How To Understand The Law Of God In The New Covenant
Part 1: Christians Are Not Under the Old Covenant Law
1 Corinthians 9:20-21
(Children’s Sheet for Sermon Interaction is at bottom. Notes for young children to answer are throughout sermon)Pastor Kerry Kinchen, Bridgeway Bible Church
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 9:20-21 in your Bible. As you’re turning there, I want to explain some things about the Old Covenant Law of Moses. It was a Covenant God made with genetic Israelites on Mount Sinai about 3500 years ago. It was given to Moses to give to the Israelites. The account is in Exodus and Leviticus. But there is more to explain. About 1500 years after the advent of that Mosaic Covenant, there was the advent of Jesus the promised Messiah. He is God’s only begotten Son--the third person of the Triune yet One essential God. He was born from an Israelite virgin named Mary who was impregnated by the Holy Spirit. Jesus was conceived, born, and raised under the jurisdiction of that Old Covenant Law. He was crucified and resurrected according to His plan. His crucifixion inaugurated the New Covenant in His blood. His resurrection inaugurated His triumphant ascension into victory. All who believe in Him by grace through faith in the miracle of regeneration, are demonstrated to be His elect people of spiritual salvation. All of this is important because it has to do with more explanation of the Old Covenant Law. The New Covenant church was formed through Jesus Christ’s work. It has existed for over two thousand years. During this time, various theological theories were developed by men in the church. Theological theories are usually recognized in terms that relate them to certain systems that are “isms.” Maybe you have heard of some. For example, there is something called Messianic Judaism. There is Roman Catholicism. There is Dispensationalism. There is Covenantalism. There is Theonomism. Consequently, most Christians in our day have been theologically influenced by one of those systems of thought. Now, all of those “isms” have complex theological theories forming the inner matrix of each system. This could be good, but there is a danger with complex theological theories. They can have problems, and the problems can be camouflaged in their complexity. One common problem with some of those isms I just mentioned, is that their matrix compels adherents to either ignore, or be confused, about major New Covenant revelations to the church concerning the Old Covenant Mosaic Law. Another problem is that each system claims that its view of the Old Covenant Mosaic Law is necessarily the correct one. This leads to something else; Each system compels Christians to come under Law codes of the Old Covenant of Moses. They do it as a matter of theological expectation, or duress. A certain element of intellectualism can foster this trend. It takes some smart folks to work out complex theological templates to filter doctrine through. But then there is also blind religious following. It fosters the trend. Creeds that men write to support each ism will also foster the trend. Fear even drives adherents in each of those isms. Fear is a strong motivator for embracing theological system views of the Old Covenant Law’s jurisdiction over the New Covenant church. Unfortunately, isms are always attacking those outside their systems, which causes another ism to form, called schism. Another thing I think I need to explain about the Old Covenant Law of Moses which some of those isms anachronistically call “God’s law,” has to do with the ten commandments part of it that was engraved on stone. We recognize the Biblical fact that Ten Commandments were more than a list of rules. It really was a covenant as we read in Exodus 34:27-28,
“27 ... Yahweh said ... ‘Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.’ 28 ... And he [Moses] wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.” Exodus 34:27-28
We see it in Deuteronomy 4:13
"So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone." Deuteronomy 4:13
"Thus they set out from the mount ... with the ark of the covenant [which held the ten commandments on stone]..." Numbers 10:33, cf. Numbers 14:44
@1 The Ten Commandments engraved on stone were an actual _________________ that God made with Israelites on Mount Sinai. Exodus 34:27-28, Deuteronomy 4:13
The Ten Commandments as part of the rest of the commandments of the Law of Moses, represented the whole. This fact concerning the ten commandments engraved on stone is important. The reason is because some of those “ism” systems want to divide the ten commandments engraved on stone away from the other 600-plus statutes of the Old Covenant. But the Old Covenant was a unit with a Biblical definition. We see it in Exodus 19:5, and 24:7,
“5 ... if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, ... Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, ‘All that Yahweh has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!’ So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant, which Yahweh has made with you in accordance with all these words.’” Exodus 24:5-8
We see the Biblical definition of the unit in Leviticus 26:15,
"if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant," Leviticus 26:15
Statutes, ordinances, commandments, and covenant--This is a Biblically defined unity of the Old Covenant Mosaic Law. All of these things I have explained are pertinent to this sermon. Please keep them in mind as I read from 1 Corinthians 9, starting in verse 19,
“19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the [Old Covenant Mosaic] Law, as under the [Old Covenant] Law though not being myself under the [Old Covenant Mosaic] Law, so that I might win those who are under the [Old Covenant Mosaic] Law; 21 to those who are without [Old Covenant Mosaic] Law, as without [Old Covenant Mosaic] Law, though not being without the Law Of God [which is in operation in the New Covenant] but under the Law Of Christ [which is the Law of God of the New Covenant that Christians are under], so that I might win those [Gentiles] who are without Law [without both the Old Covenant or New Covenant Law of God].”
Please prepare your heart to learn along with me in this important sermon with the theme;
How To Understand The Law Of God In The New Covenant
Part 1: Christians Are Not Under the Old Covenant Law
[prayer]
A primary and foundational principle for understanding the Law of God in the New Covenant, is that Christ’s apostles clearly taught that Christians are not in the jurisdiction of the Old Covenant Law of Moses. This is why Paul confidently said,
“20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the [Old Covenant Mosaic] Law, as under the [Old Covenant] Law though not being myself under the [Old Covenant] Law,” 1 Corinthians 9:20
Evidently, Judaism had no longer been the fabric of Paul’s soul. Now elements of it had become like pieces of clothing he could take off or put on at will to avoid needless offense in his ministry strategy. We also notice the stark clarity of what Paul is saying concerning the Old Law. As we read these words of Paul (along with everything else Paul has written about the Old Covenant Mosaic Law in all his epistles) we realize how profoundly the break from the jurisdiction of the Mosaic Law is in Paul’s New Covenant life. The only way to get around what Paul means, is by trying to inject a foreign theological theory (ism) into the text. One way of doing this is by working the Old Covenant Mosaic Law into three artificial distinctions. People want some of the Old Covenant Mosaic Law jurisdiction to apply to us. So they philosophically divide the unity of Old Covenant Law’s statutes, ordinances, commandments, and covenant-ness into headings that they call the;
Moral Law,
Civil Law (judicial)
and
Ceremonial Law.
This is called Three Fold Divisionism.
A three fold division of the Old Covenant Law was a doctrine first developed by Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century in His Summa Theological thesis (Question 99: Article 4 The Precepts of The Old Law). The foremost problem with this divisionism is that the Bible does not differentiate theoretical categories of the Mosaic Law codes. Neither does it imply that they exist in the manner of three fold divisionism anywhere in any teaching whatsoever. This is why Orthodox Jewish Rabbis who study the ancient writings of Judaism in Jerusalem, deny that the Law can be consistently, or successfully, divided into moral, civil, and ceremonial categories. Why do Orthodox Jewish scholars deny the divisionism theory of the Mosaic Law? Because no Israelite record found anywhere has ever made such a division. Scripturally, we remember that the Old Covenant Mosaic Law is a unity of statutes, ordinances, commandments, and covenant in Leviticus 26:15. In Deuteronomy 4, the unity is described as commandments, righteous statutes and judgements. We read in Deuteronomy 4:1-8 and 4:23,
“1 Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments ... 2 You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God which I command you. ... 5 See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as Yahweh my God commanded me, that you should do ... 6 So keep and do them, ... in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ ... 8 Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole Law which I am setting before you today? ... So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of Yahweh your God which He made with you, ...” Deuteronomy 4:1-8 4:23
The actual fact of the matter is that “all” righteous statutes and judgements are moral. This fact is made evident in the definition of what “moral” means. Going to about a half dozen dictionaries, I found that “moral” means;
Moral: relating to right and wrong and the way people should behave. Conforming to standards of what is right or just in behavior. Expressing or teaching a conception of right behavior.
The whole Law as righteous statutes, ordinances, commandments, is moral. But complex theological systems can do complex things to achieve each system’s desired effect, like for example, artificially dividing God’s Old Covenant Law into unique philosophical categories. But we are not going to do that. Instead, we will recognize that in the righteous statutes and judgements of the Old Covenant Law of Moses, God says to do certain things. He also says not to do certain things. He said that if Israel did certain things, and avoided certain things, they would be blessed. He also said that if Israel did certain things they would be penalized. The apostles reiterate this sense when they wrote, for example, Galatians 3:10
“10 For all who rely on works of the [Mosaic] Law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’” Galatians 3:10
Notice that it is “all things”--not some things. Then James 2:10,
“9 For whoever keeps the whole [Mosaic] Law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” James 2:9
@2 Whoever keeps the whole Mosaic Law and yet stumbles in ___________ point, he has become guilty of all. James 2:9
Notice that the guilt is concerning all in which one of any point represents. Keep this in mind as we fast forward about 1500 years to Jesus’ pre-cross ministry to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, (cf. Matthew 15:24, Matthew 10:6). At the time Jesus was living under the Old Covenant Law. The day I want us to consider, was when Jesus appointed 12 men to be his core students. Jesus was teaching as the great Messianic Rabbi. Jesus was specifically teaching his students which is pointed out in Luke 6:20. There were multitudes of other Israelites there from Galilee, from Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, the Decapolis area and so forth. They were listening in on His teaching that He was giving to His students according to Luke 6:17-19 and Matthew 4:25 through Matthew 5:1-2. That teaching session is sometimes called “The Sermon On The Mount.” In the sermon, Jesus taught his pre-cross Israelite students how to act while ministering with Him. He taught important principles on righteousness. He also taught that perfection must be attained to please the Father. He said,
“20 ... unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:20
But the Pharisees were the strictest Mosaic Law keeping sect of the Jews. When it came to Mosaic Law keeping righteousness, it was hard to beat a devout Pharisee. The Pharisees typically get a bad rap today because it is easy to associate them with being hypocrites and being the people that rejected Christ and had him executed. But devout Pharisees were strict Old Covenant Law keepers, and not all of them rejected Christ. Many Pharisees followed Christ. Paul explains how he was able to be found blameless by others as a Pharisee in that particular Law keeping standard kind of righteousness before receiving the necessary righteousness of God in Christ; Philippians 3:4-7,
“4 ... If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: 5 ... as to the Law, a Pharisee; 6 ... as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. 7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8... and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God [imputed from Him, which is indicative of 2 Corinthians 5:21 which is God’s own righteousness “of” Himself in Christ] on the basis of faith,” Philippians 3:4-9
@3 As to the righteousness in the Old Covenant Law, its blamelessness may have been gain under that covenant, but in respect to the Christ covenant, it is loss. Relevant righteousness comes _____________ God, through ___________ in Christ. Philippians 3:4-9
The Old Covenant Law righteousness of Paul’s own that Paul could have boasted in as a Pharisee, is what Jesus said must be surpassed. Then Jesus preached the magnitude of God’s huge demand for saving righteousness. He said,
“48 Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48
Have you ever heard anyone say,
"Well no one is perfect?"
Then think about how this is the big wow statement from Jesus. This is the big eye opener. How can anyone be as perfect as the perfect sinless Father God? Keeping the Mosaic Law couldn’t do it. Paul couldn’t either. In the same sermon in Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus raised the bar in defining the practical standards of how righteousness is judged. Jesus said that to even be angry with a brother was to be guilty like someone who commits murder. This crushed any self confidence of anyone who thought they could be as perfect as perfect God. But amazingly, that standard for anger is not in the Mosaic Law codes. But Jesus continued to expound. He said that to be angry enough to say “you fool” to someone is to be guilty enough for the fiery hell. Anyone who thought they were righteous, though they kept the Mosaic Law better than a Pharisee, needed to think again. And there is that fact again--That particular command was not in the Mosaic Law codes either. Think about what Jesus is doing. He was being unmistakably clear about how high the standard of saving-righteousness really is. Then Jesus said that to lust after someone in your mind, was to commit the sin of adultery in your heart, Matthew 5:28. But in the Mosaic Law, committing physical adultery was the sin. Think about how many people have lusted over someone sexually? Think about how many devout Jews had lusted on that same day that Jesus was speaking? Christ’s prophetic point was that nobody could have righteousness that exceeds the Pharisees. Nobody could be perfect as God the Father is Perfect. Only Jesus Christ the God-man is the one whose righteousness truly surpasses that of the Pharisees. Only Jesus Christ the God-man is truly perfect as His Father is perfect. It would only be through His future crucifixion and resurrection that any of those Israelites could have the surpassing righteousness of God’s perfection. In fact, it would only be through the future crucifixion and resurrection of the promised Messiah that any people of faith in God who had died in the Old Testament history back to Adam and Eve could be made perfect. This is why the writer of Hebrews explained in 10 and 11,
“For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are set apart [By Himself in Himself]. ... 39 And all these, [speaking of God’s ancient people of faith recorded in the Old Testament] having gained approval through their faith [Faith in the One true God], did not receive what was promised, 40 because God had provided something better for us [New Covenant people of God], so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:39-40 (cf. Hebrews 10:14)
But in Christ, all of the true people of God who died before the cross and resurrection, though never being able to be righteously perfect enough, received the promised resurrection life to everlasting glory too. Christ perfected every one of His elect people before the cross and resurrection through the cross and resurrection for all time. This is the exact reason why Paul (later in the New Covenant) said concerning the previous blamelessness that he could be found manifesting through examination in respect to that Pharisaic Mosaic Law keeping standard type righteousness,
“6... as to the righteousness which is in the [Old Covenant] Law, found blameless. 7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” Philippians 3:6-7
The gain of that check-list category of Law keeping oriented righteousness was nothing compared to the cleansing righteous perfection of Christ. In fact, Paul explained that though he could be found blameless by others in Mosaic Law keeping righteousness, he was still not able to be perfect. Why? Because first and foremost, Paul inherited the sin and imperfection of the first Adam as everyone does everywhere. So outward keeping of 613 or so commandments could not take away that sin. But further, in keeping the Old Law, Paul was held in bondage to the power of sin, and he explained,
“56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the [Mosaic] Law;” 1 Corinthians 15:56
This was Paul’s point about our necessity to be “in” Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:21, in which Christ fulfilled the Mosaic Law and defeated both death and the power of sin,
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we would become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
It is only “in Him” as the crucified and resurrected perfect God-man Christ (the last Adam) that anyone can be perfect as the Father is perfect. This is the righteousness that is “of” God which only comes from God. Listen to how we attained the perfection from Hebrews 10
“14 For by one offering [of Christ Jesus] He has perfected for all time those who are set apart.” Hebrews 10:14
This is how people become perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect. It took the work of the New Covenant to do what keeping the Old Covenant Mosaic Law could not do. This is why Paul called Christians “perfect” in Philippians 3:15 when he said,
“Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude;” Philippians 3:15
This perfection is the great work of the New Covenant. In light of all these things that we who are in the New Covenant see now through New Covenant revelation, we must ask,
“Did Christ’s students fully comprehend everything about what Jesus was teaching at the mount?”
Not in a complete sense, and not immediately either. In other words, they were seeing in a mirror dimly. Why? Because Jesus was speaking prophetically. But at the time, Jesus made sure that his students understood what they needed to understand. Now when we look back at the sermon on the mount with New Covenant eyes of the Spirit, we recognize what Christ was teaching prophetically. We understand what He meant when He expressed that He was the One who would fulfill the righteousness that no Israelite could attain. In the meantime during that pre-cross sermon on the mount, Jesus was also instructing His Old Covenant Israelite students to manifest good works of the Old Covenant they were under. Why was Jesus instructing His disciples to keep the Old Covenant’s statutes, ordinances, and commandments? Because they needed to express the Mosaic Law righteousness-standard that they were under while they followed the Messiah Jesus throughout Judea as representatives of Him. The Lord wanted them to manifest Deuteronomy 4:6 in shining their light of good works of the Old Covenant Law they were under. This is why we see in Matthew 5:11-16 that Jesus said in the sermon on the mount,
“11 Blessed are you when people ... persecute you ... because of Me. 12 ... for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. ... 14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:11-16
The “good works” that Jesus wanted others to see His students doing were good works according to the standard of the Old Covenant Law of Moses. Why? Because their covenant at that time which their Father made with them 1500 years before, was the moral standard that all Jews understood for defining good works. So, Christ’s pre-cross students were to do this by following the Old Covenant Mosaic Law that they were under as a jurisdiction because the New Covenant in Christ’s blood had not yet been established. In fact Jesus tells them how they need to act in respect to outworking the Tanakh which contains both the Law (Torah) and the prophets together. Jesus said in the sermon,
“12 In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and [as a conjunctive connecting the two together] the Prophets [as a reference to the Tanakh].” Matthew 7:12
This part of Jesus teaching in the sermon was an echo of the Old Covenant Law in Leviticus 18:18
“18... you shall love your neighbor as yourself;” Leviticus 19:18
This instruction of Jesus was also prophetic. It’s beautiful sound waves reverberated forward by pointed to the Royal Law of God of His Messianic Kingdom of the New Covenant to come. It is “the Law of Christ” of 1 Corinthians 9:21, and it did come. But before the New Covenant came, Jesus said something else in His teachings on the mount. It provides more clarity on how to achieve what is impossible for mere men to achieve. Jesus gave hints for how to be more righteous than Pharisees. What He said even explains how to be as perfect as perfect God. Jesus prophetically said in 5:17-18,
“17 Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, before [heos in the Greek also means “until”] heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law before [Gk. heos, also “until”] all is accomplished.” Matthew 5:17-18 (cf. Luke 16:17)
The venerable reformed exegete AW Pink pointed out something pertinent concerning what Jesus said here. I do not always agree with Pink on his conclusions, but he is spot-on in his exegesis of this part of verse 17. Essentially, there is a unique designation of the disjunctive “or” when Jesus says He did not come to abolish either the Law “or” also the prophets (see footnote 1 below). Everywhere else in the New Testament that the Law and the Prophets are referred to in respect to the Tanakh, the idiomatic phrase used has the conjunctive “and” like for example, “the Law and the Prophets.” This is seen in places like Luke 24:44, and Luke 16:16 which parallels Matthew 11:13 and so on. The point is that Israelites used “and” as a conjunctive to connect the Law with the Prophets in togetherness as one term. Remember, Jesus did this further in His sermon in Matthew 7:12 in using the typical idiom about the Old Testament Tanakh which included both the Torah and Prophets,
“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12
7:12 was a different point, so it required a different designation. But we need to consider what Jesus said earlier at that critical point,
“17 Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. [Then Jesus clarifies in the next verse that He is talking about the actual covenant Law given at Mount Sinai] 18 ... not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the [Mosaic] Law before all is accomplished. 19 ... these commandments [Mosaic Law statutes and ordinances] ...” Matthew 5:17-18, 19
There at 5:17-18 Jesus wanted to distinguish an emphasis upon the Mosaic Law itself with all its letters and strokes of detail. Luke (the writer of Acts) records Paul having the same idea in distinguishing between both in making a point in the New Covenant in Acts 24:14, and in making the distinction in Acts 28:23 too. The question is
“Why is Jesus making this precise distinction in Matthew 5:17-18 of the Mosaic Law as a special category from the writings of the prophets?”
There are two main reasons why Jesus made this distinguishing clarification in Matthew 5:17-18. One is that Jesus was explaining that all the Old Covenant Law demands upon Israelites must be fulfilled for them which is what He came to accomplish. The reason is that Jesus was also explaining that He was going to accomplish, in Himself, prophecies concerning the Messiah that are in the writings of the Prophets. Notice His full prophetic statement of accomplishment in the sermon, Matthew 5:17
“17 Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
[Right there is the great prophetic insight that was going to happen three years later at the cross in which His fulfillment in Himself, would be the fulfillment for those He saves (His elect). In the meantime, over those next three years of His pre-cross ministry, Jesus did not abolish the Law, nor the prophets. Jesus continues His point. As He does, notice how He prophecies His accomplishment to come, v. 18]
“18 For truly I say to you, before [Gk. heos, also “until”] heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law before [Gk. heos, also “until”] all is accomplished.”
[In Messiah’s immediate point, Jesus was saying that the students must obey the Old Covenant Mosaic Law for manifesting their good deeds in their pre-cross ministry. Further, He was indicating that the Old Covenant would remain until the great accomplishment, cf. Ephesians 2:15. The accomplishment would occur “before heaven and earth pass away" indicating the certainty of the prophecy. Jesus goes on,]
“19 Whoever [Israelites of the Old Covenant] then annuls one of the least of these commandments [of the Old Covenant Mosaic Law during the Old Covenant], and teaches others
[“Others” are the lost sheep of the house of Israel, Samaritans and proselytes to Judaism in His pre-cross days of ministry. Jesus continues,]
to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you that unless your
[“Your”--Remember He is teaching His Old Covenant students (disciples) in the context. All the other Old Covenant Israelites that have gathered from Decapolis and the surrounding areas are simply listening in on the lesson. He goes on,]
righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:19-20
Jesus was giving a warning concerning the standards of the Old Covenant Law of Moses. All those listening were under it. So, Christ’s point is that the Old Covenant would remain until the events of His New Covenant accomplishment would be finished. He would fulfill it, with the prophetic allusion to righteousness that surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees being fulfilled in Him for His elect. All of this is the same accomplishment that is mentioned by Jesus in Luke 9:31, and Luke 18:31,
“30 ... Moses and Elijah, 31 who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ... ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished.” Luke 9:31, Luke 18:31
"My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work." John 4:34
“... for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish--the very works that I do--testify about Me, ...” John 5:36
Then in one of the most amazing proclamations of the accomplishment, we see Jesus explaining it in His last words spoken in His active Sermon On The Cross in John 19,
“After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, ‘I am thirsty.’ 30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’” John 19:29-30
This is beautiful; but the main point is that no pre-cross Old Covenant Israelite could do everything that Jesus said was required from them for perfection in His teaching on the Mount. The only way that the demands of God for relevant righteousness would be met was in Christ Jesus who is the great all in all of His body, the church, 1 Corinthians 15:28. He was, and is, the only one without sin, 2 Corinthians 5:21. Romans 10:4 sums it up in unarguable terms,
“For Christ is the end of the [Old Covenant Mosaic] Law for righteousness [which is a Law derived kind, or type, of righteousness that is different from the imputed righteousness “of” God] to everyone who believes.” Romans 10:4
@ 4 Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who ________________. Romans 10:4
He was the great high priest who offered Himself up for sins once for all, Hebrews 7:27. He is the great and final sacrificial Lamb Who was offered up by Himself for all 1 Peter 1:18-19, Revelation 5:12. So Jesus’ point was that not one stroke of the Mosaic Law would pass away before, and until, all was accomplished in His atoning work, and it was. So when Christ said on the cross “It is finished,” the great atoning, propitiating, and redeeming work that fulfilled the righteous requirement of the Old Covenant Law was accomplished. Jesus pointed forward to it in the teaching on the mount. Paul the apostle pointed back to it in passages such as Ephesians 2:11-18, Colossians 2:13-15, Galatians 2:1, and Romans 7:4-6, Listen to Ephesians 2:13-18,
“13 But now in Christ Jesus you [Gentile believers] who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace [He is the shalom of both Gentile and Jewish believers], who made both groups into one
[this is a mystery of the accomplishment. Christ puts everyone of His elect on an equal footing. They are in Him, and He is in them in the New Covenant. In Him, they become the “one new man.” Now listen to what Paul continues to say in verse 14,]
and [Christ] broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity,
[Where is the enmity? What is it in? Well, Paul explains it;]
15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances,
[There it is. Hallelujah! This is what Jesus said that he came to fulfill. Remember He said He did not come to abolish it beforehand, but fulfill it; and in His fulfillment the enmity of the Mosaic Law was finally abolished on the cross when all was accomplished. Before heaven and earth passed away, a New and better Covenant replaced that Old obsolete Covenant in the great accomplishment. Paul goes on]
so that in Himself He would make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and would reconcile them both
[Why both? Because Israelites and Gentiles both need all that was accomplished to be saved. Notice the flow. He says that in Himself He established peace in reconciliation]
in one body to God through the cross, [all is accomplished] by it having put to death the enmity [of the Mosaic Law. All is accomplished]. 17 And He came and preached peace
[where we rest in His accomplishment by grace through faith. He is the great shalom. He is our Sabbath rest, Hebrews 3:11, 18, Hebrews 4:1-5, etc.]
to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; 18 for through Him we both [Jews and Gentiles] have our access in one Spirit to the Father.” Ephesians 2:13-18
The point is that Paul points back to when all was accomplished while glorying in the application of the accomplishment. It continued from generation to generation, and is continuing right now. Ephesian 2:13-18 has a parallel in Colossians 2:13-15. The parallel is important. Paul was looking back to the accomplishment, and Paul was looking to the present of seeing its ongoing fulfillment applied to the elect. He said there in Colossians 2:13
“13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him,
[This is what is accomplished in resurrection life in being crucified and resurrected with Christ according to Galatians 2:20]
having forgiven us all our trespasses,
[This is the task accomplished to impute surpassing righteousness and perfection]
14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us;
[The certificate of legal debt is the condemnation of the Mosaic Law made even clearer through the parallel epistle of Ephesians 2:11-18 in conjunction with Galatians 3:10-13. The cancellation is the abolishment. This is His task accomplished]
and He has taken it out of the way,
[This removal, again, is the cancellation as the abolishment which is the task accomplished]
having nailed it to the cross. [the task accomplished] 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities [the task accomplished] and put them to open shame, [the task accomplished] by triumphing over them in him. [the task accomplished]” Colossians 2:13-15
Now Galatians 2:19,
“19 For through the [Old Covenant Mosaic] Law I died to the [Old Covenant Mosaic] Law, so that I would live to God.” Galatians 2:19
Then Romans 7:4-6 says something similar concerning us,
4... you also were made to die to the [Old Covenant Mosaic] Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we would bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the [old Covenant Mosaic] Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we have been released from the [Mosaic] Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.” Romans 7:4-6
Notice that Paul says he died to the Old Covenant Law so that he would live to God in Galatians. Then in Romans Paul said that you were made to die to the Old Covenant Mosaic Law through the body of Christ to be joined to Him in His resurrection in order to bear fruit to God. None of this could have happened without the fulfillment of the Old Covenant Mosaic Law in Christ, in concurrence with the abolishment of the Old Covenant Mosaic Law on the cross in Christ, Ephesians 2:15. All of these amazing facts are why we call this “good news” (gospel). Christ foretold His great accomplishment in what mere mortals thought was utter failure. Christ was nailed to a cross. But, something else was nailed to that same cross in Christ. It was what Christ said He fulfilled in Himself. It was the prior Covenant Law and its debt requirement of perfection that forced people to always owe though they could never pay. God nailed it to the cross of sacrifice, in Messiah Himself Who is the living jurisdiction as King of kings and Lord of lords. This is why Paul explained in Galatians 3:19 that the Law was added to God's covenant people down through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because of transgressions, until the Seed would come to whom the promise had been made. The Seed came. Jesus Christ is that Seed. Christ is that Seed that hung on the cross. He is the living Seed that resurrected. Christ is that living Seed planted within the hearts of the elect from among Jews and Gentiles, by grace through faith. When the elect receive Him, then the resurrected Law fulfillment lives in them. All that was accomplished is accomplished in the hearts of those whom the Lord saves spiritually. The means to satisfy the elect, in Christ’s words in the teaching on the mount in Matthew 5:6,
“6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied,” Matthew 5:6
has now been satisfied in what the Spirit calls His New and better Covenant, in which, according to 2 Corinthians 5:5-10,
“5 ... God 6 who also made us adequate as servants of a New Covenant, not of the letter [of the Old Covenant Mosaic Law] but of the Spirit; for the letter [of the Old Covenant Mosaic Law] kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7 But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones,
@5 The Ten Commandments engraved on stone is a ministry of _______________. 2 Corinthians 5:5-10
[The Ten Commandments is the covenant engraved on stones. The Ten Commandments is the ministry of death. It kills. Though the Old Covenant Law was spiritual (Romans 7:14) it was not a ministry of the Spirit. The New Covenant is the ministry of the life giving Spirit. Paul goes on. If the Ten Commandments Covenant on the stone tablets]
came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit
[which is the ministry of the New Covenant in Christ]
fail to be even more with glory? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation [which is Old Covenant Law] has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness
[There it is. That is what those Israelites who hungered and thirsted for righteousness finally got in Christ who fulfilled the law requirement of divine righteousness for them in His great covenant making work. This is what we get too in our spiritual salvation in Him. There is no more ministry of condemnation. It’s gone. The ministry of righteousness is the New Covenant through the person of the Holy Spirit. And Paul goes on. He says that much more does the ministry of righteousness]
abound in glory. 10 For indeed what had glory,
[which was the Old Covenant Ten Commandments engraved on stone]
in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it.” 2 Corinthians 5:5-10
This is the only “ism” we need to be embracing in respect to the jurisdiction of the Mosaic Law. After Paul was inducted into ministry, the resurrected Lord ordained for him to preach these facts. In Paul’s first recorded sermon at Pisidian, Antioch in Acts 13:38-39, he said,
"38 Therefore let it be known to you, [Israelite] brothers, that through Him [the crucified and resurrected Messiah] forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the [Old Covenant] Law of Moses." Acts 13:38-39
Freedom was the urgent message. This particular freedom is reflective of Romans 6:7 where Paul said that “He who has died is freed from sin.” The Greek sense of this Greek word that Luke records Paul using in his sermon in Acts 13:38-39, has the sense of being freed in absolving justification (see BDAG 249). Faith for freedom is what it means to be the righteousness of God in Christ. Paul repeated the message in Romans 8,
“2 For the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the Law of sin and of death. 3 For what the [Mosaic] Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the [Old Covenant] Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:2-4
But there is more to consider about this freedom. The weight of these facts is more pronounced when we recognize that to be of the works of the Old Covenant Law is to be under a curse. This is what Paul explains in Galatians 3,
“10 For as many as are of the works of the [Mosaic] Law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, to perform them.’ [Paul means all things in the 600 plus law statutes. Paul goes on,] 11 Now that no one is declared righteous [made righteous unto God, justified, righteousified] by the [Mosaic] Law before God is evident; for, ‘The righteous man shall live by faith.’ 12 However, the [Mosaic] Law is not of faith; on the contrary, ‘He who practices them shall live by them.’ 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the [Mosaic] Law, having become a curse for us--” Galatians 3:10-13
@6 As many as are of the works of the Old Covenant Law are under a _____________. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Mosaic Law having become a curse for us. Galatians 3:10-13
This is how stark the freedom-contrast to the bondage actually is. Those who are of the works of the Law are always trying to live up to its standards. And yet, as they do, sin increases. They are under a curse. You don't want to be there in the curse of the Law of the Old Covenant; and in Christ and His New Covenant, you are not there. Why? Because all was accomplished for you, and is accomplished in you where the Spirit dwells. We are now in a new and better eternal covenant that is of faith, and real righteousness, and real blessing. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way in chapter 7,
“18 For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness, 19 because the [Old Covenant Mosaic] Law made nothing perfect, [But Jesus knew that we need to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect to enter His Kingdom forever in Matthew 5:48] and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. ... 22 so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. ... 28 For the [Old Covenant Mosaic] Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the [Old Covenant Mosaic] Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever. ...
[Jesus is that Son Who is perfect as His heavenly Father. His perfection as the great High Priest Who is 100 percent God and 100 percent man goes on forever.]
8:6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. 8 For he finds fault with them when he says: [Quoting Jeremiah 31:27-34] ‘Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws
[A prophecy of the commandments of Christ’s Royal Law of Love of His New Covenant Kingdom reign which is “the Law of God” of 1 Corinthians 9:21. It is the highest Law (ie. supernomos)]
into their minds,
[“minds” is not in the Masoretic text. It is in the Septuagint of which the writer of Hebrews is quoting (see footnote 2 below)]
and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
[The writer of Hebrews is quoting the Greek Septuagint which has laws plural written on hearts instead of Law singular as the Masoretic text puts it (see footnote 2 below)]
11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. 13 When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.” Hebrews 7-8
In the New and better covenant, God is merciful toward the iniquities of His people. He no longer remembers their sins. The point is that the Old Covenant Mosaic Law is obsolete. It is obsolete, which means it is not everlasting. Christ and His covenant, on the other hand, is everlasting,
“Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant, even Jesus our Lord,” Hebrews 13:20 (cf. the messianic prophecy in Isaiah 55:3-4, “everlasting covenant” with Isaiah 42:6, Isaiah 49:6-8)
@7 The true ________________ covenant was made in Christ’s blood who resurrected as the great Shepherd of the sheep. Hebrews 13:20
This covenant will never be abolished. In it, we have everlasting life in Christ.
Let’s recap what all we covered. We are learning how to understand the Law of God in the New Covenant. This is part 1 of a four part series originating out of 1 Corinthians 9:20-21. We have seen that Christians are not under the Old Covenant Law that was given to Moses at Mount Sinai. We are in the New Covenant given on the cross on Mount Golgotha. It is the everlasting covenant. There are various theological theories which have developed in the church of the New Covenant since its institution in the first century. Some of them do not have a proper recognition of the replacement of the Old Covenant Mosaic Law with the New Covenant and the great Law of Christ. Most of those systems do not recognize that the Ten Commandments engraved on stone were the Old Covenant representing the whole. We recognize that the ten commandments is the Old Covenant from Exodus 34:27-28, Deuteronomy 4:13, Numbers 10:33, Numbers 14:44, and so forth. We also saw that the Old Covenant Mosaic Law is not divided up into artificial categories. It is defined as being God’s statutes, and ordinances which were all His commandments of His covenant, Leviticus 26:15. We covered the fact that Christ’s apostles clearly taught that Christians are not in the jurisdiction of the Old Covenant Law of Moses. We saw this from out text under study, and from passages all throughout the New Testament. Even trying to artificially divide the Old Covenant into Moral Law, Civil Law (judicial), and Ceremonial Law, to try and bring us under some aspect of it is specious. It is a man-made systemization that is not taught by Christ or the apostles. We saw that all God’s righteous statutes and judgements are moral, Deuteronomy 4:1-8 4:23. We saw that what is called “the sermon on the mount” was a teaching explanation to Christ’s students on
/a/
how to act when following Him to advance the mission of His Messianic Kingdom. They needed to reflect the righteous standards of the Old Covenant Mosaic Law because that was the covenant they were under. Their keeping of the Law would be part of their witness. We saw that what is called the “the sermon on the mount” was also an explanation to Christ’s students on
/b/
how righteous and perfect people must be to attain the high standard of righteousness that God demands. Jesus made it clear that the demands were even higher than what the Mosaic Law outlined. They must surpass the Law based righteousness of the Pharisees. They must be as perfect as God is perfect. We saw that this meant that to be angry with someone is enough to find guilt as a murderer. Calling someone a fool is unrighteous enough to perish. To lust after someone sexually (other than your spouse) is guilt of the sin of adultery in your mind. We saw that nobody can be righteous enough, nor perfect enough to save themselves. We are all sinners in Adam. But further, the power of sin was inherent in the Old Covenant Mosaic Law according to 1 Corinthians 15:56. We saw that Christ said that he came to fulfill the Old Covenant Mosaic Law in every dot and tittle. Then Jesus gave the prophetic hope. He explained that before heaven and earth would pass away, all would be accomplished in Him as the great Law fulfiller. It was accomplished on the cross when He said “it is finished.” The New Covenant was established in His blood. All who embrace Christ, His sacrificial work, and His resurrection from the dead, are declared righteous, and have been perfected for all time according to Hebrews 10:14. This was Paul’s point about our necessity to be “in Him” in 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 10:14, Philippians 3:15. We saw Romans 10:4; Christ is the end of the Old Covenant Mosaic Law for righteousness to everyone who believes. We saw Ephesians 2:13-18 and Colossians 2:13-15, Christ abolished in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances in Himself. The Old Covenant existed until its abolishment occurred prophetically in the fulfillment--all before the passing of heaven and earth. Christ reconciled both Jews and Gentiles in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity of the Law. Through Him people from all ethnic groups have access in one Spirit to the Father. While sinners are dead in their trespasses, God makes them alive together with Christ by grace through faith. He forgives them all their trespasses having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against them, which was hostile to them; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. We remember Romans 7:4-6; All who were under the Old Law who embrace Christ by grace though faith were made to die it through the body of Christ, so that they might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order to bear fruit for God. We remember the reason; Because while they were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the old Covenant Mosaic Law, were at work in the members of their body to bear fruit for death. But now they have been released from the Mosaic Law, having died to that by which they were once bound, so that they serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. We saw from Galatians that those under the works of the Law are under a curse. But we also saw that Christ is the promised seed that completely delivered Old Covenant people from that curse. The Old is gone. We now have a New, better, and everlasting covenant, in which God is always merciful toward the iniquities of His people. He no longer remembers our sins, Hebrews 7-8, Hebrews 13:20 In it, every single one of us are like Paul,
“not being [ourselves] under the [Old Covenant Mosaic] Law, ... as without [Old Covenant Mosaic] Law, though not being without the Law of God [of the New Covenant] but under the Law of Christ [which is the Law of God of the New Covenant that Christians are in jurisdiction],” Amen
Next week I hope to continue this series with going over some more important Biblical insights on how to understand the Law of God in the New Covenant. Part 2 will be on Recognizing Some Purposes For The Old Covenant Law. Part 3 will be about the fact that Christians Are In The Law Of God Which is No Longer The Old Covenant Law But Is Now The Law Of Christ. Then I hope to wrap up with Part 4, on Understanding Esoteric Law and Commandment References in the New Testament. Let’s pray.
Footnotes:
(1) AW Pink was influenced by the theoretical system of Covenant Theology. Therefor he held to the specious view that the Mosaic Law was subdivided into three. But on the matter of strict exegesis in respect to the use of “or” at Matthew 5:17-18, his observations are sound. Pink wrote,
“We must next duly note that Christ did not here speak of ‘the law and the prophets,’ but ‘the law, or the prophets,’ a distinction we are required to weigh and understand, for it presents quite a different concept. The Law and the prophets are not here associated in such a way as to comprise a unity, or as indicating the spirit of the Law by another word. No, the two terms are here put together by the disjunctive particle ‘or,’ and therefore each of them must represent a distinct idea familiar to the Jews. Christ was here referring to the prophets not so much as the commentators upon the Law, but as those who had fore-announced His person, mission, and kingdom. His obvious design, then, was to intimate that the Old Testament in all its parts and elements—ethical or predicative—referred to Himself and was accomplished in Himself. It is also to be observed that no further reference is made to the prophets throughout this Sermon (let those who have such a penchant for prophecy take due note!), and that from verse 18 onwards it is the Law which Christ treats of. Before proceeding farther we must next inquire, Exactly what did Christ here signify by "the law"? We answer, unhesitatingly, The whole Jewish Law, ...” AW Pink The sermon series link, if still active can be found here
http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Sermon/sermon_06.htm
(2) Septuagint quote,
"33 because this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, quoth the Lord. Giving I will give my laws in their mind, and I will write them on their hearts, and I will become a god to them, and they shall become a people to me." Ieremias 38:33 LXX (which is Jeremiah 31:33 Masoretic) [The New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS) Ieremias based on Joseph Ziegler crit. edit.: tr. Albert Pietersma and Marc Saunders]
Kid’s questions:
@1 The Ten Commandments engraved on stone were an actual _________________ that God made with Israelites on Mount Sinai. Exodus 34:27-28, Deuteronomy 4:13
@2 Whoever keeps the whole Mosaic Law and yet stumbles in ___________ point, he has become guilty of all. James 2:9
@3 As to the righteousness in the Old Covenant Law, its blamelessness may have been gain under that covenant, but in respect to the Christ covenant, it is loss. Relevant righteousness is _____________ God, through ___________ in Christ. Philippians 3:4-9
@ 4 Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who ________________. Romans 10:4
@5 The Ten Commandments engraved on stone is a ministry of _______________. 2 Corinthians 5:5-10
@6 As many as are of the works of the Old Covenant Law are under a _____________. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Mosaic Law having become a curse for us. Galatians 3:10-13
@7 The true ________________ covenant was made in Christ’s blood who resurrected as the great Shepherd of the sheep. Hebrews 13:20
