Galatians 2:18 (GNV)

Passage

For if I build againe the things that I haue destroyed, I make my selfe a trespasser.

Nearby Context

Galatians 2:16 Knowe that a man is not iustified by the works of the Law, but by ye faith of Iesus Christ, euen we, I say, haue beleeued in Iesus Christ, that we might be iustified by the faith of Christ, and not by the workes of the Lawe, because that by the workes of the Lawe, no flesh shalbe iustified.

Galatians 2:17 If then while we seeke to be made righteous by Christ, we our selues are found sinners, is Christ therefore the minister of sinne? God forbid.

Galatians 2:18 For if I build againe the things that I haue destroyed, I make my selfe a trespasser.

Galatians 2:19 For I through the Lawe am dead to the Lawe, that I might liue vnto God.

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ, but I liue, yet not I any more, but Christ liueth in me: and in that that I now liue in the flesh, I liue by the faith in the Sonne of God, who hath loued me, and giuen him selfe for me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "build", "againe", "things", "haue", "destroyed", "make", "selfe", and "trespasser". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "build" and "againe", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "If then while we seeke to be..." into verse 19's "For I through the Lawe am dead...", so "build" and "againe" belong inside that flow. In Galatians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "build" and "againe" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.