Lecture 6 — Promise to Abraham

^3:15^ Brethren (I speak after the manner of man), yet a man’s testament, if it be confirmed, no man despises nor adds to it. [n. 153]

^3:16^ To Abraham were the promises made, and to his seed. He does not say: and to his seeds as of many. But as of one: and to your seed, which is Christ. [n. 156]

^3:17^ Now this I say: that the testament which was confirmed by God, the law which was made after four hundred and thirty years does not disannul, to make the promise of no effect. [n. 159]

^3:18^ For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no more of promise. But God gave it to Abraham by promise. [n. 161]

153. Having proved by authority that the law does not justify and is not necessary for justification, which is through faith, the Apostle then proves the same point with human reasons.

Concerning this he does four things.

First, he mentions a human custom;

second, he touches on a divine promise, at to Abraham were the promises made;

third, he draws his conclusion, at now this I say;

fourth, he shows that the conclusion follows from the premises, at for if the inheritance is of the law.

154. He says therefore: it is clear that up to now I have been speaking according to the authority of Scripture, which came not by the will of man, but by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:21). But now I speak after the manner of man and after the manners which human reason and human custom follow.

Here, indeed, we have an argument to show that in discussions bearing on faith, we may use any truth of any science: if you see in the number of the captives a beautiful woman and love her and will have her to wife, you shall bring her into your house, i.e., if you are pleased with worldly wisdom and science, bring it within your boundaries, and she shall shave her hair, and pare her nails (Deut 21:11), i.e., you shall cut away all erroneous opinions.

This is why in many places in his epistles the Apostle uses the authority of the gentiles; for example: evil communications corrupt good manners (1 Cor 15:33), and the Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, slothful bellies (Titus 1:12).

155. Or: although such reasons be fruitless and weak, because, as it is said: the Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vain (Ps 93:11), yet a man’s testament, if it be confirmed, no one despises nor adds to it, because nothing human has as much power to bind as a man’s last will. But someone would be scorning it if he were to say that a man’s will, confirmed by his death and by witnesses, had no validity. Therefore, if no one scorns a testament of this kind by saying that it should not be heeded or by modifying it, much less may anyone scorn the testament of God or modify it and weaken it by adding or removing anything: if any man shall add to these things, God shall add unto him the plagues written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life (Rev 22:18); you shall not add to the word that I speak to you, neither shall you take away from it (Deut 4:2).

156. Then when he says, to Abraham were the promises made, he takes up the promise God made to Abraham, which is, as it were, the testament of God.

First, he explains this promise or testament;

second, he discloses the truth contained therein, at he does not say: ‘and to his seeds’.

157. He says therefore: to Abraham were the promises made. As if to say: as the testament of a man is valid, so the divine promises are valid. But did God make any promises before the law? He did; because to Abraham who lived before the time of the law the promises were made, and to his seed, by God. However, they were made to Abraham as the one for whom they would be fulfilled, and to his seed as the one through whom they would be fulfilled.

And he says, promises, using the plural, because the promise that his seed would be blessed contained a number of things: or because the same thing, namely, eternal happiness, was promised to him on a number of occasions. For example, in you shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed (Gen 12:3); look up to heaven and number the stars if you can. And he said to him: so shall your seed be (Gen 15:5). Again: to your seed will I give this land (Gen 15:18); I will bless you and I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven (Gen 22:17).

These promises then, are God’s testament, as it were, i.e., a decree concerning the inheritance to be given to Abraham and his seed.

158. The meaning of this testament he explains when he says, he does not say: ‘and to his seeds’, as of many; but as of one: ‘and to your seed’. He explains this according to the very spirit in which the testament was made. And this is obvious from the words of the testament: he does not say: ‘and to his seeds’, as of many, i.e., as he would do, if it were valid for many: but as of one: ‘and to your seed’, which is Christ, because he is the only one through whom and in whom all could be blessed. For he alone and exclusively is the one who does not lie under the curse of guilt, in spite of the fact that he deigned to be made a curse for us. Hence it is said, I am alone until I pass (Ps 141:10); and again there is none that does good, no, not one (Ps 13:3); one man among a thousand I have found (namely, Christ, who had been without any sin), a woman among them all I have not found (Eccl 7:29), who would be entirely immune from all sin, at least original or venial.

159. Then when he says, now this I say: that the testament, he draws his conclusion. Here let us see, in order, what it is that he says.

He says therefore that this is what God promised to Abraham. But this is a testament, i.e., a promise that he would obtain an inheritance: I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah (Jer 31:31). He says, confirmed, in keeping with what he said before. For he said above, a man’s testament, if it be confirmed, no man despises nor adds to it. By God, i.e., by the one who promised. The testament was confirmed, namely, with an oath: by my own self have I sworn (Gen 22:16); that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have the strongest comfort (Heb 6:18). This testament, I say, the law does not disannul: the law, namely, which was made and given by God through Moses: for the law was given through Moses (John 1:17) after four hundred thirty years. Then, as if to explain what he had said, he adds, does not disannul, to make the promise of no effect. For the aforesaid testament would have been disannulled if the promise made to Abraham were set aside, i.e., made fruitless, as though the seed promised to Abraham were not enough to bless the gentiles. But as a matter of fact, the promises made to the patriarchs were not set aside by Christ but confirmed: for I say that Christ Jesus was minister of the circumcision to confirm the promises made unto the fathers (Rom 15:8); for all the promises of God are in him (2 Cor 1:20).

After four hundred thirty years: this concords with Exodus: the abode of the children of Israel that they made in Egypt was four hundred thirty years (Exod 12:40), and with Acts: and God said to him, i.e., to Abraham, that his seed should sojourn in a strange country and that they shall bring them under bondage four hundred thirty years (Acts 7:6).

160. But against this, it is said: know before that your seed shall be a stranger in a land not their own, and they shall bring them under bondage and afflict them four hundred years (Gen 15:13).

I answer that if you count the years between the first promise made to Abraham (Gen 12), and the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt, when the law was given, there will be four hundred thirty years, as is written here and in Exodus (Exod 12) and Acts (Acts 7). But if you begin to count from the birth of Isaac, concerning which Genesis (Gen 21) speaks, there are only four hundred five years. For twenty-five years elapsed between the promise made to Abraham and the birth of Isaac: for Abraham was seventy-five years old when he left his own country and the first promise was made to him, as is recorded in Genesis (Gen 12); and he was one hundred years old when Isaac was born, as is recorded in the same book (Gen 21). That there were four hundred five years between the birth of Isaac and the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt is proved by the fact that Isaac was sixty years old when he begot Jacob, as is had in Genesis (Gen 25). Jacob, on the other hand, was one hundred thirty years old when he entered Egypt, as is recorded in Genesis (Gen 47). Therefore from the birth of Isaac to Jacob’s entry into Egypt were one hundred ninety years. Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, as is recorded in Genesis (Gen 41). After that there were seven years of plenty and two of want; and it was after that that Jacob came to Egypt, as is recorded in Genesis (Gen 45). But Joseph lived one hundred ten years, as is mentioned in the final chapter of Genesis. If thirty-nine years be subtracted from this there remain seventy-one years. Consequently from the birth of Isaac to Joseph’s death there were two hundred sixty-one years. Furthermore, the children of Israel remained in Egypt for one hundred forty-four more years after Joseph’s death, as Rabanus says in a Gloss on the Acts (Acts 7). Therefore from the birth of Isaac to the exodus from Egypt and the giving of the law four hundred five years elapsed. However, the Scripture in Genesis (Gen 17) was not concerned with minutiae.

Or it can be said that during Isaac’s fifth year Ishmael was cast forth, leaving Isaac the sole heir of Abraham. Reckoning from this date, we have our four hundred years.

161. Then when he says, for, if the inheritance is of the law, it is no more of promise, he shows how from the foregoing it follows that the law would nullify the promises, if the law were necessary for justification or for the blessing to come to the gentiles. He says therefore: the promise would indeed be disannulled, if the law were necessary; for if the inheritance, namely, of Abraham’s blessing, is of the law, it is no more of promise, i.e., of the seed promised to Abraham. For if the seed promised to Abraham was enough to obtain the inheritance of the blessing, there would not be justification through the law.

He rejects the consequent, when he says, but God gave it to Abraham, i.e., he promised that he would give it; but the promise was as sure as if it had been fulfilled then and there, by promise, i.e., through the seed promised. Therefore the inheritance, i.e., the blessing, about which it is said: for unto this you are called, that you may inherit a blessing (1 Pet 3:9), is not of the law.