Galatians 2:15Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

But see how much he adds: "For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. They have been pleased, and indeed they are debtors to them."

And again, "For if the Gentiles have become partakers of their spiritual things, they ought also to minister to them in material things" (Rom 15:26-27).

See, then, how in the present case also he casts down the proud thoughts of the Jews, attaining one thing by means of another. He continues his speech with authority, saying, "We are Jews by nature, and not sinners from among the Gentiles."

What does "Jews by nature" mean? "We are not converts from paganism," proselytoi, "but were raised from infancy in the Law. We left the former manner of life in which we were brought up and took refuge in faith in Christ."

Therefore, if after departing from the Law, by which we cannot be saved, we pass over to faith, which requires not circumcision of the flesh but a reverent and pure heart, and if even now. Withdrawing from the Gentiles, we suggest that the one who has not received circumcision is unclean, then faith in Christ, through which we think we can be saved, is a minister of sin rather than of justification.

It is faith that removes circumcision, and without circumcision everyone is supposedly unclean.”

“We are Jews by nature, and not sinners from the Gentiles.” Heretics fasten upon this place. Inventing something ridiculous and useless, they say that neither the spiritual nature can sin nor the earthly nature can do anything righteous.

We shall ask such people: Why were branches broken off from the good olive tree, and why were branches from the wild olive tree grafted onto the root of the good olive tree, if nothing can fall away from the good, and nothing can rise up from the evil?

Or how did Paul himself formerly persecute the Church, if he was spiritual by nature? And why did he afterward become an Apostle, if we suppose that he was born from an earthly nature?

Therefore, if they insistently assert that he was earthly by nature, we shall set before them his own words: “We were by nature children of wrath, like the rest” (Eph 2:3).

That man is a Jew by nature who comes from the race of Abraham and is circumcised by his parents on the eighth day.

I shall set forth the whole proof in brief words. The meaning here is this: “We, that is, I and you, Peter,” for he joins his own person lest he seem to inflict an insult, “though Jews by nature, since we do what is prescribed by the Law. And not sinners from the Gentiles, who are sinners either in general because they serve idols, or because we now consider them unclean, know that we cannot be saved by fulfilling the Law, but only by faith in Christ.

Therefore we too have believed in Christ, so that the faith in Christ which we had, or have, might grant us what the Law did not give us.

Therefore, if after departing from the Law, by which we cannot be saved, we pass over to faith, which requires not circumcision of the flesh but a reverent and pure heart, and if even now, withdrawing from the Gentiles. We suggest (agimus) that the one who has not received circumcision is unclean, then faith in Christ, by which we think we can be saved, is a minister of sin rather than of justification.

It is faith that removes circumcision, and without circumcision everyone is supposedly unclean.

But may God preserve me from defending again what I have once removed and recognized as useless for myself. Having once departed from the Law, I died to the Law in order to live in Christ.

Having been nailed to His Cross and reborn as a new man, I live more by faith than by the flesh, and with Christ I go out from the world. I hold to that to which I have once been joined.

Christ did not die for me in vain. My faith in Him would be vain if I could be saved by the ancient Law without faith in Him.

Honor your father and your mother, and other commandments like these. But the commandments concerning the Sabbath, circumcision, the leper, the one with a discharge, sacrifices, and sprinklings belonged specifically to the Law.

Nature did not teach them. Therefore the Apostle calls all these things the works of the Law. Although the violation of these commandments is sin, their observance is not advancement in perfect righteousness.

All this served as an indication of something else, though for the Jews it was useful at that time. Concerning this the divine Apostle said, "For by the works of the Law no flesh shall be justified." Then from what he has said he draws his conclusion.

He had no possibility of being justified, because he had no means for it. Yet despite this advantageous privilege of the Jew, historical experience and the Apostle's own observation convinced him that man cannot be justified by the works of the Law.

In that sense these words would be both insolent and unjust. But here "to live as a Gentile" means only to have communion with Gentiles and not to observe the ritual Law of Moses.

This is how the Apostle Peter usually lived or acted, although he was a Jew by birth. Now, however, "fearing those of the circumcision," he began outwardly to live as a Jew and to withdraw from communion with Christians from the Gentiles.

This example of the Apostle Peter, who was first in rank among the Apostles, compelled those Gentiles by birth, now Christians by faith, to imitate him. That is why Paul says to him, "You compel the Gentiles to live as Jews."

At that time the Church of Christ was divided, as it were, into two flocks: Christians from the Jews and Christians from the Gentiles. The Apostle Peter was the chief shepherd of one flock, the Christians from the Jews.

The Apostle Paul was the chief shepherd of the other, the Christians from the Gentiles (Gal 2:7). Non-observance of the Mosaic Law was a stumbling block for the first flock, and observance of it was a stumbling block for the second.

Each of the two Apostles guarded his flock from stumbling. Therefore it was natural for Peter, out of pastoral love for his sheep, to conceal his non-observance of Moses' commandments.

It was equally natural for Paul, out of the same love for his own flock, to rise publicly against Peter for this. Both Apostles acted in one and the same spirit, the spirit of zeal for the salvation of their own sheep.

Although there was a visible difference between them, there was also full unity in the chief matter. Both understood that unity, which lay in care for the salvation of their spiritual children.

The Apostle calls the Gentiles sinners not because he recognized the Jews as righteous. Rather, the Gentiles did not know the laws of righteousness indicated in the Law of Moses and in the other prophets.

Therefore they naturally lived in sin, while the Jews could live righteously according to the Law. And yet the chosen Jews, Peter, Paul, and the other Apostles, learned that no one can be saved by the works of the Mosaic Law in himself, without faith in Jesus Christ.

Therefore they abandoned the Law. How then can one oblige those who did not know the Law to perform the rites of the Mosaic Law, when it was not written for them?

The chief matter is that salvation is received by faith in Jesus Christ, and not from the works of the Law. These were various rites prescribed for a time only to the Hebrews.

They were given to preserve them at least in outward righteousness and thereby to guard true worship of God on earth. Faith in Christ is saving because here there is the Person who accomplishes man's justification, the forgiveness of his sins, or debts.

This Person is Christ the Savior, who in His redeeming merits has granted everything necessary both to satisfy the righteousness of God for human sins and to transform the whole spirit of man.

For faith, being a great inward feeling closely bound to all the other feelings and powers of man, especially to hope and love, can change man's entire life according to the object of faith.

This was so with all who truly believed in Jesus Christ and wholly surrendered themselves to Him. From this it is clear that one who desires salvation must wholly submit to justifying faith in Jesus Christ.

He must not submit to the powerless ritual Law of Moses, even if he is a Jew, and still less if he is a Gentile, as the Galatians once were.

According to Saint John Chrysostom, the Apostle Paul speaks as though saying, "We left the Law not because it was evil, but because it was weak." The saints who lived of old were justified by faith in Christ.

Abraham saw the day of Christ and rejoiced. Moses considered the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. Isaiah saw the glory of Christ (Isa 6), as the Evangelist John testifies.

From this it is evident that the works of the Law are not so much condemned as those who hope to be justified by works alone. The Savior Himself says, "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven" (Mt 5:20), according to blessed Jerome.

He furnished them with every means of justification before Him. Therefore they are a holy people, appointed for holiness and adapted to attain it.

"And not sinners from among the Gentiles." A sinner is one who does not fulfill God's commandments and violates God's Law.

Here, however, the Gentiles are called sinners in contrast to the Jews. They do not know the true God and worship those who by nature are not gods.

They also do not have the Law, which would show them how to be righteous before God. Therefore they allow among themselves many shameful deeds contrary to God.

Yet they do not regard these deeds as sins, and such deeds are even approved by their religion. By setting forth such a contrast, the Apostle leads us to these thoughts.

If the Gentiles are sinners, then the Jews are not sinners. Further, if the Jews are not sinners by nature, then the Gentiles are sinners by nature.

That is, it is written in the Jews' very birth to be holy, while for the Gentiles it is written to sink into sinfulness. Among the Jews, sinfulness is an exception, while among the Gentiles, sinlessness would be an exception.

Such is what we are, Saint Paul seems to say. Therefore we would have no need to seek other paths of salvation and justification before God. Let the Gentiles seek them.