For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision
In this phrase, Paul addresses a central issue in the early church: the role of Jewish law, particularly circumcision, in the life of a Christian. The Greek word for "circumcision" is "περιτομή" (peritomē), and "uncircumcision" is "ἀκροβυστία" (akrobystia). These terms were not just physical descriptions but carried deep cultural and religious significance. Circumcision was a sign of the covenant between God and Abraham (Genesis 17:10-14), a mark of Jewish identity and obedience to the Mosaic Law. However, Paul emphasizes that these physical distinctions are irrelevant in Christ. Historically, this was a radical departure from Jewish tradition, highlighting the inclusivity of the Gospel. The early church faced significant tension over this issue, as seen in Acts 15, where the Jerusalem Council decided that Gentile converts did not need to be circumcised. This decision underscored the new covenant in Christ, where faith, not adherence to the law, was the basis of righteousness.

means anything
The Greek word for "means" is "ἰσχύει" (ischyei), which can also be translated as "has power" or "is of value." Paul is making a profound theological statement: the external rites and rituals of the law have no power to save or transform. This echoes his earlier teachings in Galatians 5:6, where he states, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." The historical context here is crucial; Paul is countering the Judaizers, who insisted that Gentile Christians must adhere to Jewish customs. By declaring these practices powerless, Paul shifts the focus from external compliance to internal transformation.

What counts is a new creation
The phrase "new creation" is translated from the Greek "καινὴ κτίσις" (kainē ktisis). This concept is central to Paul's theology, emphasizing the transformative power of the Gospel. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul writes, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." The term "new" (καινὴ) implies something unprecedented, not merely a renewal but a complete transformation. "Creation" (κτίσις) suggests a divine act, reminiscent of God's original creation in Genesis. This new creation is not about external conformity but an internal, spiritual rebirth through the Holy Spirit. Historically, this was a revolutionary idea, breaking down barriers between Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female (Galatians 3:28). It underscores the essence of the Gospel: in Christ, all believers are made new, transcending cultural and religious boundaries. This new identity in Christ is what truly "counts," as it aligns believers with God's redemptive purpose and eternal kingdom.

(15) In Christ Jesus.--These words are omitted by the Vatican MS. and by the best editors. They would seem to have come in from the parallel passage in Galatians 5:6.

Neither circumcision . . .--We have had almost the same words in Galatians 5:6 and in 1Corinthians 7:19. It is interesting to note the different ways in which the sentence is completed:--

Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but

Faith which worketh by love (Galatians 5:6). . . .

Verse 15. - For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature (οὔτε γὰρ περιτομή τι ἔστιν οὔτε ἀκροβυστία ἀλλὰ καινὴ κτίσις); for neither is circumcision anything, nor un-circumcision, but a new creature (or, creation). The reading of the Textus Receptus, followed in our Authorized Version, is this: ἐν γὰρ Ξριστῷ Ἰησοῦ οὔτε περιτομή τι ἰσχύει οὔτε ἀκροβυστία ἀλλὰ καινὴ κτίσις. But by almost all recent editors this reading is replaced by the one given above. That ἔστιν is the true reading, and not ἰσχύει, all are agreed in thinking; ἰσχύει being regarded as a correction imported from Galatians 5:6. The evidence for the rejection of ἐν Ξριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, which is found in all the uncial manuscripts except the Vatican, is by no means equally decisive. The presence of those words in Galatians 5:6, where they are very suitable to the context, has with great probability been supposed to explain their being also found here, being introduced, like ἰσχύει from the former passage, by the copyists; but here the qualification made by them is not so certainly required. The apostle felt it to be not merely true relatively, that is, for those "in Christ Jesus," but, since Christ died on a cross, true absolutely, that for salvation neither circumcision was aught, nor uncircumcision, but only a new creature. For the discussion of the terms of the aphorism as here stated, as compared with its form in Galatians 5:6 and in 1 Corinthians 7:19, the reader is referred to the notes on Galatians 5:6. The words καινὴ κτίσις may mean either "a new creature," or "a new act of creation making a man a new creature." It is hardly admissible to take κτὶσις as "creation" in a collective sense, as in Romans 8:19; though this may, perhaps, be its meaning in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "If any man is in Christ, there is a new creation," that is (perhaps), he finds himself, as it were, in a new heaven and a new earth. Christians as such are elsewhere described by the apostle as the product of God's creative hand; thus in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship (ποίημα), created (κτισθέντες) in Christ Jesus for good works." As "begotten again" (1 Peter 1:23, ἀναγεγεννημένοι), or "born anew" (John 3:3, γεννηθέντες ἄνωθεν), subjects of a "regeneration" (παλιγγενεσία, Titus 3:5), they must, of course, be the products of a new act of creation. In 2 Corinthians 5:14-18 the sentence, "If any man is in Christ, there is a new creation," or "he is a new creature," lies embedded in a passage which describes in language of remarkable intenseness the transforming influence of Christ's death, wherever by faith it has been fully grasped. That passage, occurring as it does in an Epistle written nearly at the same time as the Epistle to the Galatians, leaves no doubt as to the ideas which in the apostle's mind cluster round the term" new creation," mentioned, here too as in effect there, in close connection with the cross of Christ, his sole supreme glory. It points to the state of a sinner consciously reconciled to God by the death of Christ, and finding himself thus translated into the midst of new perceptions, new joys, new habits of life. new expectations. "The old things are passed away" - guilt, the overmastering power of sin, laborious effort after goodness frustrated after all and ineffectual, the servile routine of a dead unquickening ceremonialism: "behold, all things are become new, and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself through Christ." The phrase, "a new creature," appears to have been used by the Jews to describe the change resulting in the case of a heathen becoming a proselyte. That was no doubt a great change; but far greater seemed to the apostle to be the transformation in the case of one translated from the bondage and darkness of the "letter" into the "newness of the Spirit" (Romans 7:6). lie had himself experienced how marvellously great as well as how blessed the transition was; and he has described it in glowing terms also in Ephesians 1:17-2:10. In the present passage the particle "for" seems to point back, not exclusively to ver. 14, but to the general tenor of the whole passage in vers. 12-14, as rebuking that great ado about circumcision which the innovators referred to were making in the Galatian Churches, thereby diverting the minds of those that listened to them from the Christian's true business. This sense of the particle may seem somewhat loose; but it suits well the rapid, decisive, summarizing strain with which the apostle is now closing up his letter. The supreme concern, he means, for every one who wishes to be a member of God's kingdom is that he shall realize in his own experience the "new creation;" alike in the freedom and joy of adoption which appertains thereto (ch. 4.), and also in that walking of the Spirit which includes the crucifixion of the flesh (Galatians 5:16-25). On this point we may compare Ephesians 4:23, 21 and Romans 12:2.

Parallel Commentaries ...


For
γὰρ (gar)
Conjunction
Strong's 1063: For. A primary particle; properly, assigning a reason.

neither
οὔτε (oute)
Conjunction
Strong's 3777: And not, neither, nor. From ou and te; not too, i.e. Neither or nor; by analogy, not even.

circumcision
περιτομή (peritomē)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4061: Circumcision. From peritemno; circumcision.

nor
οὔτε (oute)
Conjunction
Strong's 3777: And not, neither, nor. From ou and te; not too, i.e. Neither or nor; by analogy, not even.

uncircumcision
ἀκροβυστία (akrobystia)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 203: From akron and probably a modified form of posthe; the prepuce; by implication, an uncircumcised state or person.

means
ἐστιν (estin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

anything.
τί (ti)
Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 5100: Any one, some one, a certain one or thing. An enclitic indefinite pronoun; some or any person or object.

[What counts is]
ἀλλὰ (alla)
Conjunction
Strong's 235: But, except, however. Neuter plural of allos; properly, other things, i.e. contrariwise.

a new
καινὴ (kainē)
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2537: Fresh, new, unused, novel. Of uncertain affinity; new

creation.
κτίσις (ktisis)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2937: From ktizo; original formation.


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NT Letters: Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither is circumcision (Gal. Ga)