Galatians 3:18 - Exposition

For if the inheritance be of the Law, it is no more of promise ( εἰ γὰρ ἐκ νόμου ἡ κληρονομία [or, οὐκ ἔτι ] ἐξ ἐπαγγελίας ); for if from a Law the inheritance accrues , it accrues no longer from a promise. The two nouns "Law" and "promise" have no article, being regarded here in their several characteristic principles, which were not only diverse, but contrary. The Law says, "The man that doeth these things shall live by them;" and this while enforcing a great variety of minute positive principles by severe threats and penalties. The promise bestows of free grace without works. The promised bestowment is here styled "inheritance," because received by Abraham's seed as his heirs (see Galatians 3:29 and Galatians 4:1 ). In the Old Testament it is a favourite designation of the land of Canaan; as e.g. in Psalms 105:11 . Here it relates to a spiritual possession. οὐκέτι seems preferred by editors of the text, when used logically, as if it were, It no longer appears to be (so Romans 7:17 ; Romans 11:6 ); whereas οὐκ ἔτι might be referred to a change which took place at the time when the Law was given. But God gave it to Abraham by promise ( τῷ δὲ ἀβραὰμ δι ̓ ἐπαγγελίας κεχάρισται ὁ θεός ); but God hath freely given it to Abraham by promise. The verb χαρίζομαι emphatically marks a gilt as freely and lavishly bestowed (compare its use in Romans 8:32 ; 1 Corinthians 2:12 ). The perfect tense points to the now and evermore enduring effect of the promise. The position of ὁ θεὸς is emphatic—God, no less than he! (comp. Romans 8:31 ). The march of this sentence, with which the apostle closes up this paragraph of the discussion, gives, as it stands in the Greek, the reader to feel the apostle's soul dilating with wonder cud delight as he gives expression to the two notions—the gracious freeness of the gift, and the Divine personality of the Giver. The mention here of Abraham alone, without "his seed," is perhaps due to the apostle's sense of the long priority of this guaranteed bestowment to the giving of the Law. In appreciating the tone of the passage, we must not lose sight of the venerableness of this personage, the primordial father, not only of the Hebrew race, but of all believers in Christ to the end of the world.