Galatians 3:21 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Galatians 3:21
Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
law (through the idea of prescriptive usage) · noun — nominative singular masculine
then
οὖνoun
G3767
(adverbially) certainly · conjunction
against
κατὰkata
G2596
(prepositionally) down (in place or time) · preposition
promises
ἐπαγγελιῶνepangeliōn
G1860
an announcement (for information · noun — genitive plural feminine
God
θεοῦ;theou
G2316
figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
forbid
γένοιτο.genoito
G1096
to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent optative, 3rd person singular
for
γὰρgar
G1063
properly · conjunction
if
εἰei
G1487
if · conditional particle
been
ἐδόθηedothē
G1325
to give (used in a very wide application · verb — aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular
law
νόμοςnomos
G3551
law (through the idea of prescriptive usage) · noun — nominative singular masculine
given
δίδωμιdídōmi
G1325
to give (used in a very wide application
which
ὉHo
G3588
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative singular masculine
have
δυνάμενοςdunamenos
G1410
to be able or possible · verb — present middle or passive deponent participle, nominative singular masculine
life
ζῳοποιῆσαι,zōopoiēsai
G2227
to (re-)vitalize (literally or figuratively) · verb — aorist active infinitive
verily
ὄντωςontōs
G3689
really · adverb
righteousness
δικαιοσύνη·dikaiosunē
G1343
equity (of character or act) · noun — nominative singular feminine
been
ἦνēn
G2258
I (thou
by
ἐκek
G1537
literal or figurative · preposition
law
νόμουnomou
G3551
law (through the idea of prescriptive usage) · noun — genitive singular masculine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Romans 9:31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
Romans 3:20-22 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Galatians 2:19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
Romans 10:3-6 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the…
Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Romans 7:7-13 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had s…
Galatians 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Galatians 3:19–end
The apostle having just before been speaking of the promise made to Abraham, and representing that as the rule of our justification, and not the law, lest they should think he did too much derogate from the law, and render it altogether useless, he thence takes occasion to discourse of the design and tendency of it, and to acquaint us for what purposes it was given. It might be asked, "If that promise be sufficient for salvation, wherefore then serveth the law? Or, Why did God give the law by Moses?" To this he answers,
I. The law was added because of transgressions, Gal 3:19. It was not designed to disannul the promise, and to establish a different way of justification from that which was s…
"Is the law (which involves a mediator) against the promises of God (which are without a mediator, and rest on God alone and immediately)? God forbid."
life--The law, as an externally prescribed rule, can never internally impart spiritual life to men naturally dead in sin, and change the disposition. If the law had been a law capable of giving life, "verily (in very reality, and not in the mere fancy of legalists) righteousness would have been by the law (for where life is, there righteousness, its condition, must also be)." But the law does not pretend to give life, and therefore not righteousness; so there is no opposition between the law and the promise. Righteousness can only come thro…
Is the law then against the promises of God? - Is it possible that the intervention of the law, in reference to one part of the Abrahamic seed, should annul the promise made to the other? It is impossible.
For if there had been a law, etc. - If any law or rule of life could have been found out that would have given life - saved sinners from death, and made them truly happy, then righteousness- justification, should have been by that law.
John Gill
The Church Fathers
We have said that the law given by Moses teaches nothing but sins, admonishing us what sins are and how they are to be avoided. And Scripture draws no other conclusion but lays down all its precepts in the light of and with reference to sin.… It is not given so that life may be sought from it but is given so that by its written form it may both include all sins in its teaching and show that they should be avoided. Therefore righteousness is not from the law; that is, justification and salvation come not from the law but from faith, as is promised.
Since God gave the law, it is not plausible that that same law should be seen as having been given against the promises. It is certainly against the promises if it embroils us in other things, namely, that we should fulfill the works required by the law and not expect from faith what is promised, that we should obtain through faith an inheritance in God. But let us see what is his answer to this. He first denies it unequivocally: "Certainly not!" That is, it is not right that God should make the giving of the law contrary to the promises.… And next he adds the reason.
For if the blessing is given in the seed of Abraham, but the Law brings in the curse, it must be contrary to the promises. This objection he meets, first, by a protest, in the words, "God forbid:" And next he brings his proof; "For if there had been a law given which could make alive. verily righteousness would have been of the Law." His meaning is as follows; If we had our hope of life in the Law, and our salvation depended on it, the objection might be valid. But if it save you, by means of Faith, though it brings you under the curse, you suffer nothing from it, gain no harm, in that Faith comes and sets all right. Had the promise been by the Law, you had reasonably feared lest, separating from the Law, you should separate from righteousness, but if it was given in order to shut up all, that is, to convince all and expose their individual sins, far from excluding you from the promises, it now aids you in obtaining them. This is shown by the words...
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Law of Moses — Is the whole body of the Mosaic legislation (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2). It is called by way of eminence simply “the Law” (Heb. Torah, Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 17:18, 19; 27:3, 8). As a written…
Law Of Moses, The · Could not give righteous and life — Could not give righteous and life
Promises Of God, The · The law not against — The law not against
Righteousness · Cannot come by the law — Cannot come by the law
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
on Galatians 3:21
Is the law then against the promises of God?.... If the law was added because of transgressions, and curses for them, and if the inheritance is not of it, but by promise, were it, it would not be by promise, then, says an objector, it is against the promises: these are contrary to one another, and God, in giving the one and the other, must contradict himself: to which it is replied,
God forbid; a way of speaking the apostle uses, when he would express his abhorrence and detestation of anything, as here; for though the law and promises are distinct things, and have their separate uses, yet they are not contradictory to each other; the law has its use, and so have the promises; the promises d…
Galatians 3:19-22
19. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
19. Quid igitur Lex? transgressionum causa adjuneta fuit, donee veniret semen, cui promissum fuerat, ordinata per angelos in manu mediatoris.
20. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
20. Porro mediator unius non est; Deus autem unus est.
21. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
21. Lexne igitur adversus promissiones Dei? absit; nam…
See Rom 7:7-13.
3:21 No conflict of purpose exists between law and promise, or between law and faith. Law partners with the promise in bringing people to faith in Christ. Law has its proper roles of declaring people prisoners of sin (3:19, 22) and of restraining sin (3:23-25). In Galatia, the Judaizers tried to convince Gentile Christians that the law could do something it was never intended to do—give . . . new life and make people right with God. God does these things on the basis of faith in his promise, which was fulfilled in Jesus Christ (see 3:22).
