“Faith(fulness) of the Son of God”? Galatians 2:20b Reconsidered

Abstract

Abstract For more than a century, contributors to the πίστις Χριστοῦ debate have focused primarily on the linguistic and theological issues involved without recognizing the potential relevance of a text-critical variant of Gal 2:20b. It is argued that if preference is to be given to the variant reading ἐν πίστει ζῶ τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ Χριστοῦ as based on both external and internal evidence, its immediate context encourages an objective genitive understanding—“I live by faith in God and Christ.” As such, Gal 2:20b might offer an interpretative clue to the other πίστις Χριστοῦ expressions in the Pauline corpus.