Topical Bible: Law: Temporary

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In the context of biblical theology, the concept of "temporary law" refers to the laws and commandments given by God that were intended for a specific period or purpose within the unfolding narrative of Scripture. These laws, while divinely instituted, were not meant to be permanent fixtures but served as a preparatory or pedagogical function leading to the fulfillment of God's ultimate plan through Jesus Christ.

Old Testament Context

The Mosaic Law, given to the Israelites at Mount Sinai, is often viewed as a temporary covenant. It was designed to set Israel apart as God's chosen people and to guide them in righteousness. The Apostle Paul, in his epistles, elaborates on the temporary nature of the Mosaic Law. In Galatians 3:24-25 , he writes, "So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian." Here, Paul indicates that the law served as a "guardian" or "tutor" until the coming of Christ, who fulfilled the law's requirements and ushered in a new covenant.

Purpose and Function

The temporary nature of the law is further emphasized in its role to reveal sin and the need for a Savior. Romans 3:20 states, "Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin." The law was never intended to be a means of salvation but rather to highlight humanity's inability to achieve righteousness on their own, thus pointing to the necessity of grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Fulfillment in Christ

Jesus Christ is seen as the fulfillment of the law, bringing its temporary nature to completion. In Matthew 5:17 , Jesus declares, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them." Through His life, death, and resurrection, Christ accomplished what the law could not—providing a perfect atonement for sin and establishing a new covenant based on grace.

Transition to the New Covenant

The transition from the old covenant of the law to the new covenant of grace is a central theme in the New Testament. Hebrews 8:13 states, "By speaking of a new covenant, He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear." This passage underscores the temporary nature of the Mosaic Law in light of the new covenant established through Christ, which offers a direct relationship with God through faith.

Implications for Believers

For believers, the temporary nature of the law signifies freedom from the legalistic adherence to the old covenant's ceremonial and civil regulations. Instead, Christians are called to live by the Spirit, as articulated in Romans 7:6 : "But now, having died to what bound us, we have been released from the law, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code."

In summary, the concept of "temporary law" in the Bible highlights the transitional role of the Mosaic Law as a precursor to the new covenant established through Jesus Christ. This understanding emphasizes the continuity of God's redemptive plan and the ultimate fulfillment of the law's purpose in the person and work of Christ.

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Jeremiah 3:16
And it shall come to pass, when you be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, said the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.
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Daniel 9:27
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured on the desolate.
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Matthew 5:17-45
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
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Luke 16:16,17
The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presses into it.
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John 1:17
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
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John 4:20-24
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and you say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
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John 8:35
And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the Son stays ever.
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Acts 6:14
For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.
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Acts 10:28
And he said to them, You know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come to one of another nation; but God has showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
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Acts 13:39
And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
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Acts 15:1-29
And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brothers, and said, Except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved.
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Acts 21:20-25
And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said to him, You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
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Romans 3:1,2
What advantage then has the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
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Romans 7:1-6
Know you not, brothers, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?
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Romans 8:3
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
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Romans 10:4
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes.
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2 Corinthians 3:7-14
But if the ministration of death, written and engraved in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
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Galatians 2:3-9
But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:
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Galatians 4:30,31
Nevertheless what said the scripture? Cast out the female slave and her son: for the son of the female slave shall not be heir with the son of the free woman.
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Ephesians 2:15
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of two one new man, so making peace;
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Colossians 2:14-23
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;
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Hebrews 8:4-13
For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
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Hebrews 9:8-24
The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
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Hebrews 10:1-18
For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
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Hebrews 11:40
God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
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Hebrews 12:18,19,27
For you are not come to the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor to blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
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Library

Corruptible and Temporary Things Made by the Incorruptible and ...
... Indeed corruptible and temporary things of all sorts are made by mortal creatures;
but the ... For the power of God is not subject to law, but His will is law to ...
/.../recognitions of clement /chapter xxix corruptible and temporary things.htm

"Fufilling of the Law" in the Higher Sense. --General Contrast ...
... form of Old Testament legislation, which belonged to a temporary and preparatory ...
assigns to the Pharisaical conception and application of the law connects very ...
/.../section 154 fufilling of the.htm

Of the Observance of the Sabbath.
... of the old law is demonstrated as having been consummated at its specific times,
so also the observance of the Sabbath is demonstrated to have been temporary. ...
/.../tertullian/an answer to the jews/chapter iv of the observance of.htm

Of Circumcision and the Supercession of the Old Law.
... For, as the carnal circumcision, which was temporary, was in wrought for "a sign"
in ... circumcision then given, and the coming procession of a new law (not such ...
/.../tertullian/an answer to the jews/chapter iii of circumcision and the.htm

Fulfilling of the Law in the Higher Sense. --Particular Examples ...
... on the Mount is the Magna Charta of the kingdom of God, it is not fit for a state
law. ... The moral idea which Christ developed had a more than temporary bearing. ...
/.../section 155 fulfilling of the.htm

The Law and the Liberty of Presbyterian Worship.
... place; to this were added in later times the exposition of the Law and the ... her progress
the Church has passed, or whether it is due to a temporary neglect of ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/johnston/presbyterian worship/chapter i the law and.htm

The Law Established through Faith
... concerning the superior glory of the gospel above that of the law may with ... away,
arises hence, that it ministers to love: It is the great temporary means which ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 36 the law established.htm

Jesus in the Tomb.
... and have involved a violation of the Sabbath"now the disciples still conscientiously
observed the prescriptions of the Jewish law. A temporary interment was ...
//christianbookshelf.org/renan/the life of jesus/chapter xxvi jesus in the.htm

The Foundation of the Church among the Heathen
... nay, they even rejoiced in the prospect of the gathering in of the Gentiles; but
they had yet to learn the temporary nature of the Ceremonial Law, and to ...
/.../blunt/a key to the knowledge of church history/chapter ii the foundation of.htm

Whether it is the Same Place Where Souls are Cleansed, and the ...
... And others say that according to the common law they are punished above us, because ...
1: The fire of Purgatory is eternal in its substance, but temporary in its ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether it is the same.htm