The Message of Love: Understanding Sin and the Law

But what is this Law? Is it the breaking of the Ten Commandments in an outward physical manner or is there more? Scriptures reveal where Christ amplified the law in the New Testament to show its spiritual intent. It also divulges that Satan and the angelic host broke the Law before mankind did. However, it was the act (or lack thereof) of the first Adam that required the life of the second Adam to redeem mankind. How did the act of the first Adam differ from that of Jesus Christ, the second Adam? All this is enveloped in the plan of salvation which was before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1: 20; Revelation 13:8) and, therefore, must have included sin. As a result, SIN, through the existence of the Law, has a beginning and we are assured by God, through Christ who kept the Law, that it will have an end. All have sinned (by breaking the law), Romans 3:23. Therefore, for anyone to understand sin and its relationship to the Law, he/she must start at the beginning, and since all things began with God and ultimately will end with Him (Genesis 1:1; Revelation 1:8; 21:6) let’s start there. The nature of sin cannot be fully understood if one does not know the truth about what it is, the root of its existence and how it came to be associated with the breaking of the law and also God’s purpose for its existence. There are various terms within the English language that are used to define Law. However, these like the Hebrew and Greek terms, give a very narrow understanding of the Biblical term. One must keep in mind that the word ‘law’ is used interchangeably in scriptures and is dependent upon the context for proper interpretation and understanding. There are basically three references in scripture relating to the law; ‘Law of God’, ‘Law of Moses’ and the ‘Law of Christ’. The “Law of God” expresses the mind of the Creator, and is binding upon all rational creatures’. It is God’s unchangeable standard and was impressed upon man from the beginning. ‘The “Law of Moses” is the entire system of legislation, judicial and ceremonial requirements which Jehovah gave to Israel during the time they were in the wilderness.’ An example of the Law of God and the Law of Moses is found in Nehemiah 8:1 where the term ‘Law of Moses’ is mentioned but at the same time referred to as ‘Law of God’ in verses 8 and 18 of the same text. Finally, The “Law of Christ” is God’s … Law, but in the hands of the Mediator. It is the Law which Christ Himself was “made under” (Gal. 4:4). It is the Law which was “in His heart” (Psa. 40:8). It is the Law which He came to “fulfill” (Matt. 5:17). The “Law of God” is now termed “the Law of Christ” as it relates to Christians. It is to be noted that Moses never wrote a single law and that all the laws of Moses were given by God hence they are the laws of God and Christ. Therefore, when the law is spoken of, it is speaking to the will and commands of Yahweh. Then again, the issue is not about the wrangling over words to create more confusion (2 Timothy 2:14); but is aimed at spiritually motivating the reader to seek God through His Spirit and reading of His Word and to live according to the law that is geared at saving humanity from destroying themselves. These truths are firmly established in His Word thus revealing what sin and the Law is. The Law in its fullest, most complete sense, according to Romans 7:14, “...is spiritual,” because the Law cannot be separated from its giver, who is by nature Spirit (John 4:24) and is God. The Lawgiver’s plan was to bring order to creation through His Spirit. Genesis 1:1-2 reads, ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.’ God, through His Spirit and by His very being, ordered the refashioning (Psalm 104:30) of the earth to operate by Law. This “Spirit of God” is the very essence by which the law operates; in that the law functions by Spirit – God’s Holy Spirit. It is not a third person of a triune God as currently taught by some - as an infinite God cannot be limited to numbers. Notice that God didn’t just speak, He acted; ‘the Spirit of God moved,’ - it is active. ‘“God in Genesis 1; is One who acts and speaks.” His reality is seen in his acts; he is not an entity who can be conceived of apart from his works.’ Also of note is that God did not just establish himself as Spirit but one with an image and likeness given to man (Genesis 1:26-28) – a person with a body and mind. This God created/brought forth the invisible (Hebrews 11:3) by the word of His mouth for a particular reason that has been confirmed as the love for humanity. Love is something that must be expressed. This was revealed by God creating mankind in His own image and likeness and later by the offering of His Son Jesus Christ at Calvary. Mankind is the reason the world exists; not ‘as an imitation of the divine image but to be the divine image’. God loves mankind as He loves himself. Thus, His command to ‘love thy neighbour as thyself’ (Matthew 5:43; 22:39; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14) and through this love deemed the world inhabitable for man because He (God) sees himself in man. Therefore, God is love (1 John 4: 8, 16). Love is the totality of who God and the law determine. Love is faith in action; the law by definition (James 2:8-24). It is in knowing who God is through the person of Jesus Christ that will help humanity bridge the gap created by the first Adam. But how does one get to know Him? The answer lies in time. It takes time to get to know someone and God is no exception. Mentioned earlier is that God would have revealed himself through the seed of the woman, the promised Messiah, at a point in time to redeem man. The time is none other than the seasons of the Messiah. These seasons are signs and signs are for unbelievers (1 Timothy 1: 8-9) and since all are unbelievers the feast ‘signs (miracles) provide confirmation of His credentials as the one foreshadowed in the symbolism of the feasts.’ God chose to set His calendar (Genesis 1:14) in motion so that He could know the season, day and very hour that the Son of God would be make known to mankind. Paul in Galatians 4: 4-5 noted: ‘But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons’. He was born in sin in order to show the love of God in rescuing captive humanity from the slavery of sin. Jesus Christ said in John 14 that he came to reveal the Father and those who believe in Jesus have belief in the Father also; showing the oneness of the Godhead. But how did Jesus Christ reveal the Father? It is in understanding this that one will come to know the true and living God who sanctifies because salvation is in the belief that Jesus Christ epitomize the true God of the universe. Hebrews 1:3 declares of the Son of God, Jesus Christ: ‘who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of his power’. If Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God the Father, let’s travel through time to see who He is.