5:6

In this verse, Paul clearly stated that Christ Jesus is the basis of our hope of righteousness. Because faith in Christ is sufficient for righteousness, circumcision is without meaning. Faith working through love is what really matters.

5:6a

For: In 5:6, Paul continued to explain how a person becomes righteous. A person becomes righteous by faith in Jesus, not by being circumcised. Paul had already explained in 5:4 that obeying the law does not make a person right with God. Here he talked about a specific example: circumcision does not make a person right with God.

The Greek introduces this explanation with a conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For.

Another way to translate this conjunction is:

because

Some English versions do not translate this conjunction. In some languages it will not be necessary to translate this conjunction either.

in Christ Jesus: The phrase in Christ Jesus describes our relationship to Christ. We are in Christ Jesus in the sense that we are united with him. We have died with him, and we are resurrected with him. We believe in him and trust in him.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

When we are in Christ Jesus (New Century Version)
-or-
If you are a follower of Christ Jesus (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
when we place our faith in Christ Jesus (New Living Translation (2004))

neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as has any value means “has force/strength.” Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any importance, meaning, or power in a believer’s life. The church includes both those who are circumcised and those who are not circumcised.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
it is not important if we are circumcised or not (New Century Version)
-or-
it makes no difference whether you are circumcised or not (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised (New Living Translation (2004))

circumcision: For help on translating circumcision, see 2:3a.

5:6b

All that matters is: There is a contrast between 5:6a and 5:6b. The contrast is between what is of no value (circumcision and uncircumcision) and what is of value (faith working through love). Languages have different ways to indicate this negative-positive type of contrast. Some of the ways are:

• With the conjunction “but.”

• With a conjunction other than “but.” This is a common way in English to show this type of contrast. For example:

Rather
-or-
Instead

• With a connecting phrase. For example:

What does matter
-or-
The only thing that counts is (New International Version)

faith: Here the word faith refers to faith/trust in Christ.

Some other ways to translate this word are:

your faith (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
you/we believe in Christ

See faith, Meaning 1 in the Glossary.

expressed through: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as expressed can also be translated as “shows” or “makes/causes.” For example:

The only thing that really counts is faith that shows itself through love. (NIRV)
-or-
All that matters is your faith that makes you love others. (Contemporary English Version)

This verb also occurs in 2:8a, 2:8b, and 3:5a.

love: The word love refers to a believer’s love for other people.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

What is important is that we believe/trust in Christ. We show this when we love other people.
-or-
All that matters is your faith that makes you love others. (Contemporary English Version)

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