Galatians 3:17

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Summary

And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

Which

Genesis 15:13

Exodus 12:40

Acts 7:6

Cannot

Hebrews 7:18

That it

None

1 Corinthians 1:17

General references

Leviticus 12:3

Deuteronomy 5:3

Luke 1:55

Bible References

Which

God said to Abram, “Know for sure that your descendants will be strangers [living temporarily] in a land (Egypt) that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.

Now the period of time the children of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.

And this is, in effect, what God spoke [to him]: That his descendants would be aliens (strangers) in a foreign land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years.

Cannot

Brothers and sisters, I speak in terms of human relations: even though a last will and testament is just a human covenant, yet when it has been signed and made legally binding, no one sets it aside or adds to it [modifying it in some way].

“Will you really annul My judgment and set it aside as void?
Will you condemn Me [your God] that you may [appear to] be righteous and justified?

For the Lord of hosts has decided and planned, and who can annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?”

“Your covenant with death will be annulled,
And your agreement with Sheol (the place of the dead) will not stand;
When the overwhelming scourge passes through,
Then you will become its trampling ground.

For, on the one hand, a former commandment is cancelled because of its weakness and uselessness [because of its inability to justify the sinner before God]

That it

Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a system of law had been given which could impart life, then righteousness (right standing with God) would actually have been based on law.

“God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it?

For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through [observing the requirements of] the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.

For when God made the promise to Abraham, He swore [an oath] by Himself, since He had no one greater by whom to swear,

None

You have been severed from Christ, if you seek to be justified [that is, declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty, and placed in right standing with God] through the Law; you have fallen from grace [for you have lost your grasp on God’s unmerited favor and blessing].

But if her husband disapproves of her [making her vow or pledge] on the day that he hears of it, then he shall annul her vow which she is under and the rash statement of her lips by which she bound herself; and the Lord will forgive her.

The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He makes the thoughts and plans of the people ineffective.

What then? If some did not believe or were unfaithful [to God], their lack of belief will not nullify and make invalid the faithfulness of God and His word, will it?

For Christ did not send me [as an apostle] to baptize, but [commissioned and empowered me] to preach the good news [of salvation]—not with clever and eloquent speech [as an orator], so that the cross of Christ would not be made ineffective [deprived of its saving power].

General references

On the eighth day the flesh of the male child’s foreskin shall be circumcised.

The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, all of us who are alive here today.

Just as He promised to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his descendants forever.”