August 17, 2025

Christ Keeping, Fulfilling, and Completing the Law (2)

Words of Ministry

[Part 2 of 2] Jesus, the new King, did not come to abolish the law of Moses. Rather, He came to uplift the standard of the old law. Take the example of murder. The old law commanded us not to murder (Exo. 20:13), but it did not say a word about anger. If you killed someone, you would be condemned by the law of Moses. But no matter how angry you were with someone, as long as you did not murder, you would not be condemned by Moses' law. Here we see the shortage, the incompleteness, of the old law. However, the requirement of the law of the kingdom of the heavens is much higher than that of the law of Moses. According to the law of the kingdom of the heavens, we are forbidden to be angry with our brothers. In Matthew 5 verses 21 and 22 the Lord said, "You have heard that it was said to the ancients, You shall not murder, and whoever murders shall be liable to the judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to the judgment." Hence, the law of the kingdom of the heavens is higher than the law of the old dispensation. Another illustration of this is the law concerning adultery. The old law forbade the committing of adultery, but the new law forbids looking at a woman to lust after her (Matt. 5:27- 28). Thus, the basic principle of the law of the kingdom of the heavens is that it is higher than the old law. We do not annul the old law; we complement it to make it higher. For this reason, the Lord Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.