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.
• New International Version (NIV)“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!
• 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!

Context of Galatians 2:17

15“You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.” 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! 18Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. 19For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—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 does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place.
• Romans 11:7So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened.
• Galatians 2:11But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong.
• Romans 6:1Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?
• 1 John 3:8But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.
• Matthew 1:21And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
• Romans 15:8Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors.
• 2 Corinthians 3:7The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away.
• Hebrews 7:24But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever.
• Hebrews 8:2There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.
• 1 John 3:5And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him.
• Romans 3:4Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.”

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
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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