Galatians 2 · Verse Study
Dead to the Law, Alive to Christ
Five movements. Tap each one open, then tap the gold phrases inside the verses.
15We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
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The Greek behind "justified"
δικαιόω (dikaioō) — verb: "to justify, declare righteous" · δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē) — noun: "righteousness" (v. 21)
- οὐ δικαιοῦται — present passive: "is not justified" — the standing principle
- ἵνα δικαιωθῶμεν — aorist passive: "that we may be justified" — the once-for-all moment of faith
- οὐ δικαιωθήσεται — future passive: "will not be justified" — the final judgment
Every form is passive — God is always the one justifying; no one justifies themselves. And the -όω verb class is declarative: "to declare righteous," not "to make righteous" — a verdict pronounced, not a status earned.
17But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.
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19For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.
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20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
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How to let Christ live through you? By living by faith, not by works.
The Greek tenses of verse 20
| Phrase | Greek | Tense | Voice |
|---|---|---|---|
| crucified with Christ | συνεσταύρωμαι | perfect | passive |
| I no longer live | ζῶ | present | active |
| Christ lives in me | ζῇ | present | active |
| the life I now live | ζῶ | present | active |
| I live by faith | ζῶ | present | active |
One perfect passive — a finished past act whose effect stands forever — feeding four present actives: the continuous, daily, ongoing life flowing out of it. One finished cross → continuous living.
The branch and the vine — John 15:5
- The tree’s sap = Christ’s life ("Christ lives in me")
- Staying connected = living by faith — not an activity you perform, just a connection you keep
- The fruit on the branch = the life now lived in the body — visible, real, hanging on your branch, but produced by his life
- A branch straining to make apples = works of the law — all strain, no fruit
"Apart from me you can do nothing." A branch doesn’t make fruit — it carries fruit.
21I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!
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Justified by faith — dead to the law — alive to Jesus — because if the law could save, Christ died for nothing.
Galatians 2:15–21 · NIV