Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Galatians 2:16

"yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed on Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." — Galatians 2:16 (ASV)

This is one of the most important verses in the letter. It contains the first mention of the words “justify” and “law” (GK 3795), and is also the first place in which “faith” (GK 4411) is brought forward as the indispensable channel of salvation.

“Justify” (GK 1467) is a forensic term borrowed from the law courts. It means “to declare righteous or innocent”; the opposite is “to condemn” or “to pronounce guilty.” 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. In themselves, all persons fall short of this standard (Romans 3:23), but in Christ, God declares all who believe as righteous, imputing divine righteousness to them apart from human merit. In justification, the guilty are pardoned, acquitted, and reinstated as God’s children and as fellow heirs with Jesus Christ.

This experience does not happen automatically to everyone. God justifies as he unites a man or woman to Christ, a union that takes place only through the channel of human faith. Faith is the means, not the source, of justification. Faith is trust. It begins with knowledge, so it is not blind. It builds on facts, so it is not speculation. It stakes its life on the outcome, so it is not impractical. Faith is trusting Christ and proving his promises. The expression in the middle of v.16 (lit., “we have believed into Christ”) implies an act of personal commitment, running to him for refuge and seeking mercy.

It is also implied in this commitment that a person will turn one’s back on the only other possibility—the attempt to be justified by works done in obedience to formal statutes from whatever source. Paul’s emphasis here is not on the Jewish law (there is no article in Greek with the word “law”), though it includes it, but rather on any system of attempting to please God by good deeds.

The threefold repetition of the doctrine of justification by faith in this one verse is important, because it shows the importance the apostle gives to the doctrine. Besides, the three phrases increase in emphasis. The first is general: “A man is not justified by observing... law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.” “A man” is anyone. The second phrase is particular and personal. “We, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing... law.” This phrase involves Paul himself, as well as all who stand with him in the faith. The final statement is universal: “By observing the law no one will be justified.” The words are literally “all flesh,” i.e., all humankind without exception. This final statement quotes Ps 143:2 (cf. Romans 3:20), adding the stamp of biblical principle.