We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in/from/of Jesus Christ

[TonyChanYT]

English Standard Version, Galatians 2:16a

yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ,

faith
πίστεως (pisteōs)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 4102: Faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness.

in Jesus
Ἰησοῦ (Iēsou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2424: Of Hebrew origin; Jesus, the name of our Lord and two other Israelites.

We have two genitive nouns in apposition. The English preposition "in" is supplied by the genitive case and is not explicitly present in the Greek.

Alternatively, Berean Literal Bible:

nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by works of law, except through faith from Jesus Christ

BLB decided to translate it according to the genitive of origin, i.e., faith originated from Jesus.

Moreover, King James Bible:

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ

KJV used the genitive of identification, i.e., Jesus is the faith and faith is Jesus.

Usually, I go against KJV translation and favor the more modern versions. Even NKJV updated it to "faith in Jesus Christ".

Let's continue, Galatians 2:16b:

so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ [πίστεως Χριστοῦ ] and not by works of the law

have believed
ἐπιστεύσαμεν (episteusamen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Plural
Strong's 4100: From pistis; to have faith, i.e. Credit; by implication, to entrust.

in
εἰς (eis)
Preposition
Strong's 1519: A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.

Christ
Χριστὸν (Christon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5547: Anointed One; the Messiah, the Christ. From chrio; Anointed One, i.e. The Messiah, an epithet of Jesus.

Now we have the Greek "in". No translation controversy here. It is explicitly required because the accusative does not supply it.

The next part, "faith in Christ" [πίστεως Χριστοῦ ] is again in genitive apposition.

To be consistent with part a, KJV part b:

even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ

Overall, for this verse, I rather like the KJV "faith of Christ" indicating genitive of origin and identification.

For the whole verse, King James Bible, Galatians 2:16:

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,

i.e., the faith that comes from Jesus and that identifies with Jesus, and not the faith from ourselves

even we have believed in Jesus Christ,

Yes, we have the responsibility to actively believe in Jesus as an action. (John 6:29)

that we might be justified by the faith of Christ,

However, justification is from Christ and of the person of Christ.

and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

It's the works of God that matter. See He remains faithful.

This is a rare occasion where I favor KJV over ESV :)

 

[Randy Kluth]

Leaving aside some of the grammatical matters, I would simply explain it like this. The works are specifically associated with the Law. As such, "works" takes on a technical application, being associated with the Law of Moses and all of its requirements for atonement, purification, and cleansing.

Paul is saying what is obviously true about the Law, that its message is to confirm God's assessment in the Garden, that Man, having sinned, cannot maintain a relationship with God that lasts without atonement and without the curse of death. So the atonement part is merely to maintain the relationship as long as it can until "death do us part."

So the Law was a demonstration, by ritual, that Israel was still cursed under the Law, but could have a relationship with God. It would, however, be interrupted by death. The obvious inference is that by "works of the Law no man can be justified," or atoned for except for a limited amount of time. And any amount of reconciliation under the Law cannot justify to the point of avoiding death.

Paul is therefore talking about "eternal justification" and "eternal atonement." I don't think many of my Christian brothers and sisters understand that because a good number of them constantly tout the typical Protestant claim that "we can't be saved by works." Though that is certainly true, they go beyond this to imply that it means faith is the opposite of works, even though James defined faith as inclusive of works.

We are not *eternally * justified by works of the Law, but there certainly is a measure of a more general kind of "justification" in doing good. Good works do not obtain for us eternal life, but they do earn for us favor with God. Anyway, this is somewhat controversial among some, and I'll leave it at that.

 

[TonyChanYT]

there certainly is a measure of a more general kind of "justification" in doing good.

See JUSTIFICATION by works, grace, or faith?

 

[Randy Kluth]

See JUSTIFICATION by works, grace, or faith?

So well put--I couldn't have said it better. In fact, I normally say it so bad that I end up sounding like a heretic! ;)

 

[Bob Estey]

English Standard Version, Galatians 2:16a


faith
πίστεως (pisteōs)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 4102: Faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness.

in Jesus
Ἰησοῦ (Iēsou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2424: Of Hebrew origin; Jesus, the name of our Lord and two other Israelites.

We have two genitive nouns in apposition. The English preposition "in" is supplied by the genitive case and is not explicitly present in the Greek.

Alternatively, Berean Literal Bible:


BLB decided to translate it according to the genitive of origin, i.e., faith originated from Jesus.

Moreover, King James Bible:


KJV used the genitive of identification, i.e., Jesus is the faith and faith is Jesus.

Usually, I go against KJV translation and favor the more modern versions. Even NKJV updated it to "faith in Jesus Christ".

Let's continue, Galatians 2:16b:


have believed
ἐπιστεύσαμεν (episteusamen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Plural
Strong's 4100: From pistis; to have faith, i.e. Credit; by implication, to entrust.

in
εἰς (eis)
Preposition
Strong's 1519: A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.

Christ
Χριστὸν (Christon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5547: Anointed One; the Messiah, the Christ. From chrio; Anointed One, i.e. The Messiah, an epithet of Jesus.

Now we have the Greek "in". No translation controversy here. It is explicitly required because the accusative does not supply it.

The next part, "faith in Christ" [πίστεως Χριστοῦ ] is again in genitive apposition.

To be consistent with part a, KJV part b:


Overall, for this verse, I rather like the KJV "faith of Christ" indicating genitive of origin and identification.

For the whole verse, King James Bible, Galatians 2:16:


i.e., the faith that comes from Jesus and that identifies with Jesus, and not the faith from ourselves


Yes, we have the responsibility to actively believe in Jesus as an action. (John 6:29)


However, justification is from Christ and of the person of Christ.


It's the works of God that matter. See He remains faithful.

This is a rare occasion where I favor KJV over ESV :)

People go back and forth on this. When we sin, trouble enters our lives. It's best not to sin. And we need to trust the Lord.

 

[Lambano]

Overall, for this verse, I rather like the KJV "faith of Christ" indicating genitive of origin and identification.

The translation of "pisteos Christou" got revived in the second half of the 20th century with the work of "New Perspective on Paul" theologians like Krister Stendahl, E.P. Sanders, Richard Hays, and N.T. Wright.

The translation I find intriguing is "The faithfulness of Jesus Christ", where Christ's "faith" or "faithfulness" in this context is a shorthand for "everything Jesus Christ did for us on the cross".

8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. (Philippians 2:8)​

Maybe THAT is what the πίστεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ is.

 

[Hobie]

And we know his faith is shown by his works....