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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.
Galatians 6:14 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
  • KJV 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.
  • NKJV But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
  • NASB But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
  • NLT As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Paul refuses to boast in anything except the cross of Christ, through which he is crucified to the world and the world to him. It locates the believer's only true glory in Christ's saving death.

Overview

Against those who boasted in human achievement, Paul glories solely in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through the cross the world's values and claims have lost their hold on him, and he has died to them. This verse captures the heart of the gospel: salvation and the believer's whole identity are grounded in Christ crucified, not in self or the flesh.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 31

  • Rom 6:6We 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.
  • Jer 9:23–24This 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.
  • Gal 2:20I 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 Cor 2:2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
  • Phil 3:3For 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—
  • Rom 1:16I 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.
  • Gal 5:24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
  • 2 Cor 12:10–11That 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.
  • 1 Jn 2:15–17Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
  • Col 3:1–3Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
  • Phil 1:20–21I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
  • Phil 3:7–11But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.
  • 1 Cor 3:21Therefore, stop boasting in men. All things are yours,
  • Job 31:24–25If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security,
  • 1 Cor 15:58Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
  • 1 Jn 5:4–5because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.
  • Isa 45:24–25Surely they will say of Me, ‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’” All who rage against Him will come to Him and be put to shame.
  • Acts 20:23–24I only know that in town after town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions await me.
  • Ps 49:6They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.
  • 1 Cor 1:29–31so that no one may boast in His presence.
  • Ezek 28:2“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.
  • 1 Cor 1:23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
  • Gal 1:4who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
  • 2 Cor 5:14–16For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.
  • Rom 3:4–6Certainly not! Let God be true and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that You may be proved right when You speak and victorious when You judge.”
  • 2 Kgs 14:9–11But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle.
  • Rom 6:2Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?
  • 2 Cor 11:12But I will keep on doing what I am doing, in order to undercut those who want an opportunity to be regarded as our equals in the things of which they boast.
  • Dan 5:20–21But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him.
  • Dan 4:30–31the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built by the might of my power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”
  • Ps 52:1For the choirmaster. A Maskil of David. After Doeg the Edomite went to Saul and told him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.” Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The loving devotion of God endures all day long.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Galatians videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Galatians 6:14YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GalatiansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Christ became a curse for us to redeem us from the law's curse, that we might receive the Spirit and be sons — justified by faith in him, not by works.

How Galatians 6:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.