 17 But if while seeking to be justified in the Anointed, we ourselves are also found to be sinners, then is the Anointed a servant of sin? May it never happen! 18 For if I rebuild again those things which I destroyed, I demonstrate myself to be a lawbreaker. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with the Anointed 20 and I no longer live, but the Anointed lives in me. But the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and who gave himself for me. 21 I do not reject the grace of God; for if righteousness is obtained through the law, then the Anointed died without purpose. My Translation
15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. 17 “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker. 19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” NIV11
Comment
First of all, we must try to determine if Paul is still speaking directly to Peter and before the public gathering in Antioch, or if he has started speaking directly to the Galatians. It can be a general statement about justification by faith in Jesus made in Antioch, or the general statement of the same to the Galatians in which Paul will “flesh out” as his letter continues. Scholars seem to be split over when Paul says this, but regardless if Paul spoke it in Antioch or directly to the Galatians, it represents a general statement about justification by faith in Jesus as opposed to justification by the works of the Jewish Law. For the record, I think it was spoken in Antioch and Paul has now used it as a general statement which he will flesh out to the Galatians. By the way, the NIV11 formats the text as if it were part of Paul’s direct speech to Peter in Antioch. I think the context plays out well in view that Paul spoke this at Antioch as that event at least sets this passage up.
One more thing needs to be pointed out before we go forth. Paul uses a couple of different Greek words that are cognates of themselves. A verb and a noun. The verb is πιστεύω, which means “to believe, to have faith, to trust”. The cognate noun of this verb is πίστις, which means “belief, faith, trust”. These words always meant the same thing in Greek, but in order to make since of them, we have to used different English words for us today to make some sense of them. So therefore, “faith” is the same as “belief”. “To believe” is the same as “to have faith”.
Similar to this set of words, we will also encounter δικαιόω (I justify/I pronounce righteous) and δικαιοσύνη (righteousness). They work in the same way.
This passage sets up the rest of the letter and thus is explained in the rest of the letter.
15 We, being Jewish by nature and not from the sinful Gentiles, My Translation
15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles NIV11
The “we” is probably Peter and Paul if this is continuing dialog at Antioch. Paul’s point is to separate the Jewish Christians from the Gentile Christians for just a moment in order to state his assertion that comes in verse 16. He states that “we”, being Jews who were under the law, are not ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἁμαρτωλοί (from the sinners of the Gentiles), who didn’t have the law. Paul’s point is that things are now different between the Jews and the Gentiles, therefore the Jewish Christians can’t make the Gentile ChristianChristians follow the Jewish law, as he will explain in the following verse, because even the Jews accepted the fact that one can’t be “righteous” before God by performing the Jewish law.
16 know that a person is not justified from the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus the Anointed. We also believed in the Anointed Jesus so that we may be justified from faith in the Anointed and not from the works of the law, because no one will be justified from the works of the law. My Translation
16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. NIV11
Verse 16 is actually part of a complete sentence that started in verse 15. Paul begins his argument with a phrase that points to Psalms 143:2b (142:2b LXX). He also restates this at the end of this verse. Paul makes a few changes to the LXX version in which we will highlight. (Romans 3:20)
ὅτι οὐ δικαιωθήσεται ἐνώπιόν σου πᾶς ζῶν. LXX
because every living person is not justified/pronounced righteous in your presence. LXX
Compared to Paul’s:
...ὅτι οὐ δικαιοῦται ἄνθρωπος ἐξ ἔργων νόμου...2:16a
...because a person is not justified/pronounced righteous from the works of the law...2:16a
ὅτι ἐξ ἔργων νόμου οὐ δικαιωθήσεται πᾶσα σάρξ. 2:16d
because all flesh will not be justified/pronounced righteous from the works of the law. 2:16d
The changes are obvious. Paul has inserted ἐξ ἔργων νόμου (from the works of the law) which substituting both ἄνθρωπος (a person/a man) and πᾶσα σάρξ (all flesh) for πᾶς ζῶν (every living person). He also omits ἐνώπιόν σου (in your presence), but it is still inferred in his text. Of course the question is, can Paul make such a bold move by inserting ἐξ ἔργων νόμου (from the works of the law) in the Psalm? Perhaps a closer look at David’s Psalm will provide the answer we seek.
In David’s Psalm, his son, Absalom, is pursuing him. David prays to God to deliver him from his enemy (Absalom). David’s prayer is not based upon what David has done in his life before the Lord. In fact David’s appeal to God is based on what God is and not on David’s merits.
Psalms 142:1 Ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυιδ, ὅτε αὐτὸν ὁ υἱὸς καταδιώκει.
Κύριε, εἰσάκουσον τῆς προσευχῆς μου,
ἐνώτισαι τὴν δέησίν μου ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ σου,
ἐπάκουσόν μου ἐν τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ σου· 2 καὶ μὴ εἰσέλθῃς εἰς κρίσιν μετὰ τοῦ δούλου σου,
ὅτι οὐ δικαιωθήσεται ἐνώπιόν σου πᾶς ζῶν. LXX
Psalms 142:1 A song by David, when his son was pursuing him.
Lord, listen to my prayer,
pay close attention to my request in your truthfulness,
listen to me in your righteousness: 2 and don’t enter into judgment with your slave,
because every living person is not justified/pronounced righteous before you. LXX My Translation
David asks God to not put his judgement on him as he and everyone else is not justified before God. What needs to be pointed out here is that David was under the law and David performed the law. But David doesn’t appeal to this in his prayer to God. David knows that even though he is performing the law, his is still not righteous before God to the extent that he asks God to not pronounce judgement on him.
This forms the backdrop to Paul’s argument because his fellow Jews would also know of this song. If David says that no one is righteous in the presence of God, then it is true in spite of David and rest of Israel being under the law. Paul states that this is why they (the Jewish Christians) had to put their faith in Jesus. This is something that Peter knows. Paul is reminding him of this as well as the others who are present.
This leads us to a crucial translation moment and a perfect example of why it is important for serious students of the Bible to read more than one translation. Not everyone knows Koine Greek, but everyone can read different translations in order to gain clarity around the text. In this case, διὰ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (through faith in Jesus Christ) can also be rendered “through the faith (or faithfulness) of Jesus Christ”. In Greek, “through faith in Jesus Christ” is an Objective Genitive view (NIV11, NASU) while “through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ” is an Subjective Genitive view (KJV, NET). In other words, Jesus Christ is either the object of faith (faith in) or is subject of faith (faith of). If one only reads one translation, one may never know that it can be rendered two different ways and that those renderings are massive in that it changes how Paul could be interpreted. One should read multiple translations in order to see the differences and then study why there are differences in the translations.
So why “through faith in Jesus Christ”? There are two main reasons: 1. Paul explains himself in the following passage: “Even we (being Jewish and who once observed the Jewish law) believed (had faith) in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ”. In other words, it is performing faith in Jesus Christ and not performing the Jewish law that justifies a person. 2. No where else does Paul say that justification comes from Christ’s faithfulness.
“For by grace, you are saved through faith (in Christ)”. Ephesians 2:8
Faith/believing is something that a person does. Believing is an action. Paul puts it up as an opposition to performing the law.
17 But if while seeking to be justified in the Anointed, we ourselves are also found to be sinners, then is the Anointed a servant of sin? May it never happen! My Translation
17 “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! NIV11
Paul is appealing to just how much of a farce (begs a definition. A farce is “a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations.”) it is for the Jewish Christians to claim that others were sinning by not performing the Jewish law, thus placing them in the same state as the “sinners of the Gentiles” who are without the law. If this is true, then the Anointed himself becomes ἁμαρτίας διάκονος (a server/servant/deacon of sin).
The argument is that since there is no way for Jesus to be “a server of sin”, then the idea that people are sinning by not performing the Jewish law is ludicrous as even the Jews had to put their faith in Jesus because the Jewish law could not justify them.
The idea that Christ is a server of sin or the agent of sin is also ludicrous as Paul says, μὴ γένοιτο (Absolutely not/May it never be)!
18 For if I rebuild again those things which I destroyed, I demonstrate myself to be a lawbreaker. My Translation
18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker. NIV11
The things that Paul would build up is the Jewish law. If he goes back to trying to rely on the Jewish law in order to be righteous before God, then he becomes a lawbreaker in another sense. The law stood as a wall between Jews and Gentiles according to Ephesians 2:14.
How would Paul become a lawbreaker if he reinstates the law? Probably a couple of ways. As Paul has argued in verse 16, and he will argue later in the letter, that no one was/is able to keep the law entirely. So, if Paul goes back to the law to try to justify himself before God, then he’s breaking the law again because he is now putting faith into the law that he can’t keep. He also would be breaking the law of Christ (we will see this later in this letter), but the former is preferred in this context as Paul will go on to explain in the next few verses.
19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with the Anointed 20 and I no longer live, but the Anointed lives in me. But the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and who gave himself for me. My Translation
19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. NIV11
Modern English translations fall victim to the old English translation when it comes to verse division. The UBS4/NA27 Greek editions place Χριστῷ συνεσταύρωμαι (I have been crucified with Christ) in verse 19, while English translations still place it with verse 20. My recommendation is to ignore the verse divisions as Paul is not the one who added them.
Since this section is the overview of what Paul will eventually explain as the letter unfolds, one has to look forward in order to understand what Paul is saying here. For now, we will look at Paul’s reason as stated here. Paul died to the law because he shared the crucifixion with Christ as the Greek verb συσταυρόω suggests. συσταυρόω means in the literal sense “to crucify together with” as in two people crucified together at the same time. Figuratively, it means “to crucify with in a transcendent sense”, that is to identify one’s self with one who has been crucified in a spiritual way. The verb is in the perfect tense, therefore the act that was done in past is still in effect today. Christ died for all sin. God raised him up from that death, thus proving that the final sacrifice was accepted. Therefore, the very much alive Jesus lives in Paul through the Spirit. Paul put away his past life in order for him to live in his new life. In Romans 6:6 he states ὁ παλαιὸς ἡμῶν ἄνθρωπος συνεσταυρώθη (Our old person was crucified with him “Christ”). His new life, even though he is still human, is a result of his faith/belief in Jesus. Jesus represents the new life, but the law represents the old life. Jesus made the new life available to Paul because he loved Paul enough to give himself for Paul. In this, Paul, and everyone else, was released from the law. He will go on to explain this as the letter unfolds.
But, it was also under the law that Paul persecuted the Church! It was Paul’s zeal for that law that caused him to be the ultimate lawbreaker. Paul realized this when he encountered the Lord on his way to Damascus.
21 I do not reject the grace of God; for if righteousness is obtained through the law, then the Anointed died without purpose. My Translation
21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” NIV11
Paul now comes to the main point of his general argument. Paul, unlike the “certain people from James”, understands God’s grace/favor. He knows that righteousness can not come by way of performing the Jewish law just as he has proved in Scripture. The argument is simple. If one could be “pronounced righteous” by the works of the law, then there would have been no need for Jesus to come and to die. As it sits, Jesus did come and die for us. Therefore, to go back to the law was rejecting God’s grace and the way that He provided for the new life; life outside the law. It is God who pronounces a person righteous when they put their faith in his Son, Jesus.
Conclusion
Paul has just stated his general argument. Going forward in his letter, he will explain what he means here. Jews know that they cannot be justified/pronounced righteous by the law. If the law is reintroduced in Christian life, then the death and resurrection of Jesus wasn’t enough for mankind. That would also promote that Jesus is “a server of sin” because in the mind of the agitators, the Galatians were sinning by not following the law. But Christ doesn’t serve sin! He gave himself for the sake of all of our sins. The new life is a gift from God by God’s grace/favor on mankind. Jesus paid for it in full and his act for us was not in vain.
We learned in our “holiness” study, that only God can make one holy. We also learned that only God can make one righteous (Philippians 1:9-11). Therefore, even righteousness is a gift from God obtained through faith in Jesus Christ.
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