The Progression of Paul’s Argument in Galatians 2:16-20
Galatians 2:16:
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law,
but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law…”
Here Paul is dealing with how a person is initially justified. He presents a clear contrast: the Jews’ false approach to the Old Covenant law system, whereby they sought justification through works of the law without grace through faith (i.e. Circumcision Salvationism),
vs. the New Covenant way of justification by believing in the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.
Paul then progresses in verse 19:
Galatians 2:19:
“For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.”
Having established justification apart from works of the law, Paul explains his changed relationship to the law. He is
dead to the law that he might live unto God. He is no longer seeking justification through the Old Covenant law system.
Paul then progresses further in verse 20:
Galatians 2:20:
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…”
Now we have the resulting Christian life. The person who has been justified is identified with Christ and Christ lives in him. This is where the work of God within the believer, the work of the Spirit, and our continuing life of faith properly enter the progression.
So I agree that Christ lives in the believer. I agree that God works in us “both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
I agree that the Christian is to walk by the Spirit and have Christ live through them. But those truths do not eliminate the contrast Paul has already established in Galatians 2:16.
They describe what follows from that foundation.
The progression can be seen like this:
| Passage | Stage in Paul’s argument | Main point |
|---|
| Galatians 2:16 | Initial justification | Not by works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, with our response being “even we have believed in Jesus Christ” |
| Galatians 2:19 | Dead to the Old Covenant law system | “I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God” |
| Galatians 2:20 | New life in Christ | “Christ liveth in me” and the believer continues to live by faith |
| Galatians 3:2-3 | Life and sanctification by the Spirit | Having “begun in the Spirit,” believers must not attempt to be “made perfect by the flesh” |
| Galatians 5:16 | Continued Christian walk | “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” |
This progression also explains why I do not believe Galatians 2:20 can be used to weaken the
“not…but” contrast of Galatians 2:16. Verse 20 is not giving an alternative explanation for how we first become justified. It is describing the resulting life of someone who has already been justified.
Paul Uses the Same Kind of Contrast Elsewhere
Titus 3:5 provides a particularly useful comparison:
| Galatians 2:16 | VS. | Titus 3:5 |
|---|
| “not justified” | | “Not…he saved us” |
| “by the works of the law” | | “by works of righteousness which we have done” |
| “but” | | “but” |
| “by the faith of Jesus Christ” | | “according to his mercy” |
In both passages Paul rejects works alone as the means of initial salvation, or as the means by which a person first gets saved, and places God’s saving provision by faith on the other side of the contrast.
The Greek comparison is especially significant:
| Verse | Negative | Works | Contrast | Alternative |
|---|
| Galatians 2:16 | οὐ | ἐξ ἔργων νόμου | ἐὰν μή | διὰ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ |
| Titus 3:5 | Οὐκ | ἐξ ἔργων… | ἀλλά | κατὰ τὸν αὐτοῦ ἔλεος |
In Titus 3:5 Paul explicitly uses
ἀλλά (“but”) in the very similar construction:
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to his mercy he saved us…”
Therefore, if your reason for bringing Galatians 2:20 into our discussion is that you believe the KJV’s “but” in Galatians 2:16 creates too strong a contrast between works and faith, I do not believe Galatians 2:20 establishes that. Paul himself makes a very similar
not by works…but contrast with the explicit Greek word
ἀλλά in Titus 3:5.
The later work of Christ and the Spirit within us does not erase the initial contrast.
It belongs to the progression that follows it: justification first, then being dead to the Old Covenant law system, followed by the new life in Christ and our continued walk in the Spirit.
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