Galatians 5:4

Gal_5:4

Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are Justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Is Christ preached of no effect

I think, the sum and substance of my text amounts simply to this: that the attempt to add anything to Christs perfect work in the salvation of a ruined sinner, is an entire rejection of Christ, and makes the man an infidel.

I. First of all, let us look a little to the effect. Now what effect has been produced upon your hearts by the preaching of the gospel? I will tell you three effects produced upon the hearts of many. In the first place, the preaching of Christ has produced the effect of pardon sealed upon the conscience--but not where justification is looked for from the law; in the second place, where Christ is preached and embraced by faith, reconciliation to all Gods method of saving sinners, and to all Gods dispensations, is wrought in the heart; and thirdly, the effect--and the prime effect--included in the covenant of grace, and registered in heaven to be carried into execution, is a vital oneness of soul with Jesus.

II. A few words now respecting the apostasy. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are seeking to be justified by the law. I pray you, mark what an awful extent of apostasy this one short sentence proves: that all those, who are cherishing vain hopes of justification before God, in whole or in part, from anything that the creature does, or anything proposed to the creature, have no effect from Christ; they are rejecting Christ. I would have you think seriously upon this. You know, we do not now dwell upon the term ,, circumcision, nor yet the keeping of the ceremonial law: only we insist, that these are phrases, which set forth the folly and rebellion of attempting to put anything of the creature along with the perfect work of Christ. One single condition, if it be but an act of obedience, if it be but a word, if it be but a thought--one single condition or contingency left with man, seals his damnation for ever. If the preaching of the Word of God does not give man a salvation without a contingency, it gives him none at all.

III. A word or two now, relative to the apostles testimony against this apostasy. Ah! I fear there are many such professors in these days; who receive the doctrines of grace as a whole in theory, but by and by abandon them for the first theory that seems more pleasing to their fleshly natures. Fallen from grace marks, then, a rejection of the doctrine once embraced or received--the doctrine once admitted to be correct. I think there is another class that might be included in this; and that is, the great class who hold the doctrines of grace while living in habits of sin. (J. Irons, D. D.)

Although the law cannot justify, it has a value

Money doth not justify, is it therefore unprofitable? The eyes do not justify, must they therefore be plucked out? The hands make not a man righteous, must they therefore be cut off? We must attribute to everything its proper effect and use. If the law doth not justify we have no right to condemn or destroy it; it is good, as St. Paul tells us, if a man do rightly use it; that is to say, if he use the law as law. (Luther.)

Falling from grace

If Satan cannot hinder the birth of graces, then he labours to be the death of graces. This is too ordinary, to see a Christian lose his first love, and to fall from his first works. This love that was formerly an ascending flame, always sparkling up to heaven, is now, like a little spark, almost suffocated with the earth. The godly sorrow that was once a swelling torrent, like Jordan overflowing his banks, is now like Jobs summer brook, which makes the traveller ashamed. His proceedings against sin, once furious, like the march of Jehu against Ahab; but now, like Samson, he can sleep in Delilahs lap while she steals away his strength. Before, he could not give rest to his eyes till God had given rest to his soul; but now he can lie down with sin in his bosom, and wounds in his conscience. At first, his zeal did eat him up; but now his decayings have omen up his zeal. (Foster.)

Falling away

As leaves fall from the trees, so the grace of God decay, and drop away, in the wicked, one after another, as if there was a consumption. (Cawdray.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5:4 People who think circumcision is necessary for salvation are putting faith in the law and in themselves, not in Christ. Such people are cut off from Christ, outside of his grace (cp. Rom 5:2); they are under the judgment of the law. They have fallen away from the benefits of God’s grace (cp. Gal 1:6; 1 Pet 5:12).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Gal 5:4. Κατηργήθητε ἀπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ [Engl. Vers. Christ is become of no effect]) Your connection with Christ is made void: so the Vulgate.[45] One might be inclined to say in German, ohne werden, “to become without.” Comp. Gal 5:2; Rom 7:2; Rom 7:6.—δικαιοῦσθε, are justified) Seek righteousness. In the middle voice.—τῆς χάριτος ἐξεπέσατε, ye have fallen from grace) Comp. Gal 5:3. You have fallen from the New Testament, in all the wide comprehension of that expression. It is we that are and stand in grace, rather than grace is in us; comp. Rom 5:2.

[45] “Evacuati estis a Christo.” Wahl renders it, “divelli et prorsus dimoveri a Christo,” to be torn off and utterly parted asunder from Christ. Comp. κατήργηται ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου, Rom 7:2.—ED.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gal_5:4. But whosoever is justified through the lawa way of justification which necessarily follows from the already mentioned obligationis separated from Christ, etc. A complete explanation is thus given as to the Χριστὸς ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ὠφελήσει. Asyndetic (without δέ), and reverting to the second person, the language of Paul is the more emphatic and vivid.

κατηργήθητε] In the first clause the stress is laid upon the dread separation which has befallen them, in the second on the benefit thereby lost,a striking alternation of emphasis. The pregnant expression, καταργεῖσθαι ἀπό τινος (comp. Rom_9:3; 2Co_11:3; see generally, Fritzsche ad Rom. II. p. 250), is to be resolved into καταργεῖσθαι καὶ χωρίζεσθαι ἀπό τινος, that is, to come to nothing in regard to the relation hitherto subsisting with any one, so that we are parted from him. Just the same in Rom_7:2; Rom_7:6. Hence the sense is: your connection with Christ is annulled, cancelled; ἀπεκόπητε, Oecumenius. Justification by the law and justification for Christs sake are in truth opposita (worksfaith), so that the one excludes the other.

οἵτινες ἐν νόμῳ δικαιοῦσθε] ye who are being justified through the law. The directly assertive and present δικαιοῦσθε is said from the mental standpoint of the subjects concerned, in whose view of the matter the way of salvation is this: through the law, with which our conduct agrees (comp. Gal_3:11), we become just before God. Hence the concrete statement is not to be weakened either by taking δικαιοῦσθαι in the sense of ζητεῖν δικαιοῦσθαι, Gal_2:17 (Rückert, Baumgarten-Crusius, and earlier expositors), or by attributing a hypothetical sense to οἵτινες (Hofmann, who erroneously compares Thuc. v. 16. 1). Whomsoever Paul hits with his οἵτινες κ.τ.λ., he also means.

τῆς χάριτος ἐξεπέσατε] that is, ye have forfeited the relation of being objects of divine grace. The opposite: ὑπὸ χάριν εἶναι (Rom_6:14), to which divine grace faith has led (Rom_5:2). On the figurative ἐκπίπτειν, comp. 2Pe_3:17; Plut. Gracch. 21: ἐκπεσεῖν καὶ στερεσθαι τῆς πρὸς τὸν δῆμον εὐνοίας, Polyb. xii. 14. 7; Lucian, Cont. 14; Sir_31:4. Whoever becomes righteous by obedience to the law, becomes se no longer by the grace of God (δωρεάν, Rom_3:24), but by works according to desert (Rom_4:11; Rom_4:16; Rom_11:6); so that thus his relation of grace towards God (which is capable of being lost) has ceased.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gal 5:4 . κατηργήθητε . This verb is applied with comprehensive force to any destruction of growth and life, physical or spiritual, beneficial or deleterious. Joined with ἀπό it denotes the loss of some essential element of life by the severance of previous intimate relations, e.g. , annulment by death of a wife’s obligations to her husband (Rom 7:2 ), and emancipation from the control of the Law by spiritual death (Rom 7:6 ). Here, in like manner, it denotes the paralysis of spiritual life by severance of union with Christ. This paralysis produces a deadening effect on the whole spiritual nature, and results in the continuous craving for legal justification which is expressed by δικαιοῦσθε . ἐξεπέσατε . As the quasi-passive verb ἐκπίπτειν corresponds to the active verb ἐκβάλλειν , this aorist corresponds to ἔκβαλε in Gal 4:30 ; so that the combination of κατηργήθητε with ἐξεπέσατε contains a special allusion to the doom of Ishmael, who suffered the loss of his inheritance at the same time that he was cast out from his father’s house. Disloyal children of God, who prefer bondage to filial freedom, have by their own act forfeited the birthright of sons, and been cast out from His favour and blessing.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is, seek to be justified by the Law, for in deed no man is justified by the Law.

That is, as he himself expoundeth it afterwards, ye are fallen from grace.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Literally, "Ye have become void from Christ," that is, your connection with Christ has become void (Gal 5:2). Rom 7:2, "Loosed from the law," where the same Greek occurs as here.

whosoever of you are justified--"are being justified," that is, are endeavoring to be justified.

by the law--Greek, "IN the law," as the element in which justification is to take place.

fallen from grace--Ye no longer "stand" in grace (Rom 5:2). Grace and legal righteousness cannot co-exist (Rom 4:4-5; Rom 11:6). Christ, by circumcision (Luk 2:21), undertook to obey all the law, and fulfil all righteousness for us: any, therefore, that now seeks to fulfil the law for himself in any degree for justifying righteousness, severs himself from the grace which flows from Christ's fulfilment of it, and becomes "a debtor to do the whole law" (Gal 5:3). The decree of the Jerusalem council had said nothing so strong as this; it had merely decided that Gentile Christians were not bound to legal observances. But the Galatians, while not pretending to be so bound, imagined there was an efficacy in them to merit a higher degree of perfection (Gal 3:3). This accounts for Paul not referring to the decree at all. He took much higher ground. See PALEY'S Horæ Paulinæ. The natural mind loves outward fetters, and is apt to forge them for itself, to stand in lieu of holiness of heart.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. Christ is become of no effect unto you] It is vain for you to attempt to unite the two systems. You must have the law and no Christ, or Christ and no law, for your justification.

Ye are fallen from grace.] From the Gospel. They had been brought into the grace of the Gospel; and now, by readopting the Mosaic ordinances, they had apostatized from the Gospel as a system of religion, and had lost the grace communicated to their souls, by which they were preserved in a state of salvation. The peace and love of God, received by Jesus Christ, could not remain in the hearts of those who had rejected Christ. They had, therefore, in every sense of the word, fallen from grace; and whether some of them ever rose again is more than we can tell.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. Christ has become of no effect unto you. “If ye seek any part of righteousness in the works of the law, Christ has no concern with you, and ye are fallen from grace.” They were not so grossly mistaken as to believe that by the observance of the law alone they were justified, but attempted to mix Christ with the law. In any other point of view, Paul’s threatenings would have utterly failed to produce alarm. “What are you doing? You deprive yourselves of every advantage from Christ, and treat his grace as if it were of no value whatever.” We see then that the smallest part of justification cannot be attributed to the law without renouncing Christ and his grace.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(4) Christ is become of no effect unto you.—Literally, Ye were (or, more idiomatically, are) abolished, made nothing, from Christ; a condensed form of expression for, Ye are made nothing (unchristianised), and cut off from Christ. Your relations to Christ are cancelled, and you are Christians no longer.

Are justified.—Strictly, seek to be justified.

Ye are fallen from grace.—The Christian is justified by an act of grace, or free, unearned favour, on the part of God. He who seeks for justification in any other way loses this grace. Grace is not here a state or disposition in the believer, but a divine act or relation.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. The same great and solemn truth is repeated in different terms. “Christ shall profit you nothing” = “a debtor to do the whole law” (and therefore under a curse in consequence of failure) = “Christ is of no effect unto you” = “ye are fallen from grace”. Similarly, “if ye become circumcised” = “every man that submits to circumcision” = “justified by the law”.

Christ is become of no effect] Lit. ‘ye were cut off from Christ’, brought to nought as regards any benefit accruing to you from Him.

are justified by the law] i.e. seek to be justified by the law.

ye are fallen] Probably, ‘ye are cast forth’ (like Hagar and her son), banished from grace. The Apostle is not here stating anything as to the possibility of recovery after such a relapse. His object is to make it quite clear that if righteousness (or justification) is sought in the law (i.e. by works) it involves the forfeiture of grace, and the forfeiture of grace is ruin.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Christ is become of no effect unto you,.... Or "ye are abolished from Christ"; or as others by an "hypallage" read the words, "Christ is abolished unto you"; for by their seeking for justification by their own works, it was all one to them as if there was no Christ, and no righteousness in him, and no salvation by him; they had nothing to do with him, nor he with them:

whosoever of you are justified by the law; that is, who sought to be justified by their obedience to the law, or who thought they were, and trusted in themselves that they were righteous; for otherwise, by the deeds of the law, no flesh living can be justified:

ye are fallen from grace; that is, either from that grace which they professed to have; for there might be some in these churches, as in others, who were only nominal Christians, and formal professors; who had declared they saw themselves lost and undone sinners, destitute of a righteousness, and professed to believe in Christ alone for righteousness and strength, but now trusted in themselves, and in the works of the law: or from the scheme of grace in the whole of man's salvation, which will admit of no mixture of works; either it is one or the other, it cannot be both; wherefore by their taking on the side of works, they showed that they had entirely dropped the scheme of grace: or else from the Gospel of the grace of God, from whence they were removed, through the influence of false teachers; particularly the doctrine of free justification by the grace of God, through the righteousness of Christ; which was entirely set aside by their seeking to be instilled by the works of the law; and from this they might be said to be fallen, who were on such a bottom.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Ver. 4. Christ is become of none effect] Woe then to popish merit mongers. William Wickham, founder of New College, though he did many good works, yet he professed he trusted to Jesus Christ alone for salvation. So did Charles V, emperor of Germany. So did many of our forefathers in times of Popery. (Parei Hist. Profan. medul. Dr Ussher on Eph 4:13)

Ye are fallen from grace] It cannot hence be concluded that the apostle speaks conditionally, and it may be understood of the true doctrine of God’s free grace.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Christ is become of no effect unto you - You will derive no advantage from Christ. His work in regard to you is needless and vain. If you can be justified in any other way than by him, then of course you do not need him, and your adoption of the other mode is in fact a renunciation of him. Tyndale renders this: “Ye are gone quite from Christ.” The word here used (καταργέω katargeō), means properly, to render inactive, idle, useless; to do away, to put an end to; and here it means that they had withdrawn from Christ, if they attempted to be justified by the Law. They would not need him if they could be thus justified; and they could derive no benefit from him. A man who can be justified by his own obedience, does not need the aid or the merit of another; and if it was true, as they seemed to suppose, that they could be justified by the Law, it followed that the work of Christ was in vain so far as they were concerned.

Whosoever of you are justified by the law - On the supposition that any of you are justified by the Law; or if, as you seem to suppose, any are justified by the Law. The apostle does not say that this had in fact ever occurred; but he merely makes a supposition. If such a thing should or could occur, it would follow that you had fallen from grace.

Ye are fallen from grace - That is, this would amount to apostasy from the religion of the Redeemer, and would be in fact a rejection of the grace of the gospel. That this had ever in fact occurred among true Christians the apostle does not affirm unless he affirmed that people can in fact be justified by the Law, since he makes the falling from grace a consequence of that. But did Paul mean to teach that? Did he mean to affirm that any man in fact had been, or could be justified by his own obedience to the Law? Let his own writings answer; see, especially, Rom 3:20. But unless he held that, then this passage does not prove that anyone who has ever been a true Christian has fallen away. The fair interpretation of the passage does not demand that. Its simple and obvious meaning is, that if a man who has been a professed Christian should be justified by his own conformity to the Law, and adopt that mode of justification, then that would amount to a rejection of the mode of salvation by Christ, and would be a renouncing of the plan of justification by grace. The two systems cannot be united. The adoption of the one is, in fact, a rejection of the other. Christ will be “a whole Saviour,” or none. This passage, therefore. cannot be adduced to prove that any true Christian has in fact fallen away from grace, unless it proves also that man may be justified by the deeds of the Law, contrary to the repeated declarations of Paul himself. The word “grace” here, does not mean grace in the sense of personal religion, it means the “system” of salvation by grace, in contradistinction from that by merit or by works - the system of the gospel.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

If you think that justice cannot be obtained but under the law, you make a renunciation of the justice of Christ: his mediation becomes of no avail to you. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The word here translated become of no effect, is used Rom 3:3. By those who

are justified by the law, are to be understood such as seek or desire to be justified by the law, for actually none is so justified. The sense is: Whoever seeketh to be justified by the works of the law, he disclaimeth the righteousness of Christ; to him Christ’s death signifieth nothing, nor is of any virtue at all. For he had told us before, Gal 2:21; If righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain: and Rom 8:3,4; What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, & c. The very end of Christ’s coming and dying was to supply us with a righteousness, which (apprehended by faith) should be reckoned to us as ours, wherein we might stand before God. Which end of Christ’s death had been frustrated, if, through our flesh, there had not been such a weakness or impotency in the law as to justification. So as if any still looked for justification by performance of the law, as such made the death of Christ in vain, because if such a thing could have been done that way there had been no need of Christ’s dying; so they also made it, which was not in vain in itself, yet in vain and of no effect to their souls, because Christ would not be a partial cause in the justification of a soul.

Ye are fallen from grace; and they, by this, renounced the grace of God exhibited in the gospel, and fell from the grace of it. For by grace here is not to be understood a state of grace, (from which none can fall totally and finally), but the grace of the gospel; by which is signified the free love of God in it exhibited, offering Christ to sinners for righteousness.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. Christ… of no effect—Literal Greek, Ye are abolished from Christ; a very energetic phrase. It states in very strong language the fact, that, however true their previous Christian faith and character, the act of circumcision, as required by the Judaists, involved a complete apostasy, and loss of both justification and regeneration.

Fallen from grace—There is no grace from Christ for you, and you are under the law and complete condemnation.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Christ is become of no effect unto you (kathrghqhte ajpo tou Cristou); or, ye have disconnected yourselves from Christ. The verb katargein is a favourite word with St. Paul, occurring twenty-seven times in his Epistles, including twice in the Hebrews, whilst in the rest of the New Testament it occurs only once, and that in the Pauline St. Luke. (Luk_13:7) Its proper meaning is "to make inoperative," "make of no effect," as above. (Gal_3:17) The phrase, katargeisqai ajpo, etc., occursrghtai Rom_7:2, "If the husband die (kath ajpo), she is discharged from the law of the husband;" it ceases to have any effect upon her; so ibid., ver. 6, "Now we have been discharged from the Law (kathrghqhmen ajpomon);" it has ceased to have any operation towards us. The phrase combines the two ideas separation suggested by the ajpo, (comp. Rom_9:3) and the cessation of a work (ergon) or an effect till then wrought by one upon the other of the two parties: the two parties have nothing more to do with each other. The sense given in the Authorized Version is perfectly justifiable; only, perhaps, here the passive takes, as it sometimes does, the reflective sense of the middle verb; but it may be that the apostle means simply to express the result which has accrued. The aorist tense of kathrghqhte, as well as of the ejxepesate, expresses the certainty and promptness with which the result followed upon the (supposed) act. Whosoever of you are justified by the Law (oitinev ejn nomw dikaiousqe); such of you as go about to be justified by the Law. "By the Law;" literally, in the Law; seek to find in the Law the means of justification (cf. Gal_3:11, and note) The present tense is the present of design or endeavour; the result in this case being, in fact, unattainable. (Gal_3:10, Gal_3:21) Ye are fallen from grace (thv caritov ejxepesate); ye have fallen from the state of grace. "Grace" denotes the condition of acceptance with God into which faith in Christ brings us. Cf. ptw Rom_5:2: "Through whom we have had our access by faith into this grace wherein we stand." The verb ejkpi is used as inshte 2Pe_3:17, "Lestye fall from (ejkte) your own steadfastness." So piptwptwkav: Rev_2:5, "Remember whence thou hast fallen pe Receptus, ejkpeptwkav." In classical Greek the verb was frequently used as a set term to describe those who, in the alternating success of adverse factions in the several independent cities of Greece, were compelled by a more powerful adverse party to submit to exile; its correlative verb being ejkballw. This fact leads Bishop Lightfoot, having an eye to the ekbale ofsate Gal_4:30, to render ejxepe here, are driven forth and banished with Hagar your mother." But this very idiomatic colour of meaning it seems very precarious to give to the word in the Greek of St. Paul. The more general signification of the term is amply sustained by its use in Plutarch as cited by Wetstein.

The logical results of the Judaistic position.

Christ profits only those united to him, and a soul departed from him is undone for ever. This would be the exact risk of such Galatians as, following Judaistic guidance, sought to be "justified by the Law." Consider

I THEIR DOCTRINE INVOLVED SEPARATION FROM CHRIST. "Christ is become of no effect unto you;" rather, "you are done away from Christ." Representing circumcision as the bond of connection with the Law, the apostle declares circumcision to be a de jure separation from Christ, in whom all legal engagements were fully met. Justification by grace and justification by Law are mutually exclusive. If we can be saved in any other way than by Christ, we do not need him, and the adoption of that other way is a renunciation of him. To be "without Christ" is the most miserable as well as the most fatal position in life.

II THEIR DOCTRINE INVOLVED A DEPARTURE FROM THE SYSTEM OF SALVATION BY GRACE. "Ye are fallen from grace." The clause has no bearing upon the doctrine of the perseverance of saints, for the grace here spoken of is not personal religion, but the system of salvation by grace. Law and grace are opposites; that is, the dispensation of Law and the dispensation of grace. The justified person in the one case works out salvation by his own obedience; in the other he simply receives it. The apostle declares the mode of justification by personal obedience as involving the rejection of the mode of justification by Christ.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Therefore Christ is become of no effect to you - Who seek to be justified by the law. Ye are fallen from grace - Ye renounce the new covenant. Ye disclaim the benefit of this gracious dispensation.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

VERSE 4. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Paul in this verse discloses that he is not speaking so much of circumcision as the trust which men repose in the outward act. We can hear him say: "I do not condemn the Law in itself; what I condemn is that men seek to be justified by the Law, as if Christ were still to come, or as if He alone were unable to justify sinners. It is this that I condemn, because it makes Christ of no effect. It makes you void of Christ so that Christ is not in you, nor can you be partakers of the knowledge, the spirit, the fellowship, the liberty, the life, or the achievements of Christ. You are completely separated from Him, so much so that He has nothing to do with you any more, or for that matter you with Him." Can anything worse be said against the Law? If you think Christ and the Law can dwell together in your heart, you may be sure that Christ dwells not in your heart. For if Christ is in your heart He neither condemns you, nor does He ever bid you to trust in your own good works. If you know Christ at all, you know that good works do not serve unto righteousness, nor evil works unto condemnation. I do not want to withhold from good works their due praise, nor do I wish to encourage evil works. But when it comes to justification, I say, we must concentrate upon Christ alone, or else we make Him non-effective .You must choose between Christ and the righteousness of the Law. If you choose Christ you are righteous before God. If you stick to the Law, Christ is of no use to you.

VERSE 4. Ye are fallen from grace.

That means you are no longer in the kingdom or condition of grace. When a person on board ship falls into the sea and is drowned it makes no difference from which end or side of the ship he falls into the water. Those who fall from grace perish no matter how they go about it. Those who seek to be justified by the Law are fallen from grace and are in grave danger of eternal death. If this holds true in the case of those who seek to be justified by the moral Law, what will become of those, I should like to know, who endeavor to be justified by their own regulations and vows? They will fall to the very bottom of hell. "Oh, no," they say, "we will fly straight into heaven. If you live according to the rules of Saint Francis, Saint Dominick, Saint Benedict, you will obtain the peace and mercy of God. If you perform the vows of chastity, obedience, etc., you will be rewarded with everlasting life." Let these playthings of the devil go to the place where they came from and listen to what Paul has to say in this verse in accordance with Christ’s own teaching: "He that believeth in the Son of God, hath everlasting life; but he that believeth not in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth in him."

The words, "Ye are fallen from grace," must not be taken lightly. They are important. To fall from grace means to lose the atonement, the forgiveness of sins, the righteousness, liberty, and life which Jesus has merited for us by His death and resurrection. To lose the grace of God means to gain the wrath and judgment of God, death, the bondage of the devil, and everlasting condemnation.

Martin Luther — Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (1535), English translation by Theodore Graebner (Zondervan, 1939) — public domain (U.S. copyright not renewed). Text from a community e-Sword module.

no effect

grace

no effect i.e. of no experimental effect: the sense of liberty is lost. Gal 2:21; Col 1:23.

grace Grace (in salvation). Eph 1:6; Eph 1:7; Rom 3:24. (See Scofield "Gal 1:6"), See Scofield "Joh 1:17".

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Here another argument is used, to show that believers are dead to the ceremonial law, and are by no means to expect justification by it: Whosoever of you says the apostle is justified by the law, that is, whosoever seeks and endeavours to be so justified, (for in reality none can in that manner be justified,) Christ is become of no effect unto such persons; that is, they renounce Christ, and disdain benefit by his death. And they are fallen from grace; that is, fallen from Christianity, and the covenant of grace; they have forfeited the grace of the gospel, by cleaving to the ceremonial law, they are fallen from the doctrine of grace delivered in the gospel, and Christ is become of no effect unto them.

Learn from hence, That such persons as do believe that faith in Christ alone is not sufficient to justification and acceptance with God, without the observation of the abrogated law, do in effect disown their relation to Christ, and disclaim all benefit by his death: Christ is become of none effect, &c.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace. [Therefore, in being circumcised for the purpose of being justified by the law ye have been guilty of a complete apostasy; there is no longer any justification for you, for you are not under the grace of Christ, but rest under the condemnation of the law.]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. Christ is become of no effect unto you. If you be circumcised in order to keep the Mosaic law (verse 2). Ye are fallen from grace. By resorting to the law for salvation.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

4. St Paul’s object here is partly to explain Gal 5:2 further, and partly to turn them from their mistaken purpose by the sharpness of his language.

κατηργήθητε, Gal 5:11, Gal 3:17. St Paul could hardly have employed a stronger word. They would have existence, but existence that is useless, ἀπρακτός. On the difficulty of translating κατηργ. see Sauday-Headlam, Rom 7:6, where they paraphrase “we were struck with atrophy.”

ἀπὸ. For this pregnant use denoting complete separation as the result or cause of the state mentioned in the preceding verb see Rom 9:3, 2Co 11:3, besides the two passages κατηργ. ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμον, Rom 7:2; Rom 7:6.

ἐν νόμῳ (Gal 2:16 note). δικαιοῦσθε, conative, “would be justified.” Blass, Gram. § 56. 3, who compares Joh 10:32; Joh 13:6.

τῆς χάριτος. The article is hardly generic, but rather the grace given by God (Gal 1:15, Gal 2:21), and received by you. Compare Rom 5:2.

ἐξεπέσατε. Figurative as in 2Pe 3:17. Compare Sirach 31 (34):7 πολλοὺς ἐπλάνησεν τὰ ἐνύπνια, καὶ ἐξέπεσον ἑλπίζοντες ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς, where unfortunately the Hebrew is not extant; also Plato, Repub. VI. 496 c ἐκπεσεῖν φιλοσοφίας.

Lightfoot suggests that it = were driven forth; as the correlative of ἐκβάλλω Gal 4:30, quoting Thuc. Gal 6:4 αὐτοὶ μὲν ὑπὸ Σαμίων … ἐκπίπτουσιν … τοὺς δὲ Σαμίους Ἀναξίλας Ῥηγίνων τύραννος … ἐκβαλών. But the words are so far apart in our Epistle that the correlation is forced. On -ατε see Helbing, Gr. d. LXX. p. 62, Winer-Schm. § 13. 13. The tense of ἐξεπ. and κατηργήθητε was probably chosen for vividness, suggesting both the completeness and the immediateness of the effect of seeking to be justified elsewhere than in Christ.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4.] Explains and establishes still further the assertion of ver. 2.

Ye were annihilated from Christ (literally: the construction is a pregnant one, ‘ye were cut off from Christ, and thus made void:’ see ref. 2 Cor. ‘were,’ viz. at the time when you began your course of ἐν νόμῳ δικ.), ye who are being justified (‘endeavouring to be justified,’ ‘seeking justification:’ such is the force of the subjective present. So Thl. ὡς ὑπολαμβάνετε) in (not ‘by:’ it is the element in which, as in the expression ἐν κυρίῳ) the law,—ye fell from (reff.: see 1Co 13:8, note. Wetst. quotes from Plut., Agis and Cleom. p. 796, τῶν πλείστων ἐξέπεσεν ἡ Σπάρτη καλῶν: Gracch. p. 834, ἐκπεσεῖν κ. στέρεσθαι τῆς πρὸς τὸν δῆμον εὐνοίας. ‘So Plato, Rep. vi. 496, ἐκπεσεῖν φιλοσοφίας: Polyb. xii. 14. 7, ἐκπίπτειν τοῦ καθήκοντος,’ Ellic.) grace.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. κατηργήθητε ἀπὸ Χριστοῦ οἵτινες ἐν νόμῳ δικαιοῦσθε, “Ye have severed your relation to Christ, ye who are seeking to be justified in law.” κατηργήθητε ἀπὸ Χριστοῦ repeats in effect the Χριστὸς ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ὠφελήσει of v. 2, and like that verse expresses forcibly the apostle’s thought that the adoption of legalism is the repudiation of Christ. The two methods of obtaining righteousness are incompatible. He who turns to one foregoes the other. Notice the direct address to the Galatians, much more impressive than a statement of a general principle.

Some Syrian authorities and Boh. read τοῦ Χριστοῦ, but Χριστοῦ is sustained by practically all pre-Syrian evidence, אBCD al. On Paul’s usage of Χριστός and ὁ Χριστός, cf. detached note on The Titles and Predicates of Jesus, p. 395.

Ἐν νόμῳ evidently has the same meaning as in 3:11 (q. v.), “in the sphere of” (more specifically, “on the basis of”) “legal obedience to statutes,” thus equivalent to ἐξ ἔργων νόμου in 2:16, etc. δικαιοῦσθε is conative. The present can not mean “are (i. e., have been) justified”; and a progressive present proper, “are in the process of being justified” is excluded by the fact that Paul thinks of justification not as a process but an act, and more decisively by his repeated assertion that no man is actually justified in law (chap. 3:11, Rom 3:20).

There is no reason to regard the assertion of this sentence as hypothetical; it must rather be understood as referring to persons among the Galatians who, having accepted the legalistic principle, were seeking justification in law (cf. 4:10). Only, in view of 1:6, 5:1, 10, etc., it can not be supposed to designate the Galatians as a whole, or in view of v. 2, be understood as necessarily implying that they have carried their legalism to the extent of being circumcised. Wherever in the epistle the apostle speaks of circumcision, it is as of a future possibility to be prevented. This excludes not the possibility of some having already been circumcised, but the general adoption of circumcision; but there is no positive indication that any have accepted it.

Καταργέω, properly meaning “to make ineffective,” is used in Rom 7:2, Rom 7:6, and here in the passive with ἀπό, meaning “to be without effect from,” “to be unaffected by,” “to be without effective relation to.” The explanation of the idiom as a brachylogical expression for κατηργήθητε καὶ ἐχωρίσθητε (Ltft., Sief., et al.), and the comparison of Rom 9:3 and 2Co 11:3 as analogous examples, are scarcely defensible; for while in these latter instances the expressed predicate applies to the subject independently of the phrase introduced by ἀπό, and the verb denoting separation is simply left to be supplied in thought, this is not the case with καταργεῖσθαι ἀπό. The idiom is rather to be explained as a case of rhetorical inversion, such as occurs in Rom 7:4, ἐθανατώθητε τῷ νόμῳ, where consistency with both preceding and following context would require ὁ νόμος ἐθανατώθη ὑμῖν. Cf. the English expression, “He was presented with a gift,” for “A gift was presented to him.” The use of the aorist tense, denoting a past event viewed as a simple fact, has, in contrast with the present δικαιοῦσθε a certain rhetorical force; as if the apostle would say: “Your justification in law, which is but an attempt, has already resulted in separation from Christ as a fact.” The English perfect best expresses the force of an aorist in such cases as this, when the event belongs to the immediate past (cf. BMT 46, 52).

τῆς χάριτος ἐξεπέσατε. “Ye have fallen away from grace.” The article with χάριτος marks the word as referring specifically to that grace of God or of Christ which was the distinctive element of the gospel which Paul had preached to the Galatians. Cf. 1:6, and special note on Χάρις. Grace, by virtue of which God accepts as righteous those who have faith, itself excludes, and is excluded by, the principle of legalism, according to which the deeds of righteousness which one has performed are accredited to him as something which he has earned. Cf. 3:12, Rom 4:5, Rom 11:6. They, therefore, who are seeking justification by the way of legalism have fallen away from, abandoned, the divine grace. Logically viewed, the one conception excludes the other; experientially the one experience destroys the other. One can not with intellectual consistency conceive of God as the bookkeeping God of legalism and at the same time the gracious God of the Pauline gospel, who accepts men because of their faith. One can not live the life of devotion to the keeping of statutes, which legalism calls for, and at the same time a life of faith in Jesus Christ and filial trust in the God of grace. This strong conviction of the incompatibility of the two conceptions, experientially as well as logically, is doubtless grounded in the apostle’s own experience. Cf. 2:19.

The verb ἐκπίπτω in classical writers from Homer down, signifying “to fall out of,” with various derived significations, is probably used here, as usually when limited by a genitive without a preposition, with the meaning, “to fail of,” “to lose one’s hold upon” (τῆς χάριτος being a genitive of separation), not, however, here in the sense that the divine grace has been taken from them (as in Jos. Antiq. 7. 203 (9:2), ὡς ἂν βασιλείας ἐκπεσών), but that they have abandoned it. Cf. 2Pe 3:17: φυλάσσεσθε ἵνα μὴ … ἐκπέσητε τοῦ ἰδίου στηριγμοῦ. For to affirm that their seeking justification in law involved as an immediate consequence the penal withdrawal of the divine grace (note the force of the aorist in relation to the present δικαιοῦσθε; cf. above on κατηργήθητε) involves a wholly improbable harshness of conception. On the form ἐξεπέσατε cf. Win.-Schm. XIII 12.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Christ is become of no effect unto you [κατηργηθητε απο χριστου] . Incorrect. Lit. ye were brought to nought from Christ. Comp. Rom 7:2, 6. Your union with Christ is dissolved. The statement is compressed and requires to be filled out. "Ye were brought to nought and so separated from Christ." For similar instances see Rom 9:3; Rom 11:3. The ajpo from properly belongs to the supplied verb of separation. For the verb katargein see on Rom 3:3.

Ye are fallen from grace [της χαριτος εξεπεσατε] . For a similar phrase see 2Pe 3:17. Having put yourselves under the economy of salvation by law, you have fallen out of the economy of salvation by the grace of Christ. Paul 's declarations are aimed at the Judaisers, who taught that the Christian economy was to be joined with the legal. His point is that the two are mutually exclusive. Comp. Rom 4:4, 5, 14, 16. The verb ejkpiptein to fall out, in the literal sense, Act 12:7; Jas 1:11. In Class. of seamen thrown ashore, banishment, deprivation of an office, degeneration, of actors being hissed off the stage.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.