Session Two
By the Lord's fulfilling all things of the Law is meant, that He fulfilled all things of the Word
By the Lord's fulfilling all things of the Law is meant, that He fulfilled all things of the Word
The Christian Church, today, has fallen into a grave fallacy when they teach that a man's faith justifies him when he believes that the Lord has fulfilled all the commandments of the Ten Commandments for him. It was in the last study that it was learned that the Word consists and treats primarily of the Lord alone, that He is the Word itself (Note: the Word is being treated of in the doctrinal page). He is the Truth and Its affection, that is, the truth in act, or in Charity, and thus, He is Life. Here, when man says that his faith is a belief that the Lord fulfilled the Law by living the Ten Commandments he does not know what is meant by the word 'law', and thinks it only refers to the Ten Commandments. However, as today's text states, that in a wider sense and in its widest sense, the Law is the five books of Moses and is all things of the whole Word. Yet, this can be learned when the Word is searched.
However, when the Lord put on a human body and lived here on earth as a man (that is what becoming 'flesh' means) that life that is God's could enter man and dwell in man's inmost or soul. It could then flow from there into his spiritual and even into his natural state. Until the Lord was born as a man and had fulfilled those things that are written about Him the evils that had infested mankind could not be removed. For, it is only the Truth that is done 'as it were' and lived from an affection of the truth that can overcome the evils within us. These truths come from affection for Good and for Truth, that is, from the Lord who is Divine Love and Divine Wisdom. It is when they are done or acted upon in that the Lord, who became the Truth incarnate, that is, Who fulfilled the Law, that truth and good could enter and become a man's new life, and he becomes born again, as it were.
If we examine some of the passages that clearly express that the Law is not just the Ten Commandments, but is the whole Sacred Scriptures, we come to understand why it is meant that the Lord fulfilled all things written about Him in the Law. We take for granted that the Ten Commandments are meant the Law, but that the five books of Moses and the Prophets are also and, we say these were meant for Israelitish people and not for us today's Christian
9. 2. BY THE LAW, IN A WIDER SENSE, ARE MEANT ALL THINGS THAT WERE WRITTEN BY MOSES IN HIS FIVE BOOKS. This is evident from the following passages:
In Luke:
Abraham said to the rich man in hell, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them . . . If they hear not Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead. Luke xvi 29, 31."
When the Lord spoke the parable about Abraham and the rich man in the next world, He teaches that if the man who is rich in this world with worldly things, but not rich with truths and good that are taught in the five books of Moses and in the Prophets, he would not be changed, even, if someone had arose from the dead and had told him these truths, that is, the law itself. You can see here that Abraham did not say they have the Ten Commandments, let them hear them. But, note also that it was not said to just have faith and that the Lord will fulfill the Law for you. Therefore, a Christian should know that the Lord came to make a 'way' that he may come into Heaven, that is, into heavenly life.
"In Luke:
Philip said to Nathaniel, We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets, did write. John i 45."
That the Word is the Lord can be seen when Philip said to Nathaniel that we (they) had found Him, that is, the Truth that Moses and the Prophets wrote about. It is then that the Lord became manifest to them. Still, the Lord did not say to them, only believe on me and you will have salvation; He taught them to love the neighbor as themselves and to do the works taught by the Law, that is, the Word. You can understand that the written Word of God was no longer just to be in their memories, but It was now manifested before them as Very Man Himself. They had truly 'found' Him and, as such, He could become a part of their life and not just thoughts in their memory?
"In Matthew:
Think not that I am come to destroy the Law and the Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. Matthew v 17, 18."
Now, let us hear what the Lord himself says about the Law. He says that He came to fulfill and not to destroy the Law. If He were to destroy the Law, then there would be no law, but chaos. No law means no truth and therefore, no justice. And, we must know that truth leads to freedom from death. Therefore, truth leads to 'life' when it is followed, that is, when believed and lived. The fulfilling of the Law by the Lord makes it possible for a man to receive God's love and His wisdom within him and therefore he receives the Lord's good and His truth and, so, true life - everlasting life.
"In the same:
All the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. Matthew xi 13.
In Luke:
The Law and the Prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached. Luke xvi 16."
Before the Lord came on earth the written word could only prophesize of His Coming and of what was to come to pass. However, when that time came and the Lord came and all what was told and taught before was fulfilled, that is, all what was told by the Prophets in the Word about the Lord became a reality. Since then, the Kingdom of God has been preached, that is, taught. Since it is God's Kingdom, then it is He who has come to reign in His Kingdom. Thus, one sees that as man receives the truths and lives according to them, the Lord begins to reign within man in his inmost, in his soul, and becomes in him a new life, and is called 'born again', though this time spiritually.
Now, how is it that the Lord lives within man? We have said it is in the truths that one does, that is, in the doing good or charity, for the Lord is not in any evil, which is from man. One can understand, here, that his salvation is from the Lord, who is in the inmost. It is not from any faith that the Lord has lived according to the commandments in his stead that he is saved. The Lord lives within in the truths and in the goods that has entered into a man's internal or spiritual, that is, into his will and his understanding, which is his mind and not just into one's memory. We are talking here of spiritual things, that is, of truths and goods - the very essence that is God and that proceeds from God - that brings us true life.
"In Matthew:
All things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them: for this is the Law and the Prophets. Matthew vii 12."
Again, here is what is the Law. That good that we want others to do to us is the Lord within them and in us - this is the Law and the Lord. If we think that what we do from our self is good, then we do not have the genuine truth. O, it may be that we have the truth in our memory for having read the Word, but in that case, then, it is our own doing, not the Lord's, because we have appropriated the law or the Word for our own knowing, that we somehow might benefit. Such is not the true Law. Here, the Word says, that all things we want others to do to us, and not, all things others want to do to us. And, this is the Lord in us 'as it were' fulfilling the Law, that is, the Word in us.
"In the same:
Jesus said, Thou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul . . .And, Thou shall love your neighbor as your self. On these two commandments hang the Law and the Prophets. Matthew xxii 37, 39, 40."
In this verse one see that the Law is primarily the love of God and the love towards the neighbor. It is a law of the Lord's that we love Him and the neighbor, yet it is only through Him that the law is fulfilled. However, as we see here, we are to 'as if' of our self obey the law, that is, the Lord. It is only when our life is lived from Him, that His truth or the law is within us, not just in our memory only, although, with us that is where it first enters, but the law must enter into our affection, and therefore, into our will. Thus, it is that the law is fulfilled in us, yet, it is not fulfilled without the Lord, but with the Lord, who is then within us as our life.
We have now seen several verses that speaks of the Law, and it can be seen that it is not just the Ten Commandments that are meant which the Lord was to fulfilled, but all the things written both by Moses and the Prophets. In these books there are many things that do not pertain to us today that we need not do. Yet, the Lord has fulfilled them. Now, since the Word speaks principally about the Lord, then what has been revealed about Him to be true must be fulfilled, other wise it would be a lie and, therefore, not the Word or the Law, and, so, does not pertain to Him.
"In these places, By Moses and the Prophets, as also by the Law and the Prophets, are meant all things that were written in the Books of Moses and in those of the Prophets. That by the Law, specifically, are meant all things that were written through Moses, is still more evident from the following passages:
In Luke:
When the days of her purification according to the Law of Moses were accomplished, they brought Jesus to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord; (As it is written in the Law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice, according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, A pair of turtle doves and two young pigeons . . . And the parents brought Jesus into the temple, to do for Him after the custom of the Law . . . And when they had performed all things according to the Law of the Lord &…;.. Luke ii 22-24, 27, 39."
Here, what the Word, in its literal sense, reveals is concerning Jesus, who is the Son of God. We can see that He fulfilled the Law that was written by Moses, that is, in the books written by him. It should be pointed out that those of the Israelitish and Jewish Church were required to follow this law, but that it is not required of us today. Stop and think is there a reason why this is said of Jesus other than for its historical evidence? In other words, has this something to do with man's salvation? These words of course have a spiritual sense - an internal meaning. Until the Lord came the law had required sacrifices and these all represented something of mankind's regeneration. After the Lord came upon the earth, sacrifices were no longer required, for the Lord had fulfilled that law - the Law of the Lord. And yet, we are no different than the Israelitish people; we are in need of regeneration as they were. In other words, the Lord was to fulfill the entire law, not just the Ten Commandments, nor the various laws given to the Israelitish Church. Look at it this way. If man could not live according to the Ten Commandments, but if it was the Lord who was to do so in his place, than would the Lord not also need to fulfill the entire Law or Word, and so, wouldn't we also need to live according to such laws as the Israelites as well? The only way that that could be possible would be that the Lord, that is, that the truth and the good, be within us. However, we see that the Lord established the Christian Church in which the sacraments replaced the sacrifices required by the Israelites and Jews.
"In John:
Moses in the Law commanded that such should be stoned. John viii 17.
In the same:
The Law was given through Moses. John i 17.
Hence it is evident that sometimes the Law is named, and sometimes Moses, where such things are treated of as are written in his Books, as also in
Matthew viii 4; Mark x 2-4; xii 19; Luke xx 28, 37; John iii 14; vii 19, 51; viii 17; xix 7."
Let us learn more what the Lord fulfilling the Law means. First, it means not just the Ten Commandments, but the entire Word. Next, by the Lord fulfilling the Law, He was able to come and to live within us. He became Man God and God Man through putting on the human of mankind and making his Human Divine. As the Human Divine could come to live within us as our life, and does so, if we accept and admit Him in as our Savior. Yes, we are sinners. Yes, we have the tendency to sin, for that is our hereditary nature and, so; often we do sin, because the 'flesh' or the natural degree of our life is weak. Yet, the spirit is willing and when we can allow the Lord to reign within us, we can allow Him to live our life, even though we 'as if' live as of ourselves. The presence of the Lord with and in us is our regeneration and our salvation.
"Many things that were commanded are also called by Moses the Law, as in relation
to burnt-offerings, Leviticus 9; vii 37;
to sacrifices, Leviticus vi 25; vii 1-11;
to meat offerings, Leviticus vi 14;
to leprosy, Leviticus xiv 2;
to jealousy, Numbers v 29, 30;
to Naziriteship, Numbers vi 13, 21,
Moses himself called his Books, the Law:
And Moses wrote this Law, and delivered it unto the priests, the sons of Levi, who bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah. And, he said to them, Take the Book of this Law, and put it by the side on the ark of the covenant of Jehovah. Dueteronomy xxxi 9, 11, 26.
It was put by the side, because within the ark were the tablets of stone, which, in a strict sense, are the Law. The Books of Moses are afterwards called the Book of the Law:
And Hilkiah the High Priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the Book of the Law in the house of Jehovah.
When the king had heard the words of the Book of the Law, he rent his clothes.
2 Kings xxii 8, 11; xxii 24."
"By the Lord's fulfilling all things of the Law is meant, that He fulfilled all things of the Word"
- 8. "It is believed by many at this day that when it is said of the Lord that He fulfilled the Law, the meaning is, that He fulfilled all the commandments of the Decalogue, and thus became Righteousness; and that He also justified men in the world through faith in this achievement. Nevertheless, this is not what is meant; but the meaning is that He fulfilled all the things that are written concerning Him in the Law and the Prophets, that is, in the whole Sacred Scriptures; because this treats of Him alone, as was said in the previous chapter. The reason why many have entertained a different belief is, because they have not searched the Scripture and seen what is there meant by the Law. By the Law are there meant,
1. In a restricted sense, the Ten Commandments of the Decalogue;
2. In a wider sense, all things that were written by Moses in his five Books;
3. And in the widest sense, all things of the Word.
1. BY THE LAW, IN A RESTICTED SENSE, ARE MEANT THE TEN COMMANDMENTs OF THE DECALOGUE. This is generally known".
However, when the Lord put on a human body and lived here on earth as a man (that is what becoming 'flesh' means) that life that is God's could enter man and dwell in man's inmost or soul. It could then flow from there into his spiritual and even into his natural state. Until the Lord was born as a man and had fulfilled those things that are written about Him the evils that had infested mankind could not be removed. For, it is only the Truth that is done 'as it were' and lived from an affection of the truth that can overcome the evils within us. These truths come from affection for Good and for Truth, that is, from the Lord who is Divine Love and Divine Wisdom. It is when they are done or acted upon in that the Lord, who became the Truth incarnate, that is, Who fulfilled the Law, that truth and good could enter and become a man's new life, and he becomes born again, as it were.
If we examine some of the passages that clearly express that the Law is not just the Ten Commandments, but is the whole Sacred Scriptures, we come to understand why it is meant that the Lord fulfilled all things written about Him in the Law. We take for granted that the Ten Commandments are meant the Law, but that the five books of Moses and the Prophets are also and, we say these were meant for Israelitish people and not for us today's Christian
9. 2. BY THE LAW, IN A WIDER SENSE, ARE MEANT ALL THINGS THAT WERE WRITTEN BY MOSES IN HIS FIVE BOOKS. This is evident from the following passages:
In Luke:
Abraham said to the rich man in hell, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them . . . If they hear not Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead. Luke xvi 29, 31."
When the Lord spoke the parable about Abraham and the rich man in the next world, He teaches that if the man who is rich in this world with worldly things, but not rich with truths and good that are taught in the five books of Moses and in the Prophets, he would not be changed, even, if someone had arose from the dead and had told him these truths, that is, the law itself. You can see here that Abraham did not say they have the Ten Commandments, let them hear them. But, note also that it was not said to just have faith and that the Lord will fulfill the Law for you. Therefore, a Christian should know that the Lord came to make a 'way' that he may come into Heaven, that is, into heavenly life.
"In Luke:
Philip said to Nathaniel, We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets, did write. John i 45."
That the Word is the Lord can be seen when Philip said to Nathaniel that we (they) had found Him, that is, the Truth that Moses and the Prophets wrote about. It is then that the Lord became manifest to them. Still, the Lord did not say to them, only believe on me and you will have salvation; He taught them to love the neighbor as themselves and to do the works taught by the Law, that is, the Word. You can understand that the written Word of God was no longer just to be in their memories, but It was now manifested before them as Very Man Himself. They had truly 'found' Him and, as such, He could become a part of their life and not just thoughts in their memory?
"In Matthew:
Think not that I am come to destroy the Law and the Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. Matthew v 17, 18."
Now, let us hear what the Lord himself says about the Law. He says that He came to fulfill and not to destroy the Law. If He were to destroy the Law, then there would be no law, but chaos. No law means no truth and therefore, no justice. And, we must know that truth leads to freedom from death. Therefore, truth leads to 'life' when it is followed, that is, when believed and lived. The fulfilling of the Law by the Lord makes it possible for a man to receive God's love and His wisdom within him and therefore he receives the Lord's good and His truth and, so, true life - everlasting life.
"In the same:
All the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. Matthew xi 13.
In Luke:
The Law and the Prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached. Luke xvi 16."
Before the Lord came on earth the written word could only prophesize of His Coming and of what was to come to pass. However, when that time came and the Lord came and all what was told and taught before was fulfilled, that is, all what was told by the Prophets in the Word about the Lord became a reality. Since then, the Kingdom of God has been preached, that is, taught. Since it is God's Kingdom, then it is He who has come to reign in His Kingdom. Thus, one sees that as man receives the truths and lives according to them, the Lord begins to reign within man in his inmost, in his soul, and becomes in him a new life, and is called 'born again', though this time spiritually.
Now, how is it that the Lord lives within man? We have said it is in the truths that one does, that is, in the doing good or charity, for the Lord is not in any evil, which is from man. One can understand, here, that his salvation is from the Lord, who is in the inmost. It is not from any faith that the Lord has lived according to the commandments in his stead that he is saved. The Lord lives within in the truths and in the goods that has entered into a man's internal or spiritual, that is, into his will and his understanding, which is his mind and not just into one's memory. We are talking here of spiritual things, that is, of truths and goods - the very essence that is God and that proceeds from God - that brings us true life.
"In Matthew:
All things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them: for this is the Law and the Prophets. Matthew vii 12."
Again, here is what is the Law. That good that we want others to do to us is the Lord within them and in us - this is the Law and the Lord. If we think that what we do from our self is good, then we do not have the genuine truth. O, it may be that we have the truth in our memory for having read the Word, but in that case, then, it is our own doing, not the Lord's, because we have appropriated the law or the Word for our own knowing, that we somehow might benefit. Such is not the true Law. Here, the Word says, that all things we want others to do to us, and not, all things others want to do to us. And, this is the Lord in us 'as it were' fulfilling the Law, that is, the Word in us.
"In the same:
Jesus said, Thou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul . . .And, Thou shall love your neighbor as your self. On these two commandments hang the Law and the Prophets. Matthew xxii 37, 39, 40."
In this verse one see that the Law is primarily the love of God and the love towards the neighbor. It is a law of the Lord's that we love Him and the neighbor, yet it is only through Him that the law is fulfilled. However, as we see here, we are to 'as if' of our self obey the law, that is, the Lord. It is only when our life is lived from Him, that His truth or the law is within us, not just in our memory only, although, with us that is where it first enters, but the law must enter into our affection, and therefore, into our will. Thus, it is that the law is fulfilled in us, yet, it is not fulfilled without the Lord, but with the Lord, who is then within us as our life.
We have now seen several verses that speaks of the Law, and it can be seen that it is not just the Ten Commandments that are meant which the Lord was to fulfilled, but all the things written both by Moses and the Prophets. In these books there are many things that do not pertain to us today that we need not do. Yet, the Lord has fulfilled them. Now, since the Word speaks principally about the Lord, then what has been revealed about Him to be true must be fulfilled, other wise it would be a lie and, therefore, not the Word or the Law, and, so, does not pertain to Him.
"In these places, By Moses and the Prophets, as also by the Law and the Prophets, are meant all things that were written in the Books of Moses and in those of the Prophets. That by the Law, specifically, are meant all things that were written through Moses, is still more evident from the following passages:
In Luke:
When the days of her purification according to the Law of Moses were accomplished, they brought Jesus to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord; (As it is written in the Law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice, according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, A pair of turtle doves and two young pigeons . . . And the parents brought Jesus into the temple, to do for Him after the custom of the Law . . . And when they had performed all things according to the Law of the Lord &…;.. Luke ii 22-24, 27, 39."
Here, what the Word, in its literal sense, reveals is concerning Jesus, who is the Son of God. We can see that He fulfilled the Law that was written by Moses, that is, in the books written by him. It should be pointed out that those of the Israelitish and Jewish Church were required to follow this law, but that it is not required of us today. Stop and think is there a reason why this is said of Jesus other than for its historical evidence? In other words, has this something to do with man's salvation? These words of course have a spiritual sense - an internal meaning. Until the Lord came the law had required sacrifices and these all represented something of mankind's regeneration. After the Lord came upon the earth, sacrifices were no longer required, for the Lord had fulfilled that law - the Law of the Lord. And yet, we are no different than the Israelitish people; we are in need of regeneration as they were. In other words, the Lord was to fulfill the entire law, not just the Ten Commandments, nor the various laws given to the Israelitish Church. Look at it this way. If man could not live according to the Ten Commandments, but if it was the Lord who was to do so in his place, than would the Lord not also need to fulfill the entire Law or Word, and so, wouldn't we also need to live according to such laws as the Israelites as well? The only way that that could be possible would be that the Lord, that is, that the truth and the good, be within us. However, we see that the Lord established the Christian Church in which the sacraments replaced the sacrifices required by the Israelites and Jews.
"In John:
Moses in the Law commanded that such should be stoned. John viii 17.
In the same:
The Law was given through Moses. John i 17.
Hence it is evident that sometimes the Law is named, and sometimes Moses, where such things are treated of as are written in his Books, as also in
Matthew viii 4; Mark x 2-4; xii 19; Luke xx 28, 37; John iii 14; vii 19, 51; viii 17; xix 7."
Let us learn more what the Lord fulfilling the Law means. First, it means not just the Ten Commandments, but the entire Word. Next, by the Lord fulfilling the Law, He was able to come and to live within us. He became Man God and God Man through putting on the human of mankind and making his Human Divine. As the Human Divine could come to live within us as our life, and does so, if we accept and admit Him in as our Savior. Yes, we are sinners. Yes, we have the tendency to sin, for that is our hereditary nature and, so; often we do sin, because the 'flesh' or the natural degree of our life is weak. Yet, the spirit is willing and when we can allow the Lord to reign within us, we can allow Him to live our life, even though we 'as if' live as of ourselves. The presence of the Lord with and in us is our regeneration and our salvation.
"Many things that were commanded are also called by Moses the Law, as in relation
to burnt-offerings, Leviticus 9; vii 37;
to sacrifices, Leviticus vi 25; vii 1-11;
to meat offerings, Leviticus vi 14;
to leprosy, Leviticus xiv 2;
to jealousy, Numbers v 29, 30;
to Naziriteship, Numbers vi 13, 21,
Moses himself called his Books, the Law:
And Moses wrote this Law, and delivered it unto the priests, the sons of Levi, who bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah. And, he said to them, Take the Book of this Law, and put it by the side on the ark of the covenant of Jehovah. Dueteronomy xxxi 9, 11, 26.
It was put by the side, because within the ark were the tablets of stone, which, in a strict sense, are the Law. The Books of Moses are afterwards called the Book of the Law:
And Hilkiah the High Priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the Book of the Law in the house of Jehovah.
When the king had heard the words of the Book of the Law, he rent his clothes.
2 Kings xxii 8, 11; xxii 24."
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