In Christ, we must fulfill the Law.

Fulfilling the Law is not just obedience.

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. (Mt 5.17)

In this famous verse, Christ tells what He came to do to the Law: He came to fulfill it. Matthew uses the word “fulfill” sixteen times in his gospel.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet (1.22)

and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (1.15)

Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah (1.17)

And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazarene.” (1.23)

But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. (3.15)

So that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: (4.14)

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” (8.17)

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: (12.17)

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” (13.35)

When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. (13.48)

This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, (21.4)

Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. (23.32)

But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?" (26.54)

But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples left him and fled. (26.56)

Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, (27.9)

Whenver Matthew writes about Jesus fulfilling some part of the Old Testament, he’s explaining how Jesus was the answer to OT anticipation. The Law set very high expectations. But Jesus didn’t come to earth, lie righteously and say, “Ok, people, I’ve fulfilled the Law, don’t worry about it anymore.” He came and filled every anticipation that the Old Testament had raised, and He taught His disciples to follow His example.

If we’re going to imitate Jesus, we will also fulfill the Law. Jesus’ fulfilling the Law meant that he was exactly the person that the Law pointed toward. To put it another way, the Law shows a connection between God’s character and human life. The Mosaic laws did that for Jews living in the Middle East 3000 years ago by prescribing certain behaviors in certain situations. Jesus was also an intersection between God’s character and human life: much more perfectly and fully than a written code of regulations could ever be.

[Moral – ceremonial – civil :: prophet – priest – king]

By the Spirit, the Law is fulfilled in us.

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Rom 8.3-4)

Jesus who fulfilled the Law came as a sin-offering for us, enabling us to have the Law fulfilled in us. We can’t see the Law fulfilled in our own strength. Just like Galatians 5, we must walk after the Spirit instead of the flesh. [Do you see the connection? Walking in the Spirit means we’re not under the Law, but it is fulfilled in us.]

We must walk after the Spirit so that our lives can meet the Law’s anticipation.

Love fulfills the Law.

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Mt 22.37-40)

Christ taught that all the Law hangs on two commandments: love God whole-heartedly and love your neighbor as you love yourself (Matt. 22.37-40).

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Rom 13.8-9)

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Gal 5.14)

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Gal 6.2)

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. (Jas 2.8)

Paul and James confirm that by teaching that the Law is entirely fulfilled when we love one another. The sacrificial love that Scripture describes is a willingness to do what’s best for someone else no matter how much it costs you. That’s all it takes to fulfill the whole law. After thinking for just a couple moments, we can all sense how far we are from perfectly loving. It’s certainly a good thing that the Spirit enables us to fulfill the Law.

The entire Law is fulfilled in one action: love.

Christ came to fulfill the Law and Scripture teaches us to do the same. We are not obligated to live by every letter of the Mosaic Law, but as we walk in the Spirit, our Christ-like love will fulfill the Law.

Concluding Observations

The New Testament treats the Law as a unity.

This should make us hesitant about relying too strongly on the moral-civil-ceremonial division of the Law. Those labels can be helpful, but when we depend heavily on them to sort the Law for us and show us what we have to apply, we’ve erred. Christ taught that not one jot or tittle would pass away from the Law – without distinguishing one type of command from another. We would do well to seek for a consistent way of interpreting and apply every law, no matter what descriptive label we give it.

The Law can only be understood in its fulfillment.

Without looking through Christ, we can’t really understand the Law. We don’t apply the Law just because it’s in the Bible – we apply it because we are in Christ and He is the real fulfillment of the Law. Without understanding His fulfilling work, we will find ourselves unable to grasp the significance and practicality of the Law.

There are clear historical boundaries on the Law’s predominance.

That time period is clearly over, therefore we must remember that the Law was given in a historical setting that is very different from our own. With all due respect to a sacred cow, I would suggest that no part of the Law should be viewed as “God’s permanent revelation of His will for mankind.” We don’t even apply all of the Ten Commandments letter-perfect [Sabbath – 7th]. We need to study the original setting and application of each law and understand what it meant for the first readers.

Law is a strong connection between the Old and New Testaments.

We don’t cast aside any part of the Law. The New Covenant talks about the Law being written on hearts, not on stone tablets. Christ came to fulfill, not to set aside the Law, and the rest of the New Testament instructs us to fulfill the Law in love, from the heart and by the Spirit. We ought to study and apply each verse of the Law.

The Law is profitable for us to apply.

The primary referent of “Scripture” in II Tim. 3.16-17 is the Old Testament. The Mosaic Law if profitable for us. How should we apply it? (1) Study the historical background to understand what the command meant to the original audience. (2) Find out the timeless principle about loving God or neighbors that that specific OT command taught people. (3) Apply the principle specifically to your own situation in life. As you go through these steps, keep your eye out for any application that the New Testament already draws from that OT command. Look for reflections of God’s character in His laws and watch for His ideals for mankind.