Article 26
The Law, the first five books, contains the Ten Commandment law, ceremonial law, dietary law, and various laws and ordinances dealing with servants and each other in ordinary circumstances of life. The Jews tell us that there are 613 laws in "The Law" or first five books of the Bible.
In Matthew 5:17, Jesus says, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets …". The Prophets are another classification of some books of the Bible. It includes the books of Joshua through II Kings (excluding Ruth), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the twelve minor prophets.
The expression "law or the prophets", clearly indicates that here the word "law" means the first five books of the Bible, and not just the Ten Commandments.
Of course, the Ten Commandments are included, and are mentioned farther on when Jesus says, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shall not kill" (verse 21). And, in verse 27, "Thou shall not commit Adultery".
Other parts of the first five books are referred to as Jesus continues His discourse. Examples are:
Verse 31. Putting
away a wife. Deuteronomy 24:1;
Verse 33. Not swearing. Leviticus 19:12;
Verse 38. An eye for an eye. Exodus 21:24; and
Verse 43. Love thy neighbor. Leviticus 19:18.
So when Jesus says, "I am not come to destroy", He is speaking of Moses, of the first five books, and of the entire 613 laws contained therein.
Note that when Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment in the Law, he quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, not the Ten Commandments (Matthew 22:36-39).
Not one jot or one tittle was to pass from the law.
Not one letter or stroke of a pen was to pass from the law.
Not one change, however, small, was to be made UNTIL …
Until when? Until
all be fulfilled.
On the cross, Jesus said, "It is finished".
All, all had been fulfilled.
The One who was to crush the head of the serpent had come (Genesis 3:15).
The Seed of Abraham who was to be a blessing to all the nations had appeared (Genesis 12:3).
Jesus was the Angel who wrestled with Jacob; the ladder that reached to Heaven (John 1:51).
Joseph was a type of Christ. His own brethren betrayed him, but this is what saved them later in Egypt.
Jesus was the, I AM, that appeared to Moses at the burning bush.
Just as Moses delivered God's people from Egyptian bondage, so Jesus delivers His people from the bondage of sin.
He was the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.
Moses told the Israelites, the Lord thy God will raise up unto three a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him shall ye harken (Deuteronomy 18:15; Acts 7:37).
Jesus is the fulfillment of all; all of the first five books of the Bible. He is the substance of every shadow, the anti-type of every type, the reality of every figure.
It was John the Baptist who said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world".
He is both the High Priest and the Sacrifice. He did not come to destroy … but to FULFILL.
The fact that there was a change in the priesthood shows clearly that there was a change in the law, the first five books, and not just the ceremonial law.
"For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity A CHANGE ALSO OF THE LAW" (Hebrews 7:12).
The Ten Commandment
Law sets aside the seventh day of the week, Saturday, in which no work
is to be done. It was to be a day of rest. God created the heavens and
earth in six days and rested on the seventh day. God did the work so that
when man was created on the sixth day, there was no work to do. God had
done it all. Man had only to enter in to God's rest on the seventh day.
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians
2:8,9).
"For he that has entered into his rest, he also hath CEASED FROM HIS OWN WORKS, AS GOD DID FROM HIS" (Hebrews 4:10).
God ceasing from His work on the seventh day of creation prefigured an even greater work, that of the salvation of man. It was planned even before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:20; Hebrews 4:3). Salvation predates creation because it was planned beforehand in the mind of God.
Man cannot be saved by his own works, but only by the works of God. All man can do is to accept that God has performed the work necessary for man's salvation and enter in to God's rest of which the seventh day was a type, figure, and shadow.
"For we which have believed do enter into rest … For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, AS GOD DID FROM HIS" (Hebrews 4:3,10).
To the Christian has been revealed "… things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 13:35).
The New Testament is clear that the rest for the Christian is in a Person and not in a day.
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I WILL GIVE YOU REST. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye SHALL FIND REST unto your souls" (Matthew 11:28,29).
The believer's REST is in Jesus, and not in a day.
God resting on the seventh day, after the six days of creation, was a figure of the rest that fallen, finite, fallible man was to have IN JESUS CHRIST. Adam was a figure of Christ, the second Adam (Romans 5:14).
The rest that the believer was to have was in the mind of God BEFORE the actual creation and the Creator resting on the seventh day.
The fourth commandment, "Remember the Sabbath Day", is the sign, the seal of the Ten Commandments. In it, the Law Giver and His authority are identified as the Lord who made heaven and earth.
Circumcision was a sign, a "seal of the righteousness of the faith", given to Abraham for the Israelites (Romans 4:11).
When Christ's generation asked for a sign, Jesus said the only sign to be given would be the sign of the prophet Jonah: the three days and three nights in the belly of the whale. In other words, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Matthew 12:39).
In the New Testament, it is the Holy Spirit, Jesus' representative, that is the seal for the believer (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30, John 3:33 and 6:27; 2 Timothy 2:19).
The Holy Spirit is the seal, the sign of the new covenant. The law is written on the believer's heart (Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrews 8:8-10).
Who writes the law on the believer's heart? The Holy Spirit.
A great outpouring of the Holy Spirit occurred on the Day of Pentecost.
Pentecost, meaning fiftieth, was a celebration at the close of the barley harvest which began the day after the Passover when a sheaf of the first fruits was waved before the Lord. Pentecost came fifty days after the Passover.
The Passover was a celebration of the Children of Israel's deliverance from Egypt. Fifty days later, they received the Ten Commandments, which contained the seal of God, at Mount Sinai.
At the resurrection of Christ, humanity was delivered from the bondage of sin. Fifty days later, a great outpouring of the Spirit sealed this truth in the hearts of believers. The law was written on their hearts. What law was this?
The work of the Holy Spirit is to testify of Christ. He speaks not of Himself (John 16:13 [KJV]).
Jesus Christ is the law. He is the law incarnate. He is the law personified.
Moses said, "Do not kill". Jesus said, "Do not hate in your heart". Moses said, "Do not commit adultery". Jesus said, "Not to lust in your heart".
It is the Person of Christ, not the WRITTEN CODE, which is written on the heart in the new covenant.
"A man is not
a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward
and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision
is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, NOT THE WRITTEN CODE"
(Romans 2:28,29 [NIV]).
Jesus is the living law, not a written code.
Harper's Bible Dictionary states, "The word of the Lord" is a phrase, which recurs throughout Scripture. It usually means the will or plan of God revealed to individuals.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made Flesh, and dwelt among us …" (John 1:1,14). Jesus is the Word of God.
Jesus is the living will of God, revealed to man.
The largest book in the Bible is Psalms. The longest chapter is Psalm 119. It is about the Law of God.
"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. The entrance of thy words giveth light" (verses 105,130). Jesus is the Word and Jesus is the Light of the world. He said the scriptures testify of me (John 5:39).
It is Jesus who, by His representative, dwells in the believer's heart. "Thy word have I hid in mind heart, that I might not sin against thee " (verse 11). Not surprisingly, the longest chapter in the Bible is really about Jesus, the living Law of God.
Why was the law, this written code given?
It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made (Galatians 3:19).
The Promise - Jesus is the promise - was made to Abraham. The written code came 430 years later so the people could see their transgressions, their rebellion against God, and their need of a Deliverer, because where no law is there is no transgression (Galatians 3:17; Romans 4:15).
The law, the written code, also served to keep Israel a separate people so there would be an accurate genealogy whereas to correctly identify the seed of Abraham, which was Christ.
Other cultures upheld moral values such as do not steal, do not kill, do not commit adultery, and do not bear false witness. In the Hebrew system were mingled in among the moral values cultic observances designed to keep Israel a separate people, a distinct culture, such as: circumcision, Sabbath keeping, dietary laws, and ceremonial laws.
When Jesus became a Priest after the order of Melchisedec, " … there is made of necessity a change also of the law" (Hebrews 7:12).
All had been fulfilled.
The written code "was added because of transgression till …", … till WHEN? "Till the seed should come to whom the promise was made" (Galatians 3:19).
Jesus did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill. Nothing was to pass from the law … till … all be fulfilled (Matthew 5:17,18).
Jesus fulfilled the law, the written code that had separated Jew from Gentile.
"But now in Christ Jesus you (Gentiles) who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For He himself is our peace, who has made the two (Jew and Gentile) one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law (written code) with it's commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two (a new Adam) thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility" (Ephesians 2:14-16 [NIV]).
Christ has taken down the dividing wall, which partitioned Jew from Gentile.
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).
"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ (Colossians 2:13,14,16,17 [NIV]).
Those distinctive Jewish observances which separated them from Gentiles have been done away with by nailing them to the cross so that all - Jew, Greek, bond, free, male, female - may be one in Christ Jesus.
"The Jewish laws were our teacher and guide until Christ came to give us right standing with God through our faith. But now that Christ has come, we don't need those laws any longer to guard us and lead us to Him" (Galatians 3:24,25 [Living New Testament]).
Jesus of Nazareth is the LAW, the ethical and moral standard for the Christian. He is the living expression of the will of God, greater and more effective than any written code.
Unfortunately, the Christian Church has continued to be enamored with the Ten Commandments, and today many sincere people want them posted in schools and public places. We are saved by Christ but sent back to Moses for ethical standards???
The Ten Commandments were the "ten words" of the covenant between God and Israel according to Exodus 34:27,28 (margin KJV); and Deuteronomy 4:13. God promised to make Israel a great nation if they would obey. They promised to obey (Exodus 19:5-8). The old covenant was based on the promise of the people, which promise they did not keep.
The new covenant is based on better promises: that Jesus is come to do God's will (Hebrews 8:6-9 and 10:7-10). Jesus is the LAW written on the heart in the new covenant.
If Christian Churches wish to use the Ten Commandments as the guide for Christian conduct, then they should be meeting for religious services on the Sabbath, Saturday, the seventh day of the week.
The Orthodox Jew keeps the Sabbath between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday. It is the sign, the seal of the old covenant.
In the 7th Chapter of Revelation, 144,000 are sealed with the seal of the living God. In Revelation 14:5, this group of 144,000 who have been sealed with the seal of the living God are found to have no guile in their mouth for they are without fault before the throne of God. Guile is defined as slyness and cunning in dealing with others; craftiness.
At one time or another, most of us have said, "The Lord knows my heart", inferring that our hearts are good and merit acceptance from the Deity. Are we dealing cunningly or slyly with God?
Yes, God knows our hearts - deceitful above all things according to Jeremiah 17 - and that is why Jesus had to die for us. Because there is none good, no not one.
It was the publican who had no guile before God, but hanging his head said, "God be merciful to me a sinner". The record said that this man went down to his house JUSTIFIED or rather accepted of God. Acknowledging his need, there was no guile in his mouth.
Jesus said of Nathanael, "Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile" (John 1:47). A true Israelite has no guile.
The Psalmist says, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputed not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile" (Psalm 32:1,2).
In speaking of how God justifies a believer by faith, the Apostle Paul quotes from Psalm 32:1,2, "Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto who God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin" (Romans 4:6-8).
Those who have no guile in their mouths have been justified by faith.
"Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace … because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us (Romans 5:1-5).
Those with no guile are those who have been justified, "… in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise". "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption" (Ephesians 1:13 and 4:30).
In the new covenant, Jesus is the law written on the believer's heart by the Holy Spirit, which is the seal of the living God.
"Now to Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen" (Jude 24,25).
Jack D. Walker, 5353
Cane Ridge #115, Antioch, TN, 37013, 615.731.8795