Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. 16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. 18 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise (Gal 3:15-18 NKJV).
Paul, in trying to be understood, draws from what men understand about “covenant.” If you have been involved with a “Living Trust” you know the point that Paul is making in verse 15. A Living Trust is a glorified “Will” or Testament as some call it, one’s last will and testament. It is a legal document drawn up by the person stating their final intention regarding their possessions. It is their “will,” and in the context of a Living Trust, it is a legal document that the appointed “trustee” executes on behalf of the one who has died. Their will is still living in the “Trust.” It is presentable in a Court of Law if another disputes the content of the trust.
Paul says, “Though it is a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it.” It is a legal document, and no one can change it to suit their wishes or desires. Before the Old Testament or Covenant was given, there was a promise from God made to Abraham that looked over and beyond the Old Testament Law that was yet to come 400 years later. The Old Testament was temporary and pointing to the New, which is eternal and immutable. That leads to Verse 16,
Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.
We have discussed this verse many times because it is central to the New Testament and the work of Christ. Why we have debated doctrine as much as has been done in the Lord’s church throughout history is astonishing to me when Paul is crystal clear in his letter to these Galatians.
Verse 16 is central to everything else in the Bible. God gave an eternal promise, or as the Book of Hebrews calls it, an oath. And He spoke by two things that He could not lie, that was His own “Word” and His own “Name.” That promise was not just to Abraham, but to Abraham’s Seed. The promise was not to all of Abraham’s “descendants.”
A misunderstanding among many of God’s people is the issue of “descendants, versus sons.” Many today think that in the “Covenant” of the Old Testament, all the Jews are included in the promises. In the Old Testament, the qualifier was “obedience to the law.” In the New Testament, it is “faith” and “obedience” as evidence of our faith (see James). The proof of the elect Jew is surrender to Christ (see Romans 11).
In our last lesson, we saw what Jehovah had to say through Moses to Israel concerning the failure of obedience to the whole law. Deuteronomy 28 reveals destruction to those who would not obey the entire law. The New Testament highlights Christ and His Kingdom, as seen in Peter’s first sermon recorded in Acts 2. Believing as Abraham did in Christ the promised Seed through repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:38 sets up the New Testament and the means of righteousness through Christ, the sacrifice of God’s servant the Messiah, and David’s “greater Son.” The New Testament begins with the Jews, who are the “sons of Abraham.” Followed by the Samaritans and the Gentiles, as Paul says in Ephesians, “the one new man” (Ephesians 2). The Seed is Christ and all those who are in Christ have the promises as their own. The Holy Spirit is the “down payment” toward all those promises, (see Ephesians 1:13).
That is the sum of the “good news” of Messiah’s Kingdom, purpose and promises, a new creation in the Spirit, sons, and daughters of Abraham from all the nations of the world making “One Holy Nation” in the Lord.
Back to Paul’s explanation and picking up verse 17.
“And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.
Again, Paul takes us back to the law which came 430 years after the covenant given to Abraham which God swore by Himself. (*see Hebrews 6:17-18). Paul is saying that the law which Moses received “cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed” to Abraham in Christ, “the Seed.” In other words, Paul says that the law cannot make the promise of no effect. Can you say with me, glory be to God! Beloved, we have assurances that supersede the law of Moses. Are you ready to move on to the following exciting fact?
18 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Look at the word Paul uses, “inheritance.” As “sons,” of God we are an heir of the promises (see Galatians 4:7). “Therefore, you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” I just had to quote the verse. I want to stand up and shout, Glory to God we are sons and heirs of the promise, Jew, Gentile, every person from every ethnic group is included if you believe the promise by surrendering to Christ, the Seed of Abraham!
What inheritance have we received? In the Bible, there are over 240 references to “inheritance.” For our study, we will look at a few that directly relates to what Paul is addressing here in Galatians 3:18.
First, let’s take a look at Jesus’s parable of the “Vinedressers” in Matt 21:33-44: “There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. 35 The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. 38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes? 43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” NIV
Stephen Defending himself before the Sanhedrin: Acts 7:2-8, And he said, “Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Get out of your country and from your relatives and come to a land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. 5 And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him. 6 But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years. 7 ‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that, they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’ 8 Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs. NKJV
Paul’s last words to the elders of Ephesus: Acts 20:32-35, “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. 35 I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'” NKJV
Paul’s testimony in his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road: Acts 26:15-18, So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. 17 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ NKJV
The promise of the Father: Ephesians 1:11-14, In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. NKJV Heb 6:16-20
*For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. NKJV