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 in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law, because no flesh will be justified by the works of the law.”
Where this sits
Part of Paul's account of confronting Peter at Antioch. The same passage that ends with 'I have been crucified with Christ'.
Reflection
Paul says the same thing three times in one verse, and the repetition is not clumsiness.
Not justified by works of the law but through faith. We believed, that we might be justified by faith and not by works of the law. Because no flesh will be justified by works of the law. Three statements, each closing the same door, in a single sentence.
He writes like this when the stakes are high and the audience has an incentive to hear it otherwise. And they did: this is the letter in which he says he is astonished they are turning to a different gospel, and where he confronts Peter publicly for withdrawing from Gentile believers at meals.
The issue was not abstract theology. It was who could eat with whom, and whether Gentile Christians had to take on Jewish identity markers to be fully accepted. Behaviour at a table is what triggered the argument.
And justified is a courtroom word — declared in the right, not made good. Paul's claim is about a verdict, and his objection to works of the law is not that obedience is bad but that a verdict cannot be produced by the defendant.
No flesh is the widest phrase available. He is not exempting himself, and the whole confrontation with Peter turns on that.
- Theme:
- Faith
- Book:
- Galatians