The Law Fulfilled (I)

And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:28-31 (KJV).

Read Exodus 20:1-17

The law of God is shunned if not just completely forgotten. Is it necessary to know God’s law, in particular the Ten Commandments? In our society it seems so. With a television series on called the DESPARATE HOUSEWIVES, promoting adultery, even though that seems to be prevalent throughout our society anyway; the law of God definitely needs to be promoted.

As I stated in an earlier post, Jesus shortened the Ten Commandments into two, as printed above. I want, in this post, to show how these two relate to the ten. I will begin with the first four of the Ten Commandments.

First of all Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart…”. The first of the Ten Commandments states, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Ex 20:3 (KJV). The heart is the seat of our emotions, and the place of our commitments. When you love the Lord with all your “Heart” there will be no other to take His place. Whole hearted devotion and commitment is what God desires of His worshippers.

Secondly, Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God… with all thy soul…”. The second commandment states, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” Ex 20:4-6 (KJV). In short that says, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.” Why does God make this command? There is only one image that can represent Him and that is the crown of His creation – living, breatheing, man; in particular the second Adam, God’s Son Jesus Christ. He is the exact representation of God (Heb. 1:1-3). To love God with all the “Soul” is to have only one image of Him in the person of Christ. Jesus is the only one who can fill that spot of the soul.

Thirdly, Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God… with all thy mind…”. The third commandment says, “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” Ex 20:7 (KJV). Is it not from the mind that we reason, and even speak. The words we speak will either build up or tear down. If the mind is not sound in God we will thus speak words that take His name in “Vain”. “Vain” according to Random House Dictionary means, “Without real value or worth”. God’s name is valuable and really worthwhile. Give your mind to Him, and speak of Him as He is worthy.

For the final one concerning our relationship with God, Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God… with all thy strength…”. The fourth commandment is, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Ex 20:8-11 (KJV). God gave the Sabbath day as a day of rest. A day for worshipping God and renewing one’s physical strength. It is so sad to see that there is no day that is holy, and set aside for God and His glory. There are some who say this day has been done away with. None of these laws have been done away. They were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Being fulfilled in Jesus only means that when we have faith in Him we now have these laws written on our hearts. We now have a longing hunger to do these things for pleasing and glorifying the name of God. Of course, our true Sabbath rest is in Christ. Being in these physical bodies, though we do need rest and that should be one day a week.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” JESUS

When we are right with God our relationship with our fellowman will also be right. The next six commandments concerning Jesus’s second will follow, and have to do with our relationship to our fellowman.

This law of Jesus, and these first four commandments are only fulfilled in the hearts of those whose hearts are perfect toward the Lord, and that is those who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. We are powerless to keep the Law. Apart from Jesus Christ the law condemns us.

-by Tim A. Blankenship