Galatians 3:18 kjv
For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Galatians 3:18 nkjv
For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Galatians 3:18 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.
Galatians 3:18 esv
For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
Galatians 3:18 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.
Galatians 3 18 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gal 3:17 | What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and so does not cancel the promise. | Clarifies the timing of the law vs. the promise. |
| Rom 4:13-16 | For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. | Reinforces the source of the inheritance. |
| Gen 12:1-3 | Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation... | The foundational promise to Abraham. |
| Gen 15:5-6 | And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. | The promise received by faith. |
| Rom 9:7-8 | Nor because they are his offspring are they all children. But, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be called.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. | Distinction between physical and promised lineage. |
| Gal 4:21-31 | Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. | Detailed allegory illustrating law vs. promise. |
| Heb 6:17-18 | So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath. So that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. | God's oath confirms the promise's immutability. |
| Deut 30:19 | ...choose life, that you and your offspring may live, | Obeying the law leads to life. |
| Joshua 24:14 | “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. | Exhortation to serve God and not the law as source. |
| John 1:17 | For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. | Contrasts the era of law with the era of grace. |
| Acts 13:39 | And by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. | The law's limitations in achieving freedom. |
| Rom 8:3-4 | For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. | How the law's purpose is fulfilled in Christ. |
| Gal 2:19 | For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. | Dying to the law through the law itself. |
| Gal 2:21 | I do not nullify the grace of God, for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing. | Justification by faith supersedes law-based justification. |
| Heb 7:18-19 | For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. | The Mosaic law's perfection was superseded. |
| Heb 10:1-4 | For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of those realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that they offer continually, year after year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshippers, once for all purified, would have no longer any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. | The inadequacy of animal sacrifices under the law. |
| 1 Cor 15:56 | The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. | The law's role in highlighting sin. |
| Col 2:14 | ...by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal requirements. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. | Christ's work nullifies legal accusations. |
Galatians 3 verses
Galatians 3 18 Meaning
If the inheritance is by law, it is no longer by promise. But God gave it to Abraham through a promise.
Galatians 3 18 Context
This verse is found within Paul's letter to the Galatians, where he passionately defends the doctrine of justification by faith in Jesus Christ, contrasting it with the teachings of those who insisted on observance of the Mosaic Law for salvation. In chapter 3, Paul argues that Abraham was justified by faith long before the Law was given. He emphasizes that the promise of inheritance came through faith, not through the Law. This specific verse directly follows the establishment of the 430-year period between God's covenant with Abraham and the giving of the Law through Moses, highlighting that the intervening Law did not abolish or alter the pre-existing, God-ordained promise based on faith. The urgency of this message was to counter the Judaizers who were urging Gentile believers to be circumcised and follow the Law.
Galatians 3 18 Word analysis
- Εἰ: (ei) - "If"
- This is a conditional particle introducing a hypothetical situation. It sets up a clear contrast in the argument.
- δὲ: (de) - "but", "and"
- A conjunction indicating a contrast or transition, often adversative. It links the idea of the Law's introduction to the consequence for the promise.
- ἡ: (hē) - "the"
- The definite article, specifying "law".
- κληρονομία: (klēronomia) - "inheritance"
- Relates to receiving a portion of property or a legacy. In the New Testament, it refers to the eternal inheritance of believers, salvation, and the blessings of the Kingdom of God, as promised to Abraham.
- ἐξ: (ex) - "from", "out of"
- A preposition indicating origin or source. Here it shows that the inheritance is "from the law".
- νόμου: (nomou) - "law"
- Genitive case of "nomos", meaning law. Refers primarily to the Mosaic Law.
- οὐκ: (ouk) - "not"
- A negative particle.
- ἔτι: (eti) - "yet", "still"
- Indicates that something is no longer the case.
- ἐκ: (ek) - "from", "out of"
- Another preposition similar to "ex", reinforcing the source.
- ἐπαγγελίας: (epangelias) - "promise"
- Genitive case of "epangelia", meaning a declaration, a promise, an engagement. It highlights the nature of what God gave to Abraham – a guaranteed assurance.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "If the inheritance is of the law": This clause sets up a hypothetical scenario that Paul wants to refute. He's saying that if our status as heirs, and the ultimate inheritance God promised, were determined by our adherence to the Law, then a different principle would be at play.
- "it is no longer by promise": This is the direct consequence of the preceding clause. The very nature of inheriting by the Law, which requires perfect performance, nullifies the idea of inheriting by divine promise, which is freely given based on God's sovereign decision and is received by faith.
- "But God has given it to Abraham by promise": Paul pivots from the hypothetical to the established reality. He firmly asserts that the foundational gift of inheritance to Abraham was unequivocally linked to God's promise, not to any legal adherence or achievement. This grounds the Galatians' faith not in the Law but in God's faithfulness to Abraham.
Galatians 3 18 Bonus section
The 430 years mentioned in the preceding verse (Gal 3:17) are significant. This period, stretching from the time of Abraham’s initial call to the giving of the Law at Sinai, emphasizes the vast temporal gap. The promise preceded the Law, making the Law secondary and subservient to the promise. If the inheritance were dependent on the Law, it would mean that Abraham, who received the promise by faith centuries earlier, would have been excluded or his inheritance annulled because he couldn't possibly have kept a law that was not yet revealed. This underscores the point that the basis of our inheritance is God's faithfulness and the promise He made, which is fulfilled in Christ and received by faith. The contrast highlights the futility of attempting to secure God's blessing through legalistic performance rather than relying on God's gracious provision through faith.
Galatians 3 18 Commentary
Paul uses a logical argument to highlight the distinct pathways of inheritance. He contrasts the works-based system of the Law with the faith-based gift of God's promise. If inheritance were earned through obeying the Law, then it would cease to be a gratuitous gift, which it was for Abraham. God’s covenant with Abraham, establishing him as heir of the world, was ratified by God’s word and oath, not by Abraham's adherence to a future law. This demonstrates that God’s saving plan is rooted in His grace and sovereign promise, received through faith, not in human effort. The Law's purpose is to reveal sin and point to the need for a Savior, not to be the means of gaining spiritual inheritance.