Bible Strands
Galatians 6:14
But as for me, may I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Galatian churches under pressure from Judaizers who boast in the flesh (v. 13); he stakes his own boast against theirs.
The words — καυχᾶσθαι (kauchasthai, "to boast") is the operative verb; Paul does not soften it but redirects it entirely onto the cross, making the cross the sole object of his pride.
The thread — The mutual crucifixion language ("the world to me, I to the world") echoes Galatians 2:20 and Romans 6:6, where the old self is crucified with Christ; the boast itself answers Jeremiah 9:23–24, which reorients boasting from human achievement to knowing the LORD.
Why it lands — It strips the reader of every other ground of pride and demands that the cross alone be the basis of identity, which means the world's value system no longer has a claim on them.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
Cross-references
- Romans 6:6 We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.
- Jeremiah 9:23 This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
- Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
- 1 Corinthians 2:2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
- Philippians 3:3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—
- Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.
- Galatians 5:24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
- 2 Corinthians 12:10 That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
- Colossians 3:1 Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
- 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.