Galatians 2:17

Galatians 2:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!
• New King James Version (NKJV)“But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not!
• New Living Translation (NLT)But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not!

Context of Galatians 2:17

15“We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16know 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. “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! 18If 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.

Galatians 2:17 word by word

εἰ δὲ ζητοῦντες δικαιωθῆναι ἐν Χριστῷ εὑρέθημεν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἁμαρτωλοί, ἆρα Χριστὸς ἁμαρτίας διάκονος; μὴ γένοιτο.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• while we seekζητέωzēteō · to seekG2212
• to be justifiedδικαιόωdikaioō · to justifyG1344
• byἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
• we ourselvesαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• alsoκαίkai · andG2532
• are foundεὑρίσκωheuriskō · to find/meetG2147
• sinnersἁμαρτωλόςhamartōlos · sinfulG268
• thereforeἆραara · no?G687
• the ministerδιάκονοςdiakonos · servantG1249
• of sinἁμαρτίαhamartia · sinG266
• God forbidμήmē · notG3361
• God forbidγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096

Cross-references for Galatians 2:17

• Romans 9:30What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
• Romans 11:7What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened,
• Galatians 2:11When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
• Romans 6:1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
• 1 John 3:8The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
• Matthew 1:21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
• Romans 15:8For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed
• 2 Corinthians 3:7Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was,
• Hebrews 7:24but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.
• Hebrews 8:2and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.
• 1 John 3:5But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.
• Romans 3:4Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”

Commentaries on Galatians 2:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17But if while we seek to be justified - If, while we acknowledge that we must be justified by faith in Christ, we ourselves are found sinners, enjoining the necessity of observing the rites and ceremonies of the law, which never could and never can justify, and yet, by submitting to circumcision, we lay ourselves under the necessity of fulfilling the law, which is impossible, we thus constitute ourselves sinners; is, therefore, Christ the minister of sin?…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ - The connection here is not very clear, and the sense of the verse is somewhat obscure. Rosenmuller supposes that this is an objection of a Jew, supposing that where the Law of Moses is not observed there is no rule of life, and that therefore there must be sin; and that since the doctrine of justification by faith taught that there was no necessity of obeying the ceremonial law of Moses, therefore Christ…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-19Verses 15-19 Paul, having thus shown he was not inferior to any apostle, not to Peter himself, speaks of the great foundation doctrine of the gospel. For what did we believe in Christ? Was it not that we might be justified by the faith of Christ? If so, is it not foolish to go back to the law, and to expect to be justified by the merit of moral works, or sacrifices, or ceremonies? The occasion of this declaration doubtless arose from the ceremonial law…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-21Some false teachers were spreading false ideas about Paul's good news. They likely argued that if people did not have to follow the Jewish laws, they would just do whatever sinful things they wanted. Jesus would then be seen as leading people into sin (2:17). Paul explains how this is not true. Those who trust in Jesus receive strength from the Holy Spirit to live holy lives that honor God (see 5:13–26).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. Greek, "But if, seeking to be justified IN (that is, in believing union with) Christ (who has in the Gospel theory fulfilled the law for us), we (you and I) ourselves also were found (in your and my former communion with Gentiles) sinners (such as from the Jewish standpoint that now we resume, we should be regarded, since we have cast aside the law, thus having put ourselves in the same category as the Gentiles, who, being without the law, are, in the…Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 2:17

• Holiness
• Justification

In the dictionaries

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