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Mercy of God and the law
To my mind rose one of the examples of the Bible, in which at the bottom of the ark of the covenant were the tables of law, but above of the law was mercy seat; this describes it reality; that mercy of God makes the law alive. That don’t mean that new covenant people are under the law. In this teaching, we handle about this question from the grace and the law.
And certainly purpose of it was pointing out to the nation of old covenant and also the nation of the new covenant, that we don’t follow the letter, but living God through Yeshua the Messiah, for only the mercy of God in the Holy Spirit makes the letter for alive. Without the Spirit, the letter kills and doesn’t benefit us. Now we watch in the light of the new covenant proportion of the mercy and the law.
Jer 31:
31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with
the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the
covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the
hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake,
although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith
the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
God will make (Brit) new (Chadasha) covenant
(chadash= new, new thing) with house of Israel and Judah, which is not the
similar covenant, which God made with their (Israel) fathers on the day, when
He took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. So the new
covenant is not same as old covenant or renewed, but the new covenant. All who
come inside to the new covenant must repent and believe the gospel from Yeshua
the Messiah, as He Himself said: And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the
kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel, Mark 1:15.
26 And
it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death,
before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
27 And
he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the
child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
28 Then
took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
30 For
mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
31
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
The new covenant has made also
with all people who repent and receive the salvation in Yeshua the Messiah.
Joh
1:17
For the law
was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Problem of old covenant nation was, that they couldn't live according to teaching according tothe law,and they didn't have close relationship to God. Law is in hebr. Torah, which means first teaching, advice, direction, instruction and after that law.
The mercy brings truth through the Holy Spirit in Yeshua the Messiah. A mere letter can’t produce life of the Spirit. There also exist for a danger to follow the law instead of following of the Messiah (don't follow the letter, but in the Spirit follow Him according to His word). In other words, we may follow the letter, but not receive the life, which makes teaching of the word alive in us and in practical life.
In other words, the purpose behind the law is not the law itself (the letter), even though also the law is the good, but purpose behind the law is Yeshua the Messiah through whom teaching about the law becomes alive in our heart.
Romans
10: 4
For Messiah
is the aim of the law, for righteousness, unto every one that believeth in
him.
In Romans, 10:4 is a
word end, which is in Greek telos and in Hebrew tachelith and both words means
also goal and fulfillment.
14 For
sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under
grace.
15 What
then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God
forbid.
16 Know
ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are
to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto
righteousness?
17 But
God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the
heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18
Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
The sin
rules flesh of the man, who is under the law, but through grace of God, we are
not under the law, but under the grace, in which the fruit of the
righteousness grows in the hearts of the disciples of Yeshua.
18 But
if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now
the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions,
heresies,
21
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell
you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such
things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith,
23
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And
they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If
we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
He who lives in the Spirit of God, he is not
under the law, but leading by the Spirit of God. Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Yeshua didn't destroy the law, but fulfil it. In the power of the Holy Spirit, we in the grace of God and from the grace, we live righteously and grow in righteousness, that we can live in practice life according to the will of God.
Hebrews
7:
.
11 If
therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the
people received the law,)what further need was there that another priest
should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order
of Aaron?
12 For
the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the
law.
13 For
he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no
man gave attendance at the altar.
14 For
it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake
nothing concerning priesthood.
15 And
it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there
ariseth another priest,
16 Who
is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an
endless life.
17 For
he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
18 For
there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the
weakness and unprofitableness thereof.
19 For
the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the
which we draw nigh unto God.
20 And
inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest:
21 (For
those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that
said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever
after the order of Melchisedec:)
22 By
so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
23 And
they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by
reason of death:
24 But
this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by
him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
For the law made nothing perfect, but Yeshua makes, that's why the new covenant is the better covenant than the old covenant.
We are not under the
law, but under the grace. In the tabernacle at the bottom of the ark of the
covenant were the tables of law, whose above was the mercy seat; in other
words, the grace makes the law alive. Like I said: “The law is a useful tool,
when we grow into the image of God, but without Yeshua, the Messiah and mercy
of God on the law are no other value as kill, but through Yeshua from the law
comes living."
De 10:2 And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.
De 10:5 And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.
Ten Commandments are the law,
because the law was in the ark of the covenant. In the ark was only 10
commandments, not 613! Yeshua said that He did not come to destroy the law,
but fulfill it. When Yeshua met an adultery woman, He didn't stoned her, but
said that: "go, and sin no more." According to the law adultery, a woman
should be stoned, but Yeshua didn't stoned and not allowed stoning. From
Yeshua's words, we can see that adultery is a sin, but He didn't accept
stoning. Yeshua would break the law, if that stoning commandment were
commanded of the law.
Can we live against those
commandments as the disciple of the new covenant? Of course not. The mercy of
God doesn’t replace the law, but makes it alive in the Spirit. When we
speak of the law, which Jesus didn’t destroy, we speak about ten commandments.
27 And
the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these
words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. 28 And he was there
with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink
water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten
commandments.
God made the covenant with the nation of Israel through the Ten Commandments, which is the law. The main law is the Ten Commandments, and that is the law, which Yeshua didn’t destroy.
2 For
there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the
table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.3 And after the
second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; 4 Which had
the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold,
wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and
the tables of the covenant; 5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing
the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.
The law, in other words, the Ten Commandments was put to the ark. The Ten Commandments were separated from the other commands and were put into the ark of the covenant as the sign of the covenant. So we see that the Ten Commandments is the law. The Ten Commandments are the main law and other instructions, and ordinances don’t belong to the law, because they were not in the ark of the covenant. Other instructions and ordinances were also good, but not have value to be the law, which was in the ark of the covenant. Yeshua didn’t destroy the law (the Ten Commandments), but other instructions. He canceled, which don’t belong to the law, which was in the ark of the covenant. Through Yeshua’s atonement offering also the order of the old covenant changed:
11 If
therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the
people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest
should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order
of Aaron?
12 For
the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the
law.
Changing of priesthood doesn’t mean changing of the law, but that order of the old covenant has ended. Yeshua is now the high priest, and His disciples all are:
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a
peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called
you out of darkness into his marvellous light, 1 Peter 2:9.
Goal of the law is not law (the letter), but
Yeshua for righteousness to everyone, who believes.
However, let’s follow Yeshua in the Holy Spirit from the grace of God, so then comes true will of God, in which the Holy Spirit makes from the law of living (teaching of the word of God), so that as the disciple of Yeshua the Messiah, we can grow according to the way how the word of God teaches us through the Holy Spirit.
Ro 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Paul taught that faith doesn't nullify the law (Ten Commandments). The law is not bad and against us, but good because the law is made by God. Through faith establishing the law means that through grace of God (in the Messiah Yeshua) we live in the Holy Spirit according to will, word and commands of God. We are not under the law, but we can't live in lawless, which is a sin.
1 Jo 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
Yeshua took away our sins, but not the law, because He didn't destroy the law.
Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
having erased the hand-signed sefer of guilt choiv (debt), the heavenly indictment against us in the maleh chukat haTorah (full statute requirement of the Torah), which was against us. Moshiach has done away with this opposing record, having nailed it to Moshiach’s Etz (DEVARIM 21:23) The Ortodox Jewish Brit Chadasha
Handwriting of ordinance, which is against us, and was the opponent to us Yeshua took away by way of His redemption offering and nailed that handwriting to the cross. Handwriting word is in Greek text kheirografon, which means promissory note, which debtor has written with him own hands. In Hebrew, it means hand signed guilt book. Verse 14 doesn’t so mean the law (Torah) of God, but the debt and guilt of the people, which is a sin. Yeshua was nailed to the cross for the sins of the mankind, but Paul wrote in this that also handwriting of ordinance (hand signed guilt book) have taken away by way of redemption offering of Yeshua the Messiah and nailed it to the cross.
Yeshua said that He didn't come to destroy the
law (Torah), and therefore, the law couldn’t nail to the cross. Sin is our
opponent, which was nailed together with Yeshua to the cross. Greek text uses
from the Bible two words grafee and gramma, but as we notice Greek text uses
the word kheirografon. Ordinance word is in Greek dogma, which means command,
setting, and regulation. Kheirografon means promissory note not the law
(Torah). Hebrew uses words sefer choiv (hand signed guilt book). Our sins are
nailed to the cross, not the law (Torah). We are not under the law, and we can't keep the law. For this reason, Yeshua kept the law for us and we in the Messiah from the grace of God are growing toward the image of God according to His word by the power of the Holy Spirit. According to an example where tablets of stone where at the bottom of the ark of covenant and mercy seat was above it. That doesn't mean, that mercy destroys the law, but that only through the mercy the law can be living, otherwise letter kills. And so mercy doesn’t destroy the law, but brings us power to live accordance the law of God.
As we read, that at the bottom of the ark of the
covenant was the tables of law, but above of law was mercy seat. And because
grace and truth came through Lord Yeshua the Messiah. And out of fullness of
Yeshua, we all received, and grace on top of grace, Joh 1:16. So Yeshua
is our grace, and He is the goal of the law, and He is greater than the law,
because Yeshua is the fulfillment of the law, amen.
Petri Paavola |
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