Justification By Faith

GALATIANS 2:15-21

The message is a message to those who are already Christians: “having begun in the Spirit…” [3:3]. At the end of the last section we are left with a picture of Peter and Barnabus impersonating their former slaves, by returning to a more Law-observant lifestyle: “if thou, being a Jew…why do you compel the Gentiles to live as do the Jews” [2:14]. The primary concern in the letter is with how the Galatians will go on in Christ. Should the Galatians be following their example, Judaising so that they can be considered full-fledged Christians and have fellowship with Jewish Christians?

Introduction

The passage [2:15-21] should be viewed as the propositional statement of Galatians that lays out two major arguments that he will develop later in [3:1-4:11]:

§ The first is in [2:16-17] which finds explication in 3:1-18, first by way of an appeal to his converts experience [3:1-5], then by the exegesis of certain crucial and debated passages of scripture [3:6-14], and finally by means of ad hominem theological arguments [3:15-18].

§ The second is in [2:17-20], which finds explication in [3:19-4:7], with expressions of Paul’s concern for his Galatian converts appended in 4:8-11. (See Longenecker, 82-83).

The points of disagreement are set out in vv.17-20, first negatively and then positively:

Negatively, Paul argues against (i) any charge that Christian freedom encourages libertinism, and (ii) any attempt to put Christian living on a legal basis [2:17-18].
Positively, he insists that the Christian life is to be characterised by the axiom “Christ lives in me” [2:19-20].
Then in [2:21] he presents a final statement meant to bring his whole argument to a conclusion: his gospel does not nullify God’s grace, but focuses on “Christ crucified” for righteousness.

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ALONE

The first matter is the fact that the law plays no positive role in becoming a Christian.

1. The Justification

Paul assumes that he is on common ground with Peter and Barnabas, as well as with the Galatians, when he states: “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law…” [2:16].

§ eivdo,tej - “knowing” [2:16], participle perfect active, ‘to have come to a realisation of’.

a. Definition

The central doctrine is that of justification: “knowing that a man is not justified…” [2:16].

δικαιοῦται - “justified” [2:16], present passive indicative, ‘to declare righteous’; ‘to cause to be in a right relation’:
A ‘right relation’ with God: “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified” [Rom.2:13].

i. Greek/NT Background

The verb dikaiow is used in Paul’s letters forensically and relationally:

§ To be “righteous” refers to ‘behaviour that conforms to a particular standard’.

§ The adjective dikaioj describes the man whose conduct conforms to dikh. It means ‘observant of custom’ or ‘of duty’.

ii. Hebrew/OT Background

In the Hebrew the idea of “righteousness” is more of a relational concept: righteousness is the meeting of obligations laid upon the individual by the relationship of which he/she is part, especially in the context of covenant relationships.

§ Israel was the unrighteous nation that turned away from the Lord: “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…” [Isa.64:6].

iii. Forensic/Declaratory

To “justify” is a forensic term borrowed from the law courts. It means "to declare righteous or innocent."

§ Such a term involves an objective standard, and since righteousness is understood to be the unique characteristic of God, that standard must be the divine standard.

§ The opposite of "to justify" is "to condemn" or "to pronounce guilty."

b. God’s Action

The action is a judicial action: “shall the Judge of all the earth not do right” [Gen.18:25].

§ The use of the divine passive - δικαιοῦται, “justified” [2:16] - points to the activity of God: “it is God that justifies” [Rom.8:33].

§ The issue is God’s verdict on the sinner: “God is just (righteous) and the justifier (the one who makes righteous) of him which believes in Jesus” [Rom.3:26].

Application

The ‘foundational’ doctrine of our salvation: ‘how a sinner can be right with God’.

2. The Denial

a. The Works

Paul’s negative statement on justification: “not…by the works of the law” [2:16[.

§ ἐξ – “by” [2:16], literally, denoting ‘motion away from a place’;

§ e;rgwn - “works” [2:16], ‘actions’; ‘activities’; ‘duties’.

b. The Works of the Law

The works referred to: “works of the law…” [2:16].

§ ἔργων νόμου – “law” [2:16], ‘that which is assigned’; understood here in the context of ‘being right with God’: “the man that does them shall live in them” [3:12].

§ By the “law” is meant the sum total of God’s commandments: a catch phrase to signal the whole legalistic complex of ideas having to do with winning God’s favour by merit-amassing observance of Torah.

§ This point is explicated in [3:1-18] where the Paul refers to: “all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” [3:10].

c. The Negative

The “works of the law” can never be the basis of justification: “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin” [Rom.3:20].

§ There is a universal problem: “There is none righteous, no, not one” [Rom.3:10]; “there is none that doeth good, no, not one” [Rom.3:12].

§ The conclusion: “for as many as are under the works of the law are under the curse…” [3:10].

Application

This is Paul’s attack on legalism and the whole Mosaic system because the Judaisers claimed that this was the only way to salvation:

§ Position: ‘the only way to be saved is by sheer hard work’.

§ Description: “being ignorant of God’s righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness…” [Rom.10:3].

§ This is the fundamental principle of every religious and moral system in the world except Christianity.

3. The Re-Affirmation

a. The Faith

Paul’s positive statement on justification: “but by the faith of Jesus Christ…” [2:16].

διὰ - “by” [2:16], ‘through’; ‘by way of’;
πίστεως – “faith” [2:16], noun, ‘faithfulness’; ‘trust’; ‘belief’; ‘knowledge, assent, and trust’;

b. The Object

The object of faith: “by the faith of Jesus Christ…” [2:16].

πίστεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ - “of Christ” [2:16], genitive singular, genitive of source or origin;
The subjective genitive – Christ’s own faith; objective genitive – our faith in Christ.

i. Examples of the Verb

Some examples of the use of this form - πίστεως - of the verb in Paul’s writings:

The faith or faithfulness exercised by Jesus Christ: “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe…” [Rom.3:22].
The faith exercised by the sinner: “that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” [Rom.3:26].
The faith exercised by Abraham: “to that also which is of the faith of Abraham…” [Rom.4:16].
The faith or faithfulness exercised by Jesus Christ: “that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ - evk pi,stewj VIhsou/ Cristou/- might be given to them that believe…” [Gal.3:22].
The faith or faithfulness exercised by Jesus Christ: “not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ - dia. pi,stewj Cristou/ -; the righteousness which is of God by faith” [Php.3:9].
The faithfulness of God: “shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?” [Rom.3:3], pi,stin tou/ qeou/.

ii. The Faith of Jesus

The basis of the justification is the finished work of Jesus Christ: “by the faith of Christ…” [2:16].

§ The verb pi,stewj is the subjective genitive, ‘a subjective genitival expression referring to the ‘faith or faithfulness of Jesus Christ’. See:

§ The objective basis of the Christian gospel is the perfect response of the obedience that Jesus rendered to God the Father, both actively in his life and passively in his death.

iii. Righteousness of Christ

Christ is the righteous one: “He made him the knew no sin…that we might become the righteousness of God in him” [2Cor.5:21].

§ The covenant with the Father: “I delight to do thy will, O my God” [Ps.40:8];

§ The righteousness of Christ: “given over for our offences; raised again for our justification” [Rom.5:10].

Application

The only basis of justification is the redemptive work of Christ: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” [Rom.3:24].

A just God and Saviour: “That he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” [Rom.3:26].

4. Salvation By Faith Alone

a. The Act of Faith

The commitment of the sinner to Christ: “we have believed in Jesus Christ…” [2:16].

§ ἐπιστεύσαμεν - “believed” [2:16], indicative aorist active, ‘trust’; ‘belief’; ‘knowledge, assent, and trust’;

§ εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν - “in Christ” [2:16], ‘motion up to and into’;

§ The statement refers to ‘a once-for-all response that results in a transfer of status’.

b. Justification by Faith

The purpose and goal of the action: “that we might be justified by the faith of Christ…” [2:16].

§ ἵνα - “that” [2:16], introducing purpose clause,

§ δικαιωθῶμεν - “justified” [2:16], aorist passive subjunctive, ‘declared righteous’;

§ ἐκ - “by” [2:16], ‘source’; ‘motion away from’;

§ πίστεως Χριστοῦ - “faith of Christ” [2:16], ‘faith’; ‘faithfulness’;

§ οὐκ ἐξ - “not by” [2:16], ‘source’; ‘motion away from’;

Application

At issue is God’s verdict on the sinner, and the verdict stands on God’s verdict regarding the work of Christ.

§ Position: ‘nothing in my hands I bring; simply to thy cross I cling’.

§ The new status: “therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God…” [Rom.5:1]; “there is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus…” [Rom.8:1].

THE IMPLICATIONS OF JUSTIFICATION

Paul addresses the accusation of his opponents that his doctrine encourages sin.

1. Justification & The Law

a. The Present Privilege

The present privilege: “while we seek to be justified by Christ…” [2:17].

ζητοῦντες - “seek” [2:17], present active participle, ‘to desire’; ‘to learn the location of’;
δικαιωθῆναι - “to be justified” [2:17], aorist passive infinitive, ‘to have a right standing’; ‘to be declared righteous’;
ἐν Χριστῷ - “by Christ” [2:17], ‘within the boundaries of’; ‘union with Christ’.

b. The Association with Gentiles

i. Association with Sinners

The present behaviour: “we ourselves are found sinners…” [2:17].

§ eu`re,qhmen - “found” [2:17], aorist passive, ‘to discover’; ‘to learn the location of’; ‘prove to be’.

§ a`martwloi, - “sinners” [2:17], ‘miss the mark’; ‘one living in conscious opposition to the divine will’.

§ A reference to the Gentiles: “we who are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles” [2:15].

ii. The Undeniable Fact

The Gentiles, who did not have the law, were classed as sinners: “sinners of the Gentiles” [2:15].

§ When Jews like Peter and Paul cease to look to the law as the basis of their justification before God and find that justification in Christ instead, they put themselves effectively on a level with “sinners of the Gentiles” [2:15].

§ By yielding faith to Christ they have in logic, if not in consciousness, abandoned faith in the law, and have had to take their place as sinners, utterly in need of God’s justifying grace.

c. The Charge of Libertinism

The problem of libertinism and antinomianism was prevalent in Galatia: “use not your liberty for an occasion to the flesh…” [5:13].

Since libertinism is an obvious problem among believers in Galatia, this is the conclusion that Paul’s lawless theology must bring you to: you are left by his gospel to live a lifestyle no better that that of Gentile “sinners” [2:15], and so a doctrine of justification by Christ alone becomes in actuality an encouragement to sin? (Longenecker, 89-90).

i. Paul’s Argument

Paul is arguing that although it is true that in order to be justified in Christ it is necessary to abandon faith in the law as a means of salvation (premise 1) and hence to become sinners in the sense of being reduced to the level of the “Gentiles and sinners” [2:15] (premise 2), the conclusion does not follow that Christ merely thereby becomes an agent for sin (in the sense of a promoter of actual wrongdoing), support for this statement being given in [2:18-20].

d. The Grace of Christ

The logical question: “is therefore Christ the minister of sin?” [2:17].

§ ἆρα – “is” [2:17], interrogative, inferential particle indicating anxiety or impatience;

§ διάκονος - “minister” [2:17], ‘agent’; ‘one who is the servant of’;

§ ἁμαρτίας - “sin” [2:17], ‘living in conscious opposition to the divine will’

e. The Refutation

Paul’s strong refutation: “…God forbid” [2:17].

§ mh. ge,noito - “God forbid” [2:17], literally, ‘may it never be so’;

Application

To become “sinners” in the sense of depending solely on “the faith of Christ” [2:16] is by no means the same as being actual transgressors of the law.

2. Paul’s Strong Denial

a. The Actual Result

i. The Old System

The reference to the old system: “which I destroyed…” [2:18].

§ kate,lusa - “destroyed” [2:18], used of buildings in the sense of ‘to demolish, dismantle, tear down’: “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved” [2Cor.5:1].

§ The aorist indicative active points to moment of conversion, and refers to ‘the “law” [2:16] as the basis for justification: “what things were gain to be I counted as loss…” [Php.3:7].

ii. The Rebuilding

A life characterised by ‘lawless behaviour’: “for if I build again the things…” [2:18].

§ oivkodomw/ - “build” [2:18], indicative present active, ‘to build, erect, or establish’;

§ pa,lin - “again” [2:18], ‘to return to a previous state or activity’;

b. The Result

The result is: “I make myself a transgressor” [2:18].

§ sunista,nw - “make” [2:18], indicative present active, from sún, ‘together with’, and hístēmi, ‘to set, place, stand’;

§ Literally ‘to set together’; transitive meaning ‘to cause to stand with’;

i. Transgressor

I stand together with people of particular position: “a transgressor” [2:18].

§ paraba,thn - “transgressor” [2:18], ‘lawbreaker’; ‘one who disobeys a specific divine commandment’; ‘one who stands within a community bound by a particular form of Law, and violates that Law’;

§ The verb describes the action of ‘going against the real intention of law’; ‘a rebellion against its goal’;

§ In the light of the problem of justification, the idea of “transgressor” [2:18] has in view the actual transgression which inevitably follows a reestablishment of the law as the authority of the believer’s life.

§ In the light of the problem of libertinism, the idea of “transgressor” [2:18] has in view the adopting of a sinful lifestyle once more.

Application

One way or another, someone who builds up what he formerly demolished acknowledges his fault, explicitly in his former demolition or implicitly in his present building.

§ Paul uses the same principle with reference to the significance of circumcision: “For circumcision verily profits, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, your circumcision is made uncircumcision” [Rom.2:25].

THE RADICAL SEPARATION

Paul uses the explanatory in order to introduce another clause as to why Christ cannot be the minister of sin.

1. The Old Relationship

a. The Law

The relationship with the law: “am dead to the law…” [2:19].

§ avpe,qanon – “dead” [2:19], indicative aorist active, ‘to die’; ‘to cease to have any relationship with’: “how shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein” [Rom.6:2].

§ νόμῳ - “to the law” [2:19], dative singular, ‘rule or prescription’;

i. The End of Relations

In Pauline usage, “to die to” something is to cease to have any further relation to it: “how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein” [Rom.6:2, 10-11].

§ All believers in Christ have died in relation to sin: “how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein” [Rom.6:2].

ii. The Law & Sin

The relationship between law and sin: “Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me” [Rom.7:11].

§ It is the law that provides sin with a vantage point from which to invade man-soul: “I had not known sin but by the law…sin, taking occasion by the commandment, worked in me all manner of evil desire…” [Rom.7:7-11].

§ To be under the law is to be exposed to the power of sin because: “the strength of sin is the law” [1Cor.15:56].

b. The Instrument

Personal testimony with regard to the law: “for I through the law am dead to the law…” [2:19-21].

§ ga.r - “for” [2:19], conjunction introducing an explanation;

§ διὰ - “through” [2:19], ‘by way of’; ‘instrument’;

§ no,mw| - “law” [2:19], dative masculine singular, ‘rule or prescription’;

i. The Law & Christ’s Death

The law’s demand of death was satisfied in the death of Christ: “as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse…” [3:10].

The vicarious death of Christ was exacted by the law: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us…” [3:13].

§ But the point being stressed here is that, at the same time, they have died in relation to law: he no longer lives under the power of law; he has been released from its dominion and has entered into new life – ‘with death obligations towards the law have ceased’.

§ Christ’s death was an affirmation of the law’s verdict:

§ The end result of the law: “the letter kills but the Spirit gives life” [2Cor.3:6].

ii. The Death of Christ

Christ bore the curse of the law and exhausted its penalty on his people’s behalf; in this sense Christ died διὰ νόμου, and the believer’s death to the law is also “through law” because he died in Christ’s death as Paul goes on immediately to affirm.

§ The law has no further claim on him who in death satisfied its last demand, and the believer who has “died with Christ” is similarly discharged from the law: “but now we are delivered from the law…” [Rom.7:6].

§ The assurance given to those who are on Christ: “sin shall have no more dominion over you, since you are not under the law but under grace” [Rom.6:14].

Application

As far as the “law” is concerned, Paul is what a dead servant would be to his master; he no longer has to meet its demands for justification.

§ The end of any ‘relationship’ with the law, so that the law has no further claim or control over that person: “if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband” [Rom.7:2].

§ Man dies “through the law”; he is beaten to death by it and falls under God’s judgement: “condemned sin in the flesh…” [Rom.8:3].

2. The New Relationship

a. Relations with God

The relationship with God: “that I might live unto Christ” [2:19].

ἵνα - “that” [2:19], ‘purpose clause’;
ζήσω - “live” [2:19], aorist active subjunctive, ‘to be alive’; ‘the physical vitality of organic beings’;
θεῷ - “unto Christ” [2:19], dative singular, “that I might live unto God” [ESV].
This means to have a personal, unrestricted relationship with that one: “in that he lives, he lives unto God” [Rom.6:10].

b. Redemption from the Law

Paul’s relationship with the law has come to an end: “I am dead to the law…” [2:19].

§ Freedom from the law’s claims: “there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…” [Rom.8:1].

§ Freedom from the law’s dominion: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law…” [3:13]; “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace” [Rom.6:14].

Application

Spurgeon – ‘the law is the needle that draws after it the silk thread of the gospel’.

Christ’s death in relation to sin has to do with his finished work as his people’s sin-bearer [2Cor.5:21].
Their death in relation to sin has reference to their former existence as sinners.
‘A change of lordship, from law to Christ, has taken place…

3. The Union with Christ

The nature of this life “to God” [2:19] is made plain in the next verse.

a. Union with Christ in His Death

Paul’s relationship to the law has come to an end through his relationship with Christ: “I am crucified with Christ” [2:20].

§ sunestau,rwmai – “crucified” [2:20], from sún, ‘together with’, and stauróō, ‘to crucify’; ‘to crucify together with’;

§ The perfect tense of the verb points indicates that ‘participation in the crucified Christ has become the believer’s settled way of life’.

§ The passive voice of the verb points to the hand and action of God in united the sinner to Christ.

i. The End of the Old

The person we formerly were was crucified with Christ: “our old man is crucified with him…” [Rom.6:6].

The union: “planted together in the likeness of his death…” [Rom.6:5].
The closure on our past: “buried with him by baptism unto death…” [Rom.6:4].
This figure used also interposed a barrier between the old order and the new: “they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh…” [5:24]; “by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world” [6:14].

ii. The Release

The death of Christ and our faith in him releases us from the jurisdiction of the Mosaic Law: “so, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ…” [Rom.7:4].

§ Participation in Christ’s death effects the end of our relationship to the law: “wherefore, my brethren, you also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ…” [Rom.7:4].

§ The death of Christ and our faith in him effects a new relationship: “that you might be married to another, to him who is raised from the dead…” [Rom.7:4].

b. Union with Christ in His Resurrection

i. The New Life

Paul has died yet he still lives: “nevertheless I live…” [2:20].

§ ouvke,ti – “nevertheless” [2:20], negative extension of time’;

§ zw/ - “live” [2:20], indicative present active, ‘physical life’; ‘life from the dead’;

ii. The Life of Christ

The life that he lives is not his own: “yet not I, but Christ lives in me…” [2:20].

ἐν ἐμοὶ - “in me” [2:20], ‘within the boundary of’;
ζῇ - “lives” [2:20], indicative present active, ‘physical life’; ‘life from the dead’;
Χριστός - “Christ” [2:20],
Paul’s life: “for me to live is Christ…” [Php.1:21].

Application

So completely is self is ‘dethroned’ in the new order that Paul no longer says “I live”; instead, Paul says: “yet not I, but Christ lives in me…” [2:20].

4. The Present Life

a. The Faith

The life of faith: “the life which I now live in the flesh…” [2:20].

ζῶ - “live” [2:20], present indicative active, ‘physical life’; ‘life from the dead’;
ἐν σαρκί - “flesh” [2:20], ‘present bodily existence’;
ἐν πίστει - “by faith” [2:20], locative or instrumental,

b. The Object of Faith

i. The Love of Christ

The object of faith: “the Son of God who loved me…” [2:20].

§ avgaph,santo,j – “loved” [2:20], participle aorist active genitive, ‘to take pleasure in’; ‘love is an inexplicable power of soul given in the inward person’;

§ Love in the OT is basically a spontaneous feeling which impels to self-giving or, in relation to things, to the seizure of the object which awakens the feeling, or to the performance of the action in which pleasure is taken’;

§ agaph as the creative force of God to establish a relationship of love instead of enmity.

ii. The Nature of Love

The nature of Christ’s love: “who gave himself for me” [2:20].

§ parado,ntoj - “gave” [2:20], participle aorist active genitive, from pará, ‘to the side of, over to’, and dídōmi, ‘to give’; ‘to deliver over or up to the power of someone’; ‘to hand over to authority’;

§ The love of the Father: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all…” [Rom.8:32].

§ The betrayal of Judas: “the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles…” [Mar.10:33].

c. The Glory of God

The action of faith is to the glory of God: “I do not frustrate the grace of God…” [2:21].

§ avqetw/ - “frustrate” [2:21], indicative present active, ‘to regard as nothing’; ‘to declare invalid’;

§ a strong legal term usually used in connection with invalidating a ‘treaty, will, or covenant’: “Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannuls it, or adds thereto” [3:15].

§ τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ - “grace” [2:21], ‘the heart-felt movement of a superior moving to help a helpless inferior’;

§ dwrea.n - “in vain” [2:21], ‘gift to no purpose’; ‘without reason’;

Application

The love of Christ was a ‘source of unending wonder’ to Paul that ‘I, even I, have mercy found’.

§ “Received you the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” [3:2].

----

OT Old Testament.