“Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.”
My Notes
What Does Galatians 5:2 Mean?
"If ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing." Paul draws the starkest possible line: circumcision or Christ. Not both. If you choose circumcision as the basis for your righteousness, Christ's work becomes worthless to you. The two systems are mutually exclusive. You can't add law to grace without canceling grace.
The phrase "Christ shall profit you nothing" (ouden ophelései — will benefit you nothing, will be of no advantage) doesn't mean circumcision is sinful in itself. Paul circumcised Timothy (Acts 16:3). The issue is the motivation: if circumcision is performed to earn righteousness, then Christ's provision of righteousness is rendered unnecessary. You've chosen self-effort over divine gift.
The "behold, I Paul" is emphatic self-identification: this isn't anonymous teaching. This is Paul — the former Pharisee, the circumcised Hebrew of Hebrews — telling you that circumcision for righteousness cancels Christ. The most Jewish apostle in the church says: don't do this.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What are you adding to Christ's work that implies it wasn't sufficient?
- 2.How does 'Christ plus anything' differ from 'Christ alone'?
- 3.What 'circumcision' — religious performance treated as necessary for salvation — are you relying on?
- 4.Why does adding to grace cancel grace rather than enhance it?
Devotional
If you get circumcised to earn righteousness, Christ is worth nothing to you. Zero benefit. The two systems cancel each other. You can't add law-performance to grace-reception and keep both functional.
Paul doesn't oppose circumcision as a cultural practice. He opposes it as a salvation mechanism. The distinction matters: a Jewish man circumcised for cultural or identity reasons hasn't rejected Christ. A Gentile man circumcised as a requirement for salvation has rejected Christ — because the requirement implies Christ's work wasn't sufficient.
The logic is binary: either Christ's work is enough or it isn't. If it's enough, adding circumcision as a requirement is unnecessary. If it isn't enough, Christ failed. There's no middle ground where Christ did most of the saving and circumcision handles the rest. Grace doesn't accept supplements.
This principle extends beyond circumcision to every addition people make to the gospel: Christ plus good works. Christ plus baptism. Christ plus church attendance. Christ plus moral performance. Every 'plus' implies Christ alone wasn't enough. And if Christ alone wasn't enough, 'Christ plus anything' doesn't fix the insufficiency — it just insults the sufficiency.
What are you adding to Christ? What 'circumcision' — what performance, what ritual, what religious requirement — are you treating as necessary alongside faith? Paul says: if you add it, Christ profits you nothing. The addition cancels the gift.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
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If ye be circumcised - By circumcision you take on you the whole obligation of the Jewish law, and consequently profess…
In the former part of this chapter the apostle cautions the Galatians to take heed of the judaizing teachers, who…
St Paul here speaks with the Apostolic authority which he had vindicated at the opening of the Epistle, but which he has…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture