For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

GALATIANS 5:6KJV
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Galatians 5:6 (KJV)

What does Galatians 5:6 mean?

Galatians 5:6 says that, for those who belong to Jesus Christ, outward religious signs like circumcision or uncircumcision do not matter; what truly counts is faith that is active and expressed through love. The verse emphasizes that external rituals have no spiritual power compared to genuine, loving trust in Christ.

Paul is writing to believers in Galatia who were being pressured to follow Jewish customs, especially circumcision, to be fully accepted by God. In this context, Paul insists that neither adopting Jewish practices nor rejecting them has any real value for someone in Christ. Instead, what matters is a faith that shows itself by loving others, which is the true evidence of belonging to Jesus.

The Greek behind Galatians 5:6

  • ἐνεργουμένη (energoumenē, "worketh"): This Greek word means "being active" or "working." Paul describes faith as something that is not passive but is energized or made effective through love. This highlights that faith is not just belief but is shown in loving action.
  • ἀγάπη (agapē, "love"): The Greek word here refers to self-giving, sacrificial love. Paul points to this kind of love as the channel through which real faith operates, making clear that Christian faith is inseparable from genuine care for others.
  • περιτομή (peritomē, "circumcision") and ἀκροβυστία (akrobystia, "uncircumcision"): These words refer to the physical mark of Jewish identity and its absence. Paul’s use of both terms underlines that neither religious background nor outward signs have spiritual value in Christ.

Why Galatians 5:6 matters

  • Galatians 5:6 clears up the misunderstanding that religious rituals or heritage can make someone right with God; Paul says only faith working through love matters.
  • The verse shifts the focus from outward religious performance to the inward reality of faith expressed in loving actions, which is a central theme in Paul’s letter to the Galatians.
  • This verse helps explain the larger argument in Galatians that believers are free from the law’s requirements and are called to live out their faith in practical, loving ways.

Where else these words appear

“uncircumcision” Greek G203 · used in 17 verses

  • Acts 11:3 Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.
  • Romans 4:9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
  • 1 Corinthians 7:19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.

“worketh” Greek G1754 · used in 19 verses

  • Matthew 14:2 And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
  • 2 Corinthians 4:12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
  • Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

“availeth” Greek G2480 · used in 29 verses

  • Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
  • Luke 8:43 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,
  • Acts 15:10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

“circumcision” Greek G4061 · used in 32 verses

  • John 7:22 Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision;(not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.
  • Romans 3:1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
  • Galatians 2:9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.