For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
"Having shattered the Jew's confidence in their physical relation to Abraham, Paul now shows that the law brings a curse. He quotes Deut. 27:26 (from the LXX) and argues that man cannot possibly keep all the laws, hence his bondage (cf. James 2:10)." (Ryrie)
all who rely on works of the law are under a curse - "It is the function of the law to condemn, not to justify. Obviously, if everyone did what was right, we would not need law. This is why the Apostle Paul wrote by inspiration: '...the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient' (1 Tim 1:9). The function of law is to put the finger on sin and condemn it. Remember that you do not have to break the whole law to be a law-breaker (James 2:10). That makes sense. How many links must you break in a chain to break the chain? Just one How many murders do you have to commit to be a murderer? Just one. How many sins do you have to commit to be a sinner? Just one. And we have all committed one, and keep on committing one or more every day ... Man always wants to DO something. Obviously none of us has perfectly kept the law of God, so the apostle said that if you are trying to be saved by keeping the law, you are under a curse." (Stam)
all things written in the Book of the Law - "—these words do not occur in either the Heb. or LXX of Deuteronomy 27:26; see, however, 31:26, where they do occur, as also in Joshua 1:8, et al. They are probably added here to emphasize the wide scope of the demand of the law; not only must its ordinances be carried out to the letter and its moral precepts be punctiliously observed, 'the law' must be understood in the most comprehensive sense of the word is capable." (Vine)
and do them - "—the apostle was well aware that the Galatians had not seen what is involved in submission to the Law of Moses; they had not realized that failure to do all, always and everywhere, just as it is written, involves the professed lawkeeper in eternal disaster. Law is unbending, it yields nothing to weakness, its standard is never lowered, not even by a hairbreadth; law makes no compromise, and finds no room for mercy; 'a man that hath set at nough Moses' law dieth without compassion,' Hebrews 10:28." (Vine)
"When the law was given and God said, 'If you obey this law and keep it perfectly, then you shall be my people,' what should the people of Israel have answered? They should have said, 'Lord, on this basis none of us can be saved, because we cannot keep that law perfectly. Have mercy upon us. Surely you will not break your promise.' But in their pride and folly the people all exclaimed together, 'All that the Lord has spoken we will do' (Ex 19:8). 'Yes, we will keep His covenant. We will keep the law.' Before Moses arrived down from the mountain with the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, the people of Israel were dancing like pagans around a golden calf, an Egyptian god. Moses reminded them that they were the only nation that ever heard the voice of God speaking to them. The mount of Sinai was engulfed in smoke, it quivered and shook, and the backed away: 'And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord Thy God...Thou shalt have no other gods before me!' (Ex 20:1-3). God enunciated those Ten Commandments, and the people said, 'Everything He says we will do' But before Moses could return they had broken the first commandment. So soon did God have opportunity to show them the impossibility of justification by the law. If God did not mean to enforce the law, why did He make this covenant with Israel? Galatians 3:19, begins to answer—'It was added because of transgression.' 'By the law is the knowledge of sin' and it was given 'that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful' (Rom 3:20; 7:13). In Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, God is driving them back to the promise, to faith. This is what God had in mind all the while, as we saw in Galatians 3:13 concerning the futility of salvation by good works. God was not playing games. It was at infinite cost that He made provision for the payment of sin. When God gave the law, which was bound to break fellowship between Him and Israel, He immediately began to make arrangements for a Tabernacle where He could restore fellowship with Israel. Now there is a paradox! He said, 'If you will obey my voice indeed, then you will be my special people,' but they did not obey, so He made plans for a Tabernacle where He could meet with them in fellowship! 'And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them' (Ex 25:8). Why? We see an inkling in the fact that the first article of furniture for the Tabernacle was the Ark. The word 'ark' is simply the word 'coffin.' It is translated 'coffin' in the last verse of Genesis. So, when God commanded the building of a tabernacle, the first thing He said was 'Make me a coffin.' Why a coffin? 'And thou shalt put into the coffin the testimony [that is, the law] which I shall give thee' (Ex 25:16). God immediately put the law in a coffin. On top of the coffin was the blood-sprinkled mercy seat. There God said, 'I will meet with my people' The law in a coffin! God later nailed the law to the cross. 'Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross' (Col 2:14)." (Stam)
“The righteous shall live by faith.” - "Paul's use of this quotation from Hab 2:4 is to stress that one can become justified in God's sight only by faith; i.e., he who is righteous by faith (rather than works) shall live." (Ryrie)
"The verse from Habakkuk which Paul quoted was very well known to them. In fact, he used this quotation several times in his epistles. This was the great verse that shook Martin Luther's theology to its foundation. It had such a profound effect on his life that he had it woven into the napkins at his table, and into the pillows about his house. He had it inscribed on the dishes and silverware; he even had it woven into the cuffs of his sleeves so that when he sat down to read or write he would see those words, 'The just shall live by faith.' So if eternal life is to be had by faith, clearly it is not to be earned by good works, the works of the law, because 'the law is not faith' (Rom 4:4) ... (Stam)
“The one who does them shall live by them.” - "...here, is a quotation from Leviticus 18:5. Clearly, we must make a choice. If we want to be saved by the law we must keep it all perfectly and continue to do so. If we break it once, all hope is gone. Since we cannot keep it there is only alternative for salvation. You must trust Christ who 'died for your sins,' the only One who ever kept the law perfectly and then died as a law-breaker." " (Stam)
Christ redeemed us - "—exagorazo = 'to purchase,' but especially to purchase a slave with a view to his freedom. Here and at 4:5 it is used of the deliverance of Christian Jews from the law and its curse. Exagorazo has also the meaning 'to buy up,' as in Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5, 'buying up the opportunity.' The simple form, agorazo = 'to purchase,' directs the mind to the fact that a price has been paid [past tense]; see Matthew 13:44; 1 Corinthians 7:30; e.g. In 1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23; 2 Peter 2:1; Revelation 5:9; 14:3, 4, it refers to the death of Christ as the price paid by God, or Christ, for the possession of men, whether Jews or Gentiles. This figure is not fully developed anywhere in Scripture; it is not said to whom the price was paid; all the suggestions that have been made to supply this lack are speculative and vain. A synonym of these words, lutroo, = 'to deliver,' is also translated 'redeem' in New Testament. In Luke 24:21 it means to set Israel free from the Roman yoke; in Titus 2:14 it means to set men free from the yoke of self-will, and in 1 Peter 1:18 from a vain manner of life, i.e., from bondage to tradition. The corresponding noun, lutrosis, occurs in Luke 1:68, 2:28, where national deliverance is meant, as in Luke 24:21; and in Hebrews 9:12 where deliverance from the guilt and power of sin is meant ... Another noun, formed from the same verb, should be added here for the sake of completeness, lutron, found in Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45, of the life of the Lord Jesus as the ransom price to be paid for the deliverance of men." (Vine)
"We can no more divorce ourselves from Adam than can the leaf from the twig, or the twig from the branch, or the branch from the bough, or the bough from the tree, unless we are redeemed — taken out of Adam, as it were, and given a position in Christ. This was so even of those who were saved before Paul was entrusted with 'the revelation of the mystery,' or was even converted to Christ, for in Romans 16:7 he refers to some who were 'in Christ before me.'" (Stam)
by becoming a curse for us - "The law brings a curse. The believer is delivered from that curse through Christ, who became a curse for us. The Crucifixion brought Him under the curse of the law, as explained in the last half of the verse (quoted from Deut 21:23)." (Ryrie)
"—i.e., by becoming; the words describe the means taken for the accomplishment of the redemption. The curse attaches to all under the law, inasmuch as all have failed to meet its requirements, with one exception, Christ, Who was 'born under the law,' 4:4, below, but Who did not Himself incur the curse, because He was 'the Righteous One,' Act, not in the sight of men, indeed, for they crucified Him as a blasphemer, but in the sight of God Who raised Him from the dead. So being Himself free from the curse, He passed under it voluntarily, that those under it by inheritance and desert might escape." (Vine)
the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles - "—i.e., salvation, whether viewed as justification or life. Since the Jews were shut out from the blessing by the very law in which they gloried, Gentiles could not hope to obtain it by putting themselves under the law. But if to the Jews the blessing was secured by the death of Christ, and in response to faith, then on the same ground, and on the same condition, the blessing would extend to the Gentiles also." (Vine)
"What did Paul mean by this assertion? Why did he not say that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law that the blessing of Israel might come on the Gentiles. Simply because Israel also was condemned by the law. Before the law Abraham was not only the physical father of the nation Israel but also the spiritual father of all believers ... What is meant by the phrase, 'the blessing of Abraham' (Gal 3:14)? When Abraham believed God, and God counted it to him for righteousness, that was a very great blessing. Can you think of a greater blessing than to know that God has not merely pardoned us, but has justified us because our sins have been paid for, and the record is now clear? ... We have learned that the Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles through faith, and that God preached (announced) that gospel, the good news, to Abraham. Remember that he was a Gentile, saved by the grace of God through faith, and God shared with him the good news that all nations would be blessed through him. We know that the chief characteristic of Abraham's life from then on was his implicit faith in God. Whatever God said, he believed." (Stam)
the promises - "The promises were made to Abraham and to his seed, Christ. But when Christ is seen as seed of Abraham here, all those saved by Him are included. The word seed when used in the singular number in the Old Testament means progeny. Thus to Abraham personally and to all those who by faith in Christ are brought into salvation, were the promises made. The fact that the promises were made to Abraham and to all believers all down the ages who follow Abraham in his act of faith, indicates that the faith way of salvation existed before the law was given, continued through the time the law was in force, and still is in effect after the abrogation of the law at the Cross. Thus the entrance of the law did not affect the covenant at all." (Wuest)
“And to your offspring,” who is Christ. - "Our Reformed and Presbyterian brethren have long held that God is through with Israel, that the Church is spiritual Israel, and that Christ, the King of the Church, is now sitting on David's 'spiritual' throne in heaven. But this is arbitrarily altering the plain Word of God and, indeed, is contrary to reason ... Perhaps it will help at this point first to notice what the verse does not say. It does not say that God would not bless Abraham's multiplied seed, or through them the world. It does not say that God would bless only Christ, the single Seed, and to make Him alone a blessing to the world, though in a sense this is true, for all blessing flows from Him. The apostle simply states that in making the promises to Abraham and his progeny, God used the word 'seed,' which is singular in form, and that He did this because He had Christ in view. In other words, God specially avoided the use of plural words which might have been used, such as 'in thy children,' 'in thy descendants,' etc., for there was no generation of Abraham's offspring who, in themselves, could have proved a blessing to the world ... Does it follow that God's promises concerning the multiplied seed will not be fulfilled because they forfeited the blessing through failure and unbelief, and that therefore the nations will be blessed through Christ alone? Not exactly. Are we hedging when we answer the question in this way? No, for God will indeed bless the world through the multiplied seed of Abraham. This has been proven, not only by the unconditional promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but also by repeated prophetic confirmations both before and after Pentecost. However, Israel will never become the world's blesser until she does so through Christ because the blessing of the world is wrapped up in Him alone ... Thus Paul, in Galatians 3:16, does not mean to imply that God will not fulfill the promises to Abraham's multiplied seed. He only points out that God used a compound, or collective noun in making these promises since He knew that the multiplied seed could not in themselves prove a blessing to the world. It is redeemed Israel that will bless the world (Zech 8:13; Rom 11:26). Thus, even the word 'seed,' in Galatians 3:16, while singular in form ('Not many...but one'), is still plural in fact, for as we have said: we use the world 'seed,' whether of one single seed or of a bag-full. Moreover, one seed contains much seed, potentially. This agrees with our Lord's words in John 12:24: 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn [kernel] of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.'" (Stam)
which came 430 years afterward - "The figure of 430 years, Paul probably took from Exodus 12:40. The statement of the length of time that elapsed between the giving of the covenant to Abraham and the giving of the law to Moses, implies that the law was something new and different which could not therefore be an element forming part of the promise. The longer the covenant was in force as the alone method upon which God operated in the saving of sinners, the more impressive is Paul's statement. God was saving men on the basis of faith without works since the time of Adam, or 2,500 years before the law was given. The law was in force from Moses to Christ, or for a period of 1,500 years. At the Cross it was abrogated. The Judaizers not only attempted to retain the Mosaic institutions for the Jews, but tried to impose them upon the Gentiles, to whom that law was never given. This was what Paul was fighting." (Wuest)
by promise - "The Mosaic Law did not set aside the promises made to Abraham. And, during those hundreds of years before the law, God had also justified men only by faith." (Ryrie)
"Paul's argument in this verse [v 18] is, that if the law affects the promise at all, it renders it null and void. It cannot be added to it without destroying it. Salvation must rest either upon the promise or upon the law. The Judaizers claimed that it rested upon the promise AND the law. But Paul has shown that the law did not abrogate the promise, and thus it had no affect upon it. Thus, if as the Judaizers say, the inheritance is on the basis of law obedience, then it is not on the basis of promise. But, Paul adds, God gave it to Abraham on the basis of promise. That settled the matter. The words, law and promise are without the definite article, indicating that Paul is speaking of them here in their character of two opposing principles." (Wuest)
"Having shattered the Jew's confidence in their physical relation to Abraham, Paul now shows that the law brings a curse. He quotes Deut. 27:26 (from the LXX) and argues that man cannot possibly keep all the laws, hence his bondage (cf. James 2:10)." (Ryrie)
all who rely on works of the law are under a curse - "It is the function of the law to condemn, not to justify. Obviously, if everyone did what was right, we would not need law. This is why the Apostle Paul wrote by inspiration: '...the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient' (1 Tim 1:9). The function of law is to put the finger on sin and condemn it. Remember that you do not have to break the whole law to be a law-breaker (James 2:10). That makes sense. How many links must you break in a chain to break the chain? Just one How many murders do you have to commit to be a murderer? Just one. How many sins do you have to commit to be a sinner? Just one. And we have all committed one, and keep on committing one or more every day ... Man always wants to DO something. Obviously none of us has perfectly kept the law of God, so the apostle said that if you are trying to be saved by keeping the law, you are under a curse." (Stam)
all things written in the Book of the Law - "—these words do not occur in either the Heb. or LXX of Deuteronomy 27:26; see, however, 31:26, where they do occur, as also in Joshua 1:8, et al. They are probably added here to emphasize the wide scope of the demand of the law; not only must its ordinances be carried out to the letter and its moral precepts be punctiliously observed, 'the law' must be understood in the most comprehensive sense of the word is capable." (Vine)
and do them - "—the apostle was well aware that the Galatians had not seen what is involved in submission to the Law of Moses; they had not realized that failure to do all, always and everywhere, just as it is written, involves the professed lawkeeper in eternal disaster. Law is unbending, it yields nothing to weakness, its standard is never lowered, not even by a hairbreadth; law makes no compromise, and finds no room for mercy; 'a man that hath set at nough Moses' law dieth without compassion,' Hebrews 10:28." (Vine)
"When the law was given and God said, 'If you obey this law and keep it perfectly, then you shall be my people,' what should the people of Israel have answered? They should have said, 'Lord, on this basis none of us can be saved, because we cannot keep that law perfectly. Have mercy upon us. Surely you will not break your promise.' But in their pride and folly the people all exclaimed together, 'All that the Lord has spoken we will do' (Ex 19:8). 'Yes, we will keep His covenant. We will keep the law.' Before Moses arrived down from the mountain with the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, the people of Israel were dancing like pagans around a golden calf, an Egyptian god. Moses reminded them that they were the only nation that ever heard the voice of God speaking to them. The mount of Sinai was engulfed in smoke, it quivered and shook, and the backed away: 'And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord Thy God...Thou shalt have no other gods before me!' (Ex 20:1-3). God enunciated those Ten Commandments, and the people said, 'Everything He says we will do' But before Moses could return they had broken the first commandment. So soon did God have opportunity to show them the impossibility of justification by the law. If God did not mean to enforce the law, why did He make this covenant with Israel? Galatians 3:19, begins to answer—'It was added because of transgression.' 'By the law is the knowledge of sin' and it was given 'that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful' (Rom 3:20; 7:13). In Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, God is driving them back to the promise, to faith. This is what God had in mind all the while, as we saw in Galatians 3:13 concerning the futility of salvation by good works. God was not playing games. It was at infinite cost that He made provision for the payment of sin. When God gave the law, which was bound to break fellowship between Him and Israel, He immediately began to make arrangements for a Tabernacle where He could restore fellowship with Israel. Now there is a paradox! He said, 'If you will obey my voice indeed, then you will be my special people,' but they did not obey, so He made plans for a Tabernacle where He could meet with them in fellowship! 'And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them' (Ex 25:8). Why? We see an inkling in the fact that the first article of furniture for the Tabernacle was the Ark. The word 'ark' is simply the word 'coffin.' It is translated 'coffin' in the last verse of Genesis. So, when God commanded the building of a tabernacle, the first thing He said was 'Make me a coffin.' Why a coffin? 'And thou shalt put into the coffin the testimony [that is, the law] which I shall give thee' (Ex 25:16). God immediately put the law in a coffin. On top of the coffin was the blood-sprinkled mercy seat. There God said, 'I will meet with my people' The law in a coffin! God later nailed the law to the cross. 'Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross' (Col 2:14)." (Stam)
“The righteous shall live by faith.” - "Paul's use of this quotation from Hab 2:4 is to stress that one can become justified in God's sight only by faith; i.e., he who is righteous by faith (rather than works) shall live." (Ryrie)
"The verse from Habakkuk which Paul quoted was very well known to them. In fact, he used this quotation several times in his epistles. This was the great verse that shook Martin Luther's theology to its foundation. It had such a profound effect on his life that he had it woven into the napkins at his table, and into the pillows about his house. He had it inscribed on the dishes and silverware; he even had it woven into the cuffs of his sleeves so that when he sat down to read or write he would see those words, 'The just shall live by faith.' So if eternal life is to be had by faith, clearly it is not to be earned by good works, the works of the law, because 'the law is not faith' (Rom 4:4) ... (Stam)
“The one who does them shall live by them.” - "...here, is a quotation from Leviticus 18:5. Clearly, we must make a choice. If we want to be saved by the law we must keep it all perfectly and continue to do so. If we break it once, all hope is gone. Since we cannot keep it there is only alternative for salvation. You must trust Christ who 'died for your sins,' the only One who ever kept the law perfectly and then died as a law-breaker." " (Stam)
Christ redeemed us - "—exagorazo = 'to purchase,' but especially to purchase a slave with a view to his freedom. Here and at 4:5 it is used of the deliverance of Christian Jews from the law and its curse. Exagorazo has also the meaning 'to buy up,' as in Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5, 'buying up the opportunity.' The simple form, agorazo = 'to purchase,' directs the mind to the fact that a price has been paid [past tense]; see Matthew 13:44; 1 Corinthians 7:30; e.g. In 1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23; 2 Peter 2:1; Revelation 5:9; 14:3, 4, it refers to the death of Christ as the price paid by God, or Christ, for the possession of men, whether Jews or Gentiles. This figure is not fully developed anywhere in Scripture; it is not said to whom the price was paid; all the suggestions that have been made to supply this lack are speculative and vain. A synonym of these words, lutroo, = 'to deliver,' is also translated 'redeem' in New Testament. In Luke 24:21 it means to set Israel free from the Roman yoke; in Titus 2:14 it means to set men free from the yoke of self-will, and in 1 Peter 1:18 from a vain manner of life, i.e., from bondage to tradition. The corresponding noun, lutrosis, occurs in Luke 1:68, 2:28, where national deliverance is meant, as in Luke 24:21; and in Hebrews 9:12 where deliverance from the guilt and power of sin is meant ... Another noun, formed from the same verb, should be added here for the sake of completeness, lutron, found in Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45, of the life of the Lord Jesus as the ransom price to be paid for the deliverance of men." (Vine)
"We can no more divorce ourselves from Adam than can the leaf from the twig, or the twig from the branch, or the branch from the bough, or the bough from the tree, unless we are redeemed — taken out of Adam, as it were, and given a position in Christ. This was so even of those who were saved before Paul was entrusted with 'the revelation of the mystery,' or was even converted to Christ, for in Romans 16:7 he refers to some who were 'in Christ before me.'" (Stam)
by becoming a curse for us - "The law brings a curse. The believer is delivered from that curse through Christ, who became a curse for us. The Crucifixion brought Him under the curse of the law, as explained in the last half of the verse (quoted from Deut 21:23)." (Ryrie)
"—i.e., by becoming; the words describe the means taken for the accomplishment of the redemption. The curse attaches to all under the law, inasmuch as all have failed to meet its requirements, with one exception, Christ, Who was 'born under the law,' 4:4, below, but Who did not Himself incur the curse, because He was 'the Righteous One,' Act, not in the sight of men, indeed, for they crucified Him as a blasphemer, but in the sight of God Who raised Him from the dead. So being Himself free from the curse, He passed under it voluntarily, that those under it by inheritance and desert might escape." (Vine)
the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles - "—i.e., salvation, whether viewed as justification or life. Since the Jews were shut out from the blessing by the very law in which they gloried, Gentiles could not hope to obtain it by putting themselves under the law. But if to the Jews the blessing was secured by the death of Christ, and in response to faith, then on the same ground, and on the same condition, the blessing would extend to the Gentiles also." (Vine)
"What did Paul mean by this assertion? Why did he not say that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law that the blessing of Israel might come on the Gentiles. Simply because Israel also was condemned by the law. Before the law Abraham was not only the physical father of the nation Israel but also the spiritual father of all believers ... What is meant by the phrase, 'the blessing of Abraham' (Gal 3:14)? When Abraham believed God, and God counted it to him for righteousness, that was a very great blessing. Can you think of a greater blessing than to know that God has not merely pardoned us, but has justified us because our sins have been paid for, and the record is now clear? ... We have learned that the Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles through faith, and that God preached (announced) that gospel, the good news, to Abraham. Remember that he was a Gentile, saved by the grace of God through faith, and God shared with him the good news that all nations would be blessed through him. We know that the chief characteristic of Abraham's life from then on was his implicit faith in God. Whatever God said, he believed." (Stam)
the promises - "The promises were made to Abraham and to his seed, Christ. But when Christ is seen as seed of Abraham here, all those saved by Him are included. The word seed when used in the singular number in the Old Testament means progeny. Thus to Abraham personally and to all those who by faith in Christ are brought into salvation, were the promises made. The fact that the promises were made to Abraham and to all believers all down the ages who follow Abraham in his act of faith, indicates that the faith way of salvation existed before the law was given, continued through the time the law was in force, and still is in effect after the abrogation of the law at the Cross. Thus the entrance of the law did not affect the covenant at all." (Wuest)
“And to your offspring,” who is Christ. - "Our Reformed and Presbyterian brethren have long held that God is through with Israel, that the Church is spiritual Israel, and that Christ, the King of the Church, is now sitting on David's 'spiritual' throne in heaven. But this is arbitrarily altering the plain Word of God and, indeed, is contrary to reason ... Perhaps it will help at this point first to notice what the verse does not say. It does not say that God would not bless Abraham's multiplied seed, or through them the world. It does not say that God would bless only Christ, the single Seed, and to make Him alone a blessing to the world, though in a sense this is true, for all blessing flows from Him. The apostle simply states that in making the promises to Abraham and his progeny, God used the word 'seed,' which is singular in form, and that He did this because He had Christ in view. In other words, God specially avoided the use of plural words which might have been used, such as 'in thy children,' 'in thy descendants,' etc., for there was no generation of Abraham's offspring who, in themselves, could have proved a blessing to the world ... Does it follow that God's promises concerning the multiplied seed will not be fulfilled because they forfeited the blessing through failure and unbelief, and that therefore the nations will be blessed through Christ alone? Not exactly. Are we hedging when we answer the question in this way? No, for God will indeed bless the world through the multiplied seed of Abraham. This has been proven, not only by the unconditional promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but also by repeated prophetic confirmations both before and after Pentecost. However, Israel will never become the world's blesser until she does so through Christ because the blessing of the world is wrapped up in Him alone ... Thus Paul, in Galatians 3:16, does not mean to imply that God will not fulfill the promises to Abraham's multiplied seed. He only points out that God used a compound, or collective noun in making these promises since He knew that the multiplied seed could not in themselves prove a blessing to the world. It is redeemed Israel that will bless the world (Zech 8:13; Rom 11:26). Thus, even the word 'seed,' in Galatians 3:16, while singular in form ('Not many...but one'), is still plural in fact, for as we have said: we use the world 'seed,' whether of one single seed or of a bag-full. Moreover, one seed contains much seed, potentially. This agrees with our Lord's words in John 12:24: 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn [kernel] of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.'" (Stam)
which came 430 years afterward - "The figure of 430 years, Paul probably took from Exodus 12:40. The statement of the length of time that elapsed between the giving of the covenant to Abraham and the giving of the law to Moses, implies that the law was something new and different which could not therefore be an element forming part of the promise. The longer the covenant was in force as the alone method upon which God operated in the saving of sinners, the more impressive is Paul's statement. God was saving men on the basis of faith without works since the time of Adam, or 2,500 years before the law was given. The law was in force from Moses to Christ, or for a period of 1,500 years. At the Cross it was abrogated. The Judaizers not only attempted to retain the Mosaic institutions for the Jews, but tried to impose them upon the Gentiles, to whom that law was never given. This was what Paul was fighting." (Wuest)
by promise - "The Mosaic Law did not set aside the promises made to Abraham. And, during those hundreds of years before the law, God had also justified men only by faith." (Ryrie)
"Paul's argument in this verse [v 18] is, that if the law affects the promise at all, it renders it null and void. It cannot be added to it without destroying it. Salvation must rest either upon the promise or upon the law. The Judaizers claimed that it rested upon the promise AND the law. But Paul has shown that the law did not abrogate the promise, and thus it had no affect upon it. Thus, if as the Judaizers say, the inheritance is on the basis of law obedience, then it is not on the basis of promise. But, Paul adds, God gave it to Abraham on the basis of promise. That settled the matter. The words, law and promise are without the definite article, indicating that Paul is speaking of them here in their character of two opposing principles." (Wuest)
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