Galatians 5:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

NIV: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

NASB: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.

CSB: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love.

NLT: For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.

KJV: For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

NKJV: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

Paul has harshly condemned those who "accept circumcision" in hopes of being justified before God. Christ's death for sin on the cross is useless to them. Either we trust in Christ or we don't; we can't trust entirely in Him by faith, and simultaneously trust our ability to follow the law (Galatians 5:2–4).

Here, Paul clarifies that circumcision is not evil in itself. His point is not that circumcision is to be avoided at all costs, or that it makes a person unfit for Christ. Rather, those rituals and sacraments don't really matter, now that Christ has come. To be circumcised or not circumcised means nothing, at all, in terms of God's judgment of us. All that matters is if we are in Christ by faith. God accepts Christ, and He accepts all who are in Christ, no matter their works.

Now Paul adds a new idea. He writes that in Christ all that counts is faith "working through love." Paul will expand on this idea in the following verses, but it's the first hint that our faith in Christ should motivate some response in how we live. Those who believe that God loves them in and through Christ will begin to respond by loving God and others, as well.

Galatians 5:1–15 focuses on what those in Christ should do with our freedom in Christ. First, we must guard it, especially from those who would pressure us to follow the law. Paul was confident the Galatians would resist the one leading them in the wrong direction. Paul also warns us not to waste our freedom in Christ to selfishly serve ourselves instead of serving each other in love. The entire law is fulfilled in that one word: love. Those who serve themselves, though, will always end up in conflict with each other.

Those who trust in Christ have been set free. Paul's readers were in danger of wasting that freedom, by veering off in one of two directions. On the one hand, false teachers were pressuring them into circumcision in order to be sure of being right with God. On the other hand, freedom can also be squandered on serving only our sinful desires instead of investing it through serving others in love. God's Spirit gives us the power to do that when we let Him lead us. Life in the Spirit bears powerful and positive fruit in a Christian's life.

Galatians 3—4 focused on theology. Galatians 5—6 focus on how Christians should live in response to those truths. In short, we must resist being dragged away from the freedom we have in Christ to follow the law. We must also resist wasting our freedom on serving our sinful desires instead of serving others in love. We can do this by the power of God's Spirit with us. When we give Him the lead, powerful, positive characteristics show up in us. Galatians 6 will show how to use those characteristics to serve each other.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.