Weekly Message: From the Mosaic Law to the Law of Spirit of Life through Christ Jesus By Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce

 Weekly Message: From the Mosaic Law to the Law of Spirit of Life through Christ Jesus

By Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce                                                                  Date: 5/11/2024

Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel music; Pastoral ministry & Counseling                                                                                                         

Ø  Reflection of spiritual retreat Gospel outreach  

Gospel outreach mission –Spiritual retreat went well, many customers said, “Thank you for doing this.” Some smiled at me while I was worshiping and praising the Lord.  The goal today, is to restore people’s faith in Christ, renew the spirit, pray and bless the land we stand, and draw the soul back to Jesus Christ our Lord.  I thank God for this opportunity that the owner and few employees of Mei-Supermarket are believers who accept Jesus as Savior and go to the church. They open the door for me to do Spiritual retreat. It takes courage to do the Gospel outreach to Asian Supermarket; for there are many customers who are unbelievers, such as Buddhism and Hinduism. After the sermon and worship service, a woman came to me to ask if Jesus is the only Messiah? She strongly opposes the theology that “believes in Jesus, confess your sin, your sin will be forgiven.” and “By grace you are saved, through faith in Christ Jesus”. She kept talking about “work and talk”.  I didn’t debate nor argue with her, for the Gospel is an invitation, it’s her free will to reject or accept Jesus’ invitation. It is the Holy Spirit to convict, convert, and convince people, not me. But I pray for her that God will open her heart and mind to salvation and Jesus may unveil the truth to her by the Holy Spirit. 

Ø  The argument from the Law –

Apostle Paul wrote letter to Galatians 3:10-4:11

 All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written:” Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because “The righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, the man who does these things will live by them. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the laws by becoming a curse for us, for it is written.” Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. …So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now the faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew, or Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir…”

The transition from Moses to Jesus does not mean that the just standards of the law have been abandoned; Jesus calls us to an even higher standard of righteousness than Moses. It simply means that through the gift of the Spirit the law of external rules and ordinances is being replaced by the writing of the law of the Spirit of Life in men’s hearts. This transition is for those who realize that through their conduct they were unable to establish their own righteousness under the law. We must recognize our need to receive the gift of forgiveness from all transgression along with a new heart of righteousness.

Ø  A new covenant declares the Lord

Jeremiah 31:31-34 indicate, “The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “When I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them.” declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declare the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor or a man his brother, saying “Know the Lord.” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” declares the Lord. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”  (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

Ø  Moses prophesied a prophet will raise up

Moses had prophesied: “That Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, for your own brothers. You must listen to him…I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I commend him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.” (Deut. 18:15,18-19)

Ø  Jesus’ transfiguration, Moses and Elijah witness Father’s voice “This is my Beloved Son”

And after six days, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. There He was transfigured before them; His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah, and Moses who were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”  Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. (Mark 9:2-8).

At the Mountain of Transfiguration, Jesus unveils to His disciples that He is not simply a great prophet on an equal footing with Moses and Elijah, but that He completes them and supersedes them. They brought the nation to the threshold of the Kingdom of God and He will take all who follow Him closely into that Kingdom. We are to move from obedience to the Law of Moses to obedience to the law of the Spirit of life, the Law of Christ.

God is calling the Jewish people from the protection of the Law of Moses to the protection of the Messiah and is calling all men into this Kingdom. Our new obedience now is not to Moses and Elijah but to the Messiah Jesus who will take us the rest of the way to the Father. Jew and Gentile access to the fullness of God’s blessings is now through the grace of God purchased by Messiah Jesus. By faith Abraham was blessed and by faith his offspring shall receive blessings. On the Mount of transfiguration, the voice of God is heard saying that Jesus is the prophet to whom they must listen and with this the Law and the prophets agree. “This is my Beloved Son…listen to Him.”

Ø  Apostle Paul’s defense, no one came to support

 When Apostle Paul fulfilled Jesus’ mission, he wrote a letter to Timothy and Titus “At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (2 Timothy 4:16-18). He urged Titus, “Avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.” (Titus 3:9-11). Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant not of the letter but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Corinthians 3:5-6). Jesus said, “The Spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. (John 6:63).

Ø         Jesus is the door (John10:1-9)

Truly, truly, I say to you, He who does not enter through the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up from somewhere else, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him to doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice. And he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will be no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers. (John1-5)

This parable Jesus spoke to them, but they didn’t know what those things meant that He spoke to them. Jesus therefore said to them again, Truly, truly, I say to you that I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t hear them. I am the door if anyone enters through Me he shall be saved and shall go in and go out and shall find pasture. (John10:6-10)  

 The sheepfold signifies the law, or Judaism as the religion of the law, in which God’s chosen people were kept and guarded in custody until Christ came. Thieves and robbers signify those who came into Judaism, but not through Christ. Christ is the door not only for God’s elect to enter into the custody of the law, as did Moses, David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah in the Old Testament time, before Christ came, but also for God’s chosen people, such as Peter, John James, and Paul, to come out of the fold of the law now that Christ has come.

 Thus the Lord indicated here that He is the door not only through which God’s elect may go in but also through which God’s chosen people may go out. The pasture here signifies Christ as the feeding place for the sheep. When the pasture is not available (e.g., in the wintertime or at night), the sheep must be kept in the fold. When the pasture is ready, there is no further need for the sheep to remain in the fold. To be kept in the fold is transitional and temporary. To be in the pasture enjoying its riches is final and permanent.

Before Christ came, the law was a ward, and being under the law was transitional. Now that Christ has come, all God’s chosen people must come out of the law and come into Him to enjoy Him as their pasture (Gal.3:23-25;4:3-5). This should be final and permanent. Because they did not have such a revelation, the leaders in Judaism considered the law, on which Judaism was based, as permanent. As a result, they missed Christ and could not participate in Him as their pasture.

  Bibliography,

Bauer, Walter. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3^rd Chicago: The University of Chicago press, 2000.

Brown, Robert, Philip W. Comfort and J.D. Douglas, ed. The New Greek English Interlinear New Testament. Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.1990.

Friberg, Timothy, Barbara Friberg, and Neva F. Miller et al., eds. Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament.1^st ed. Victoria BC: Trafford Publishing, 2005.

Lee, Witness. The New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie study Bible (NIV). Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

 Strong, James. Strong’s: the expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2010.