Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Romans 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
3:29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
MEMORY VERSE: Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. —Romans 13:10
CENTRAL THOUGHT: In Christ Jesus, only and through His grace, can the laws of God be truly fulfilled and obeyed.
WORD DEFINITIONS
Matthew 5:18 “Jot or tittle”: In the Greek text it says one iota (letter “i”) or fine point. “Fulfilled”: to make complete, finish, or satisfy; What the grace of God accomplishes in the soul of man fills up and satisfies what the law was really requiring.
LESSON BACKGROUND
We have already learned that the laws of God as they were given on Mount Sinai were not sufficient to justify or bring righteousness to men. The law had its purpose and value, but it was not the answer to man’s need. Our lesson today deals with the truth of the law being fulfilled through Christ and the grace that is found in Him for the soul of man.
The Scriptures are very plain. To follow Christ, to be a partaker of His power, grace, and resurrected life, and to obey His blessed commandments frees us from the obligations of keeping the law as it was in Moses’ time. This covers many phases of thought. The law was a shadow, and a shadow is not the object. The real object was Christ; a shadow of His grace and salvation was cast in the law. Paul counseled in Colossians 2:16-17, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [the object of the shadow, or the substance] is of Christ.” Jesus spoke of all the law and prophets hanging on love—love supreme for God and love for man. No love was begotten in the heart by the righteousness of the law, but in Christ, the love and appreciation we have for Him and what He did for us constrains us to willingly obey His blessed voice.
Knowing Christ in the Spirit lifts us to a plane higher than the flesh. We walk not after the flesh but after the spirit; thus the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us; thus the law is established. The holy experience of being justified and born again in Christ prepares us for the laws of God to be established in our hearts. The law is fulfilled in our lives because of His grace and love and not of our own human effort.
—Bro. Leslie Busbee
QUESTIONS:
- What did Jesus come to do with the law?
- On what two commandments do the law and the prophets hang?
- What is the fulfilling of the law?
- In whom is the righteousness of the law fulfilled?
- How is the law established?
COMMENTS AND APPLICATION
What a blessed truth for us to grasp and embrace today! Christ has fulfilled the law and by His grace we can walk in the way that will satisfy every demand that the law placed upon humanity. Mankind needed a Savior, not only to save him from the awfulness of his sins, but to generate and produce righteousness to be brought forth in His life.
The right ways of the Lord and the standard of His holiness are the fruits of the New Testament Christian. The pattern that Christ laid out for us to follow through the inspirations, anointing, and guidance of the Holy Spirit satisfies the great demands and spiritual essence of the law. We do not have to keep the law any more because the real essence and vital life of the law are carried out in the fruit of our lives as Christians. It is not that we ignore the law and its precepts or seek to discredit it in any way; rather we sense our inability to do so. God wanted His law fulfilled, but realized that man could not fulfill His law on his own. Man needed a helper and a Savior. Thus Jesus came into the world, setting forth the pattern of godliness and righteousness for us all to follow. His work was finished on Calvary, the law was satisfied, justice had been meted out on Calvary, and now by the grace of God we can live that spiritual, holy life with which God is well pleased. Instead of working and trying to win God’s praise and favor, we become His workmanship, being created in Christ Jesus unto good works, in which God has planned that we walk. The boasting is excluded, and we only acknowledge the grace of God for every Christian virtue seen in our lives.
We are won to love Christ supremely, and this love for Christ gives us love for our fellow man—a love that looks more on the welfare and benefit of others than our own. The law is established, satisfied, fulfilled, met with all requirements, and fully blessed of God in the soul of man. Praise the Lord for His marvelous grace and the New Testament given to us in Christ!
—Bro. Leslie Busbee
REFLECTIONS
The word fulfill or fulfilled has appeared at least six times in our lesson. It means to fill up, complete, be made full, perfect, supply, accomplish. Jesus Christ came to this earth just for that purpose: completing the plan of salvation was the mission he came to do. In Hebrews 10:7-9, Jesus says he came to do God’s will. “Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.”
Just one sacrifice forever did this man offer for mankind’s sins, then He sat down on the right hand of God. To “sit down” here means to finish. Christ did His Father’s will; He completed His mission and now sits on the right hand of the Father interceding for us. His Father’s will was completed. What was lacking in the Mosaic Law was now fulfilled in Christ coming to earth. We do not reject the law but rather gladly accept it as a schoolmaster that has brought us to Christ. There is now a complete and beautiful way made by God. The road is paved with the blood of Christ, the sacrificial lamb. It has a solid foundation built upon by the law and prophets. It is fully complete, there is nothing lacking. Thank God for this great salvation!
–Bro. James Bell
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