Galatians 2:21 BSB — MannaFest

Galatians 2:21

I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, Christ died for nothing.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

I do not make void the grace of God: for if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for nought.

KJV

I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

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Commentary

2 voices

Jerome

Commentary on Galatians (420)

(Verse 21.) I do not reject the grace of God; for if justice is through the Law, then Christ died in vain. He rejects the grace of God, both the one who lives under the Law after the Gospel, and the one who becomes defiled by sins after baptism. But he who can say with the Apostle: His grace in me was not in vain (1 Cor. XV, 10), he also speaks confidently of this: I do not reject the grace of God.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

The grace of God - The free love of God in Christ Jesus. But they do, who seek justification by the law. For if righteousness is by the law - If men might be justified by their obedience to the law, moral or ceremonial.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

I do not frustrate the grace of God - The word rendered “frustrate” (ἀθετῶ athetō) means properly to displace, abrogate, abolish; then to make void, to render null; Mar 7:9; Luk 7:30; 1Co 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 inefficacious.

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1534: “Salvation By Works, A Criminal Doctrine” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1880)

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

15 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
οὐκ	ouk	Not	G3756 →
ἀθετῶ	athetō	I do set aside	G114 →
τὴν	tēn	the	G3588 →
χάριν	charin	grace	G5485 →
τοῦ	tou	<the>	G3588 →
θεοῦ·	theou	of God;	G2316 →
εἰ	ei	if	G1487 →
γὰρ	gar	for	G1063 →
διὰ	dia	through	G1223 →
νόμου	nomou	[the] Law	G3551 →
δικαιοσύνη,	dikaiosunē	righteousness [is],	G1343 →
ἄρα	ara	then	G686 →
Χριστὸς	Christos	Christ	G5547 →
δωρεὰν	dōrean	for naught	G1432 →
ἀπέθανεν.¶	apethanen	died.	G599 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Galatians 2:16
know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in…
leads to
- Philippians 3:9
  and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.
- Psalms 143:2
  Do not bring Your servant into judgment, for no one alive is righteous before You.
- Romans 3:19–28
  Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
- 1 Peter 1:18–21
  For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
- Acts 13:38–39
  Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
Through
Hebrews 7:11
Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on this basis the people received the law), why was there still need for another priest to appear—one in the order of…
leads to
- Hebrews 8:7
  For if that first covenant had been without fault, no place would have been sought for a second.
Through
Romans 11:6
And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.
leads to
- 2 Timothy 1:9
  He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.
Through
Galatians 3:21
Is the law, then, opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come from the law.
leads to
- Romans 9:31
  but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.

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Rylands Library Papyrus P52 (earliest Gospel of John fragment) — Unknown scribe

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About Galatians

The Crucifixion — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Galatians: the study guide →Read chapter 2 →The featured study →

Grace
Law-based righteousness would make Christ's death pointless — grace or nothing

Continue: Galatians 2 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Galatians

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Galatians