Galatians 3:18
18 For [gar] if [ei] the inheritance [kleronomia]
be of [ek] the law, [nomos] it is no more [ouketi] of [ek] promise: [epaggelia] but [de] God [theos] gave [charizomai] it to Abraham [Abraam] by [dia] promise. [epaggelia] KJV-Interlinear
18 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. NASB
The Law refers to the written text of Moses, which
in turn refers to the efforts of man to live a prefect life in accordance with
the requirements of the Mosaic Law.
Also, if a person chooses to live their life in
accordance with the Law, then they are also committed to enduring the threats
and punishments that accompany the Law.
Faith in contrast to the Law is set apart herein so
that they both are unrelated and disconnected from each other. That means that you cannot live by both
simultaneously, but must live by one or the other as they are mutually
exclusive.
That means that when God made promises, then the
promises attended one and not both paths to the promises.
If the promise attached to the Law, then it could
not attach to the faith. If the promise
attached to faith, then it cannot attach itself to the Law.
And when we get into the next couple of verses,
then that distance between the two views will become clearer as the Law was not
given by God, but by angels, to Moses and thus to the people. The alignment of the angels and their part in
this paints a picture of distancing and separation between God and creation. Whereas, the promise comes through the seed
of Abraham, namely Christ, and thus the separation is closed and made
non-existent. But more on that when we
get there.
But God gave the promise to Abraham. The word gave, means a lavish gift of
infinite and enduring effect. The
promise was given and documented long before the Law. The promise was given directly by God to man,
and not through another intermediary as was the Law.
And of course the mention of the inheritance, means
that which is given as a permanent possession.
God gives and man receives, and the gift and possession are both one and
the same and they are permanent. Once
God gives you something, then you can never lose it.
Better to invest in Gods gift, than in mans effort.
