Fulfillment

For years I have been asking God about Jesus’ claim that He had not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill them (Matt. 5:17).  Although I read plenty of commentaries, I knew I didn’t know or have experience with this truth.  On the surface it seemed Jesus was breaking the laws, so in what way did Jesus fulfill them, and how does this apply to me and my relationship with God?

I believe God intended to do life with His creation.  When He created Adam and Eve, he intended on helping and teaching them everyday.  If heaven is living with God, well, I guess that was God’s idea of life in the garden.  But they chose their own way and thus began the separation between God and man.

During this time of separation God rolled out the Law: a bunch of external standards and expectations.  The Law doesn’t just contain big things like do not kill, but it also includes daily instructions for living such as how to get along with your neighbor and how to get rid of mold.  The writer of Hebrews says the Law was a foreshadow of good things to come.  Even with everything written down, there was no way the Israelites could live in perfection, so God rolled out the sacrificial system which was of coarse another foreshadow of good things to come.  The bottom line is that the Israelites had to trust God to save them from their sins.

Then the Prophets revealed this one little promise.  God said, “I will put My law within them, and on their hearts will I write them.” (Jer. 31:33)

The truly faithful lived like the promise was already true.  These are people like Samson and Abraham whom seem to have been living under this new covenant even before Jesus came in reality here on earth.

So Jesus manifested and showed us what perfection looks like here on earth.  He didn’t walk as someone obligated to follow external standards and expectations, but one obligated to the will of God.  Jesus operated as One in whom God’s law was written in His heart.  In this way, Jesus could say in truth (reality) that He had come to fulfill the law.  

When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave, this was the sign of the new covenant established here on earth.  The system of external standards and expectations has been replaced by the law written on our hearts.

Here comes the tricky part.  How does one live under the new covenant if we cannot see God’s standards and expectations written down?  This is where the helper comes in, or in other words, the Holy Spirit.  He sent the Holy Spirit to all believers to reveal the law written in our hearts!

We learn how to live by the promptings of the Spirit who is revealing God’s law for our life.  In this way we learn to live our life God’s way, or according to His will.  This is an everyday, every moment, kind of living.

Even under this new system, we are humans and our flesh causes us to break God’s law written on our hearts.  Under the new covenant, Jesus is final sacrifice.  Like the Israelites, we trust God to save us from our sins.    

But Jesus revealed more than the new covenant while He was here on earth.  Jesus showed us how to live in perfect union with God.  Or in other words, how to live with God.  In this way, the new covenant is a foreshadow of good things to come.  We believe one day heaven will become manifest and we will (in reality) live with God in heaven. 

The truly faithful live like the promise is already true. 

As we learn to live life according to (the promptings of) the Spirit, we become increasingly aware of God’s Presence.  In this way, we live with God now, even before heaven is made manifest.  Through the Spirit we have glimpses of eternal reward which draw us to keep seeking God here and now.  And so we too find fulfillment.