Gálatas 2:15

But we being Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST even we believed on Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by the FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST, and not by the works of law; because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. (KJV)

This passage announces the great theme of Galatians, which is Justification by the Faith of Christ; and the key words in it have been properly rendered, in the light of the best scholarship on earth, and capitalized to emphasize the truth.

REGARDING THE TRANSLATION WHICH IS ACCEPTED HERE

The teaching set forth in this series of commentaries with regard to justification is advocated fully in my Commentary on Romans 3:22; and the student is referred to that for a great deal of material that cannot be repeated here. Since the publication of that volume in 1973, further scholarly studies by distinguished theologians have fully confirmed the undeniable accuracy of translating "faith of Christ" instead of "faith in Christ" in this place and a number of other places in the New Testament. Of course, the KJV is correct in most of these places, though not in all; and strong voices have for years been crying out against the perversion inherent in changing God's word to read otherwise than the way it is handed down to people in the Greek New Testament. Foy E. Wallace, Jr., decried the butchering of the passage at hand thus:

In this verse (Galatians 2:16), "by the faith of Christ" is changed to "only through faith in Christ"; but" the faith of Christ" refers to the gospel system of faith, and they have manipulated this passage to teach justification by faith only, going so far as to change "the works of the law" (the law of Moses) to "deeds dictated by law"; yet faith itself is a law (Romans 3:27) .... A committee of text-makers who will artfully twist such a specific gospel passage to implement the false doctrine of faith alone will do anything in the name of translation.[28]

As recently as April, 1974, Professor George Howard, University of Georgia, published a study of "The Faith of Christ" in Expositor Times, pointing out that James Macknight in the 19th century, Gabriel Hebert in 1955, and other great scholars have demanded that this passage be translated correctly as "the faith of Christ."[29] After citing dozens of scientific studies by distinguished linguists, he gave as his conclusion that:

We may conclude then that, grammatically speaking, [@pistis] [@Christou] should be rendered "faith of Christ."[30]

He even went further and affirmed that the usual definition of faith as the word is used in the New Testament is not trust/faith as usually thought, but "faithfulness," in the sense of "obedience," "reliability," or "fidelity."[31] That this is the truth appears from Paul's references to "obedient faith" at both ends of the book of Romans (Romans 1:5; Romans 16:26).

Thus, the "faith of Christ" includes both his own trust/faith in the heavenly Father, and his perfect obedience and fidelity in the discharge of his mission of redemption. The doctrine of salvation through faith only is wrong on many counts. It is wrong in misunderstanding the sinner's trust/faith as the ground of justification, whereas it is actually the obedient faith of the Son of God; and even in the Lord's case, it was not faith only, but faith and perfect obedience. It is totally wrong to regard "faith in Christ" (as used in the New Testament) as reference to the theological concept trust/faith, or subjective faith of the sinner; because as noted by Howard, the usual definition in the New Testament is not that at all, but fidelity. There are other instances in which "faith in Christ" means "the Christian religion," a definition Wallace applied in this verse, but which this writer feels is incorrect in this context. Over and beyond all this, let the key expression "in Christ" be given its proper emphasis, and it is at once clear that no man who ever breathed has "faith in Christ" when he himself has refused to be baptized into Christ, in which case he might have faith out of Christ," but not "in him." Another legitimate meaning of "faith in Christ" is faith exercised by one who is "in Christ," having been baptized into him, made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and fully identified as a member of Christ's spiritual body, the church.

The faith of Christ ... meaning his perfect fidelity and obedience, is actually the ground of man's redemption. Absolute perfection is required of all who would be saved (Matthew 5:48), a state that is not attainable by any man who ever lived, save only Jesus Christ our Lord, Immanuel. Perfection being the sine qua non without which none shall enter eternal life, how may it be procured and in a sense achieved by man? God's device of making one perfect, in the sense of being absolutely justified, is that of transferring him into Christ, identifying him with Christ and as Christ, a transference and identity achieved on behalf of the Christian when he is in the spiritual body of Christ. Thus Paul could say, "That we may present every man perfect in Christ" (Colossians 1:28). See article on "Jesus Christ, Inc.," in my Commentary on Romans. As Paul would say a little later in this chapter, the life which the Christian lives is not his own, but Christ's (Galatians 2:20).

Even we believed on Christ Jesus ... This is sinners' faith, introduced into the passage after the "faith of Christ" was mentioned just ahead of it; and if "faith of Christ" meant a sinner's believing in Christ, this clause would not have been added. Paul develops this great theme throughout the following passages in the epistle.

Works of the law ... refers to Jewish ceremonial in the Law of Moses and has no reference whatever to the ordinances of the Christian religion and to moral obligations and duties of Christians.

[28] Foy. E. Wallace, Jr., A Review of the New Versions (Fort Worth, Texas: The Foy E. Wallace, Jr., Publications, 1973), p. 509.

[29] George Howard, Article: "The Faith of Christ," in Expositor Times, Vol. 7, pp. 212-214, April, 1974.

[30] Ibid.

[31] Ibid.