Topical Bible: The Law of Moses: Christ: Fulfilled all Precepts of

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The Law of Moses, also known as the Mosaic Law, comprises the commandments and ordinances given by God to the people of Israel through Moses. It is foundational to the Old Testament and includes moral, ceremonial, and civil laws. The Law is encapsulated in the first five books of the Bible, known as the Torah or Pentateuch. Central to the Christian understanding of the Law is the belief that Jesus Christ fulfilled all its precepts, a theme that is woven throughout the New Testament.

Fulfillment of the Law by Christ

1. Moral Law: The moral law, epitomized by the Ten Commandments, reflects God's holy and righteous character. Jesus Christ, in His life and teachings, perfectly embodied these moral principles. In Matthew 5:17-18 , 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. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." Christ's sinless life (Hebrews 4:15) and His teachings, such as the Sermon on the Mount, demonstrate His fulfillment of the moral law.

2. Ceremonial Law: The ceremonial aspects of the Law, including sacrifices, festivals, and rituals, pointed forward to the coming Messiah. Jesus fulfilled these through His sacrificial death and resurrection. The Book of Hebrews elaborates on how Christ is the ultimate High Priest and the perfect sacrifice, rendering the old sacrificial system obsolete. Hebrews 10:1 states, "The law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves." Christ's atonement on the cross is seen as the culmination of these ceremonial laws.

3. Civil Law: The civil laws governed the social and judicial aspects of Israelite life. While these laws were specific to the nation of Israel, Christ's teachings emphasized the principles of justice, mercy, and love that undergirded them. In Matthew 22:37-40 , Jesus summarizes the Law with the greatest commandments: "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments."

Christ as the Fulfillment of Prophecy

The fulfillment of the Law by Christ is also seen as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. The prophets foretold a new covenant, one that would be written on the hearts of God's people (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Jesus, through His life, death, and resurrection, inaugurated this new covenant, as described in Luke 22:20 : "In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.'"

Implications for Believers

For believers, Christ's fulfillment of the Law means that they are no longer under the Law's condemnation but are justified by faith in Him. Romans 8:1-4 affirms, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin." This freedom calls believers to live by the Spirit, embodying the righteousness that the Law intended.

In summary, Jesus Christ's life and work are seen as the perfect fulfillment of the Law of Moses, bringing to completion the divine purposes it foreshadowed and establishing a new covenant relationship between God and humanity.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Psalm 40:7,8
Then said I, See, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Faustus is Willing to Admit that Christ May have Said that He came ...
... Both are fulfilled in Christ, who has ever been the bestower of this grace ... of what
He in former times promised; for "the law was given by Moses, but grace ...
/.../faustus is willing to admit.htm

Faustus Rejects Christ's Declaration that He came not to Destroy ...
... For "the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." [649]
The law itself, by being fulfilled, becomes grace and truth. ...
/.../faustus rejects christs declaration that.htm

The Old Faiths and the New
... First, there were the Jews who denied any and every claim of Christ to be ... that their
faith was Judaism with a new prophet; that the law of Moses and Mosaic ...
/.../sell/bible studies in the life of paul/study viii the old faiths.htm

Of the Law.
... For the divine Moses forbids both to rear an altar out of Jerusalem, and to read
the law out of the ... [3312] Let us therefore follow Christ, that we may ...
/.../various/constitutions of the holy apostles/sec iv of the law.htm

Weighed in the Balances
... Does that look as if the law of Moses was becoming ... When Christ came He condensed
the statement of the law ... said: "Love is the fulfilling of the law." But does ...
//christianbookshelf.org/moody/weighed and wanting/weighed in the balances.htm

Were Christ and the Apostles Mistaken?
... things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses ... the prophets." (Luke
24:44.) The critics deny Moses' authorship, but Christ affirms it ...
/.../concerning the assumptions of destructive criticism/iv were christ and the.htm

The Law of God
... though in the intermediate space [which had elapsed between the death of Christ
and the ... X. The Judicial Law is that which God prescribed by Moses to the ...
/.../arminius/the works of james arminius vol 1/disputation 12 the law of.htm

Of the Superstitions of the Jews, and their Hatred against Jesus.
... reason he was also successor to Moses, to show that the new law given by Christ
Jesus was about to succeed to the old law which was given by Moses. ...
/.../lactantius/the divine institutes/chap xvii of the superstitions of.htm

Faustus Willing to Believe not Only that the Jewish but that all ...
... did not observe even the plain literal precepts of Moses. So Christ says to them:
"Ye pay tithe of mint ... and omit the weightier matters of the law, mercy and ...
/.../faustus willing to believe not.htm

The Law Given, not to Retain a People for Itself, but to Keep ...
... than these elements, is explained by John the Baptist, when he says, "The law was
given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ," (John 1 ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 7 the law given.htm