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 law I died to law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Messiah; 20and it is no longer I who live, but Messiah lives in me. And the life I now live in the body, I live by trusting in Ben-Elohim—who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God—for if righteousness comes through Torah, then Messiah died for no reason!

Galatians 2:21 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• I doἀθετέωatheteō · to rejectG114
• notοὐou · noG3756
• the graceὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the graceχάριςcharis · graceG5485
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• righteousnessδικαιοσύνηdikaiosunē · righteousnessG1343
• byδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
• the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
• thenἄραara · thereforeG686
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
• is deadἀποθνήσκωapothnēskō · to dieG599
• in vainδωρεάνdōrean · freelyG1432

Cross-references for Galatians 2:21

• Galatians 2:18For if I rebuild the very things I tore down, I prove myself to be a law-breaker.
• Psalms 33:10Adonai foils the purpose of the nations. He thwarts the plans of the peoples.
• Mark 7:9He was also telling them, “You set aside the commands of God, in order that you may validate your own tradition.
• Romans 8:31What then shall we say in view of these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
• Galatians 2:16Yet we know that a person is set right not by deeds based on Torah, but rather through putting trust in Messiah Yeshua. So even we have put our trust in Messiah Yeshua, in order that we might be set right based on trust in Messiah and not by deeds based on Torah—because no human will be justified by deeds based on Torah.
• Galatians 3:21Then is the Torah against the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given that could impart life, certainly righteousness would have been based on law.
• Galatians 5:2Listen—I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Messiah will be of no benefit to you.
• Romans 10:3For being ignorant of God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit themselves to the righteousness of God.
• Romans 11:6But if it is by grace, it is no longer by works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
• Hebrews 7:11Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for based on it the people had been given the Torah), what further need was there for a different kohen to arise—designated according to the order of Melechizedek , not 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. Yet surely the justice due to me is with Adonai, and my reward with my God.”
• Jeremiah 8:8How can you say, ‘We are wise! The Torah of Adonai is with us’? In fact, it is the lying pen of the scribes that have made it a lie.
• 1 Corinthians 15:2and by it you are being saved if you hold firm to the word I proclaimed to you—unless you believed without proper consideration.

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