Galatians 2:21

Galatians 2:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
• New International Version (NIV)I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
• English Standard Version (ESV)I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
• New King James Version (NKJV)I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

Context of Galatians 2:21

19For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live for God. 20I 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. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

Galatians 2:21 word by word

οὐκ ἀθετῶ τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ· εἰ γὰρ διὰ νόμου δικαιοσύνη, ἄρα Χριστὸς δωρεὰν ἀπέθανεν.¶Read the interlinear

• I do not nullifyἀθετέωatheteō · to rejectG114
• the graceχάριςcharis · graceG5485
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• righteousnessδικαιοσύνηdikaiosunē · righteousnessG1343
• throughδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
• the Lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
• thenἄραara · thereforeG686
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
• diedἀποθνήσκωapothnēskō · to dieG599
• needlesslyδωρεάνdōrean · freelyG1432

Cross-references for Galatians 2:21

• Galatians 2:18For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a wrongdoer.
• Psalms 33:10The Lord nullifies the plan of nations; He frustrates the plans of peoples.
• Mark 7:9He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.
• Romans 8:31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
• Galatians 2:16nevertheless, knowing that a person is not justified by works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law; since by works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
• Galatians 3:21Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? Far from it! For if a law had been given that was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law.
• Galatians 5:2Look! I, Paul, tell you that if you have yourselves circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.
• Romans 10:3For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.
• Romans 11:6But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, since otherwise grace is no longer grace.
• Hebrews 7:11So if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron?
• Isaiah 49:4But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and futility; Nevertheless, the justice due to Me is with the Lord, And My reward is with My God.”
• Jeremiah 8:8“How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the Law of the Lord is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes Has made it into a lie.
• 1 Corinthians 15:2by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

Commentaries on Galatians 2:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21I do not frustrate - · I do not contemn, despise, or render useless, the grace of God - the doctrine of Christ crucified; which I must do if I preach the necessity of observing the law. For if righteousness - If justification and salvation come by an observance of the law, then Christ is dead in vain; his death is useless if an observance of the law can save us; but no observance of the law can save us, and therefore there was an absolute necessity for…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God - The word rendered “frustrate” ( ̓͂ athetō) means properly to displace, abrogate, abolish; then to make void, to render null; Mark 7:9; Luke 7:30; 1 Corinthians 1:19. The phrase “the grace of God,” here refers to the favor of God manifested in the plan of salvation by the gospel, and is another name for the gospel. The sense is, that Paul would not take any measures or pursue any course that would render that vain or…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-21Verses 20-21 Here, in his own person, the apostle describes the spiritual or hidden life of a believer. The old man is crucified, Ro 6:6, but the new man is living; sin is mortified, and grace is quickened. He has the comforts and the triumphs of grace; yet that grace is not from himself, but from another. Believers see themselves living in a state of dependence on Christ. Hence it is, that though he lives in the flesh, yet he does not live after the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21Paul's opponents in Galatia might have argued that his message made God's grace to Israel meaningless because it was connected to the law (see Romans 3:12, 31). However, it was actually Paul’s opponents who made God's grace meaningless by denying the need for Christ's death.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. I do not frustrate the grace of God--I do not make it void, as thou, Peter, art doing by Judaizing. for--justifying the strong expression "frustrate," or "make void." is dead in vain--Greek, "Christ died needlessly," or "without just cause." Christ's having died, shows that the law has no power to justify us; for if the law can justify or make us righteous, the death of Christ is superfluous [Chrysostom].Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 2:21

• Justification
• Suffering
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• God
• Christ, Messiah
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Add
• Blame
• Bondage
• Conference
• Crucify
• Forward

Commentaries on Galatians 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings