Galatians 3:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

NIV: For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.

NASB: For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.

CSB: For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on the promise; but God has graciously given it to Abraham through the promise.

NLT: For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.

KJV: For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

NKJV: For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

Paul continues to make the case that salvation does not come through following the works of the law of Moses. Specifically, the eternal blessings God promised to Abraham and his offspring are not given on the basis of deeds or actions. Instead, it comes to all who believe by faith in Christ. Christ is the ultimate offspring of Abraham, and He is entitled to everything God promised to Abraham. So everyone who is "in Christ" is also entitled to those promises through Him (Galatians 3:10–14).

Now Paul makes an undeniable point of logic. He describes the covenant promises made to Abraham as an "inheritance," something passed down from one person to his or her offspring. This inheritance was given by God's promise. Theologians call it a "unilateral covenant," meaning that it was one-sided. God didn't ask Abraham to do anything to receive His promises. Abraham already believed God; God promised Abraham specific blessings with no strings attached. If you have to now follow the law of Moses to receive the blessings God promised to Abraham, what kind of promise is that? In short, it turns unconditional blessings into conditional ones. It changes God's gift from a promise to a merit-based performance, one we can never be good enough to merit (Galatians 3:10; Romans 3:10).

This raises an obvious question, one the Judaizers must have asked loudly and sarcastically: So what was the point of the law, then? Paul will answer that in the following verses.

Galatians 3:15–22 begins with Paul making a legal argument about God's covenant with Abraham. This arrangement remained in place even during the later covenant of the law of Moses. Paul follows this by describing what the point of the law really is. It was given both to show what is sinful, and to show how sinful we are. By the law, we learn that we are not able to keep to God's standard and must be saved in another way. That other way is through faith in Christ. Once He arrived, this salvation was available to all people, including non-Jewish Gentiles.

Paul indicates the Galatian Christians are foolish for believing they need to follow the law of Moses to be right with God. He offers three specific arguments to support this. First, they received God's Spirit in a powerful way after believing in Jesus, but before doing any works of the law. Second, Scripture itself shows God's blessing coming by faith, and His curse coming by the law. Christ paid the price of that curse on the cross. Third, God's covenant with Abraham is like a legal document, and it cannot be revoked.

In Galatians chapter 2, Paul declared that we can only be justified—''made right with God''—by faith in Christ and not by following the law of Moses. In chapter 3, Paul offers three arguments for why that is true. He argues from the Galatians own experience, from the Scriptures themselves, and from the legal standpoint of a covenant contract. Finally, Paul answers what the law is for if it cannot save us from our sin. In part, it reveals our sinfulness and convinces us of our need to be saved by faith in Christ. The following chapter will expand on what it means to be an ''heir,'' spiritually.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.