Page 172 - THE REVELATION OF THE THIRD HEAVEN and THE MEAT OF THE WORD

The covenant of God for the Law still applies for those under the Law (Lev 26:44,
Mat 5:18-19, 7:1). The law of curses and blessings does not apply to Christians as
they are righteous even as they sin (Rom 3:22).

In Matthew 5:17 Jesus establishes that he has fulfilled the Law. Jesus states that
until this fulfilment (now achieved) it could not pass away i.e. cease to apply (Mat
5:18, Luke 16:17). Furthermore where it is not fulfilled, i.e. in non-Christians, it
still applies (Mat 5:18). As a result up until Jesus’ ministry the applicability of the
Law in all its detail as then known was to be preached (Mat 5:19). Another point
is that God refers to the New Covenant, which is NOT the Law (Jer 31:31-32, Heb
8:8-9) but the Law of Christ which is Salvation. By the Holy Ghost within a
Christian he is circumcised of heart and knows the will of God in his perfect spirit
(Heb 8:9-13).

As John the Baptist’s ministry of baptism ended the period in which the Law had
been the main materially written part of the Word on Earth (Ex 31:18, Deut 9:10, 2
Kings 22:10-11) and the main prophetically revealed aspect of God (Luke 16:16),
he is the greatest prophet but any Christian is 'greater' than this as saved (Mat
11:11-13, 21:32, Luke 3:3, 7:28). (John the Baptist is 'now' saved of course (Luke
13:28), but was not when Jesus spoke). His ministry was the start of the ministry of
righteousness (Mat 21:32), finally accomplished by Jesus, but fully initiated by
John the Baptist (Mat 3:3). That is many of the crucial elements were there i.e.
repentance, baptism and forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3). All that was
missing to make it fully effectual was Christ’s sacrifice itself bringing fulfilment
(Luke 3:6, John 1:29, 36).

In Matthew 23:1-3 Jesus commands his disciples and the people to obey the Law.
This refers, given the oneness of the Word, to the fact that if someone, sinfully,
chooses the Law they must obey all of it (Jam 2:10). This last verse refers to those
who continue to chose the Law and echoes the one totality of Matthew 23:3 in that
the Law applies as a job lot. It is clear that Jesus did not command adherence to
the Law, even before His death, as His primary will (John 3:3-4).

Whilst the Law is the commandment of Christ (Mat 23:3, Deut 30:10, John 1:1, 14,
Rom 7:12), who is God, the Word, it is given as a secondary will in response to sin
and is not the Way, the Truth or the Life except when fulfilled as it is by Christ and
Christ-in-us (Mat 5:18). The primary will commandment is to fulfil it vicariously
by Christ’s grace by faith i.e. Salvation and not to try and keep it by one’s own
works (Rom 3:19-20, 5:2, 8:1-2, 10:3-4). The applicability of the Law as a generic
whole, the Law-in-spirit, ‘predates’ the parabolical fall of the individual Adam