(Matthew 5:17 ESV)
In the
above verse Jesus contrasts the words “abolish” and “fulfill.” What did He
mean? Too many people think “fulfill” means the same as “abolish.” They actually think He came to abrogate the
Law and the Prophets. To show what He really meant let’s look at some of the laws
He did not abolish but fulfilled.
Circumcision is not abolished. It is
fulfilled in baptism according to Colossians 2:11-12. “In him also you were
circumcised… in baptism…” Since Christ
kept the law by being circumcised, those who are baptized into His body are,
too.
New Moon Sabbaths
The Feast of Passover is not abolished.
It is fulfilled in The Lord’s Supper. The Lamb of God fulfills the Passover
lamb.
The Feast of Pentecost is not
abolished. The feast that celebrated the giving of the Law on Sinai is
fulfilled by the giving of the Law in the heart by the Holy Spirit.
The Feast of Tabernacles is not abolished. It is fulfilled in the Great
Commission throughout history.
Unclean foods are made clean in the
conversion of Gentiles. “What God has cleansed you must not call common” (Acts 10:15).
“Therefore let no one pass judgment on
you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon
or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance
belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17 ESV).
The High Priest is not
abolished but is fulfilled in Christ our High Priest who makes intercession for
us.
The Temple is not abolished, but is
fulfilled as the living stones of the church.
Israel is fulfilled
as the church, the “Israel of God” (Gal 6:16). “And so all Israel shall be
saved” (Romans 11:26).
Jerusalem is fulfilled in the New
Jerusalem and Mt. Zion. “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels…” (Heb
12:22).
The Promised Land is not
abolished, but is fulfilled by making Abraham’s children heirs of the whole
world and not just that small piece of real estate. Paul understood this when
he said, “the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the
world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith” (Romans
4:13 ESV). Nowhere does the Old Testament say that Abraham’s heirs would
inherit the world, but Paul was able to read the Promised Land type.
The Ten Commandments are not
abolished, but are fulfilled by the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. By
being under grace instead of under law, the Holy Spirit enables believers to
keep them.
“For sin shall not have
dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14).
The Civil Laws are not abolished but
are to be fulfilled when civil governments obey the moral law of God. Armenia
was the first Christian nation state, then Rome, then Christendom.
Now we are living in a
time when Gog and Magog are coming against the Camp of the Saints. But God will
again rain down fire on them and the Little Stone of Daniel 2 will grow and
grow until it fills the whole earth. The meek shall inherit the earth before
Christ comes because “the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom”
(Daniel 7:22) when Christ ascended to the Ancient of Days.
Churchofthekingmcallen.com
http://ronsmithmission.blogspot.com/
