The law of God as revealed in the Bible is a good, right and perfect system of eternal directives and principles which reflects God’s character and serves as a means of expressing His love toward man. God’s law teaches man how to properly worship God, how to love his fellowman, how to live life abundantly, and, at the same time, how to prepare for an eternal spiritual life in the family of God. The law of God is represented in both the Old and the New Testaments and is expressed by both physical actions and spiritual motivations.
Doctrinal Overview
The Church of God looks to the whole Bible, both Old and New Testaments, as its fundamental source of doctrine and teachings. We accept Christ’s statement that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Jesus plainly accepted the authenticity and inspiration of the entire Old Testament with its three major divisions –– the Law, the Prophets and the Writings (Luke 24:44) –– as being relevant for the New Testament ministry of the Church of God. In support of this, the apostle Paul wrote: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine” (2 Tim. 3:16). Therefore, the character, personality and specific teachings of Jesus Christ –– both as the Rock that went with Israel in the Old Testament (I Cor. 10:4; Deut. 32:15, 18) and as the son of man and the son of God in the New Testament –– are the foundations of our biblical understanding of man’s relationship to the law of God.
God’s law in its fullest, most complete sense is spiritual and could not be discovered or discerned by man without direct revelation from God. The fullness of God’s law involves every facet of personal and collective human existence. Though its expression may change as the circumstances change, the eternal spiritual law of God is unchanging and is always the ultimate object of any biblical law, code or instruction expressed in human language. God’s laws are all designed to lead to a consummate knowledge and understanding of God and of the ultimate purpose of life, and to supreme godly love and character.
Divine law is the totality of the means whereby God instructs man how to live most abundantly in this present physical life, and how to most effectively prepare for the future spiritual life in the Kingdom of God.
The New Testament writers clearly express a positive attitude towards God’s law as magnified and given spiritual impact and import by Jesus Christ. Jesus stated that “all the law and the prophets” –– the entire Old Testament –– were based on the overall principles of love toward God and love toward one’s fellow man (Matt 22:36-40). Furthermore, Christ made it very clear that He did not come to destroy the law or the prophets (Matt 5:17). John tells us that sin is the transgression of the law (I John 3:4); and Paul says that the law is holy and just and good (Rom. 7:12).
The overall approach to God’s law in the New Testament is summed up in the statement, “He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (I John 2:4). However, in fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy of magnifying the law and making it honorable (Isa. 42:21), Christ instituted certain changes. Christ Himself specifically abrogated certain statements in the law, in relation to swearing and to marriage, for example, to bring the laws given at Sinai more into conformity with the original intent of the commandments upon which they were based. Moreover, Acts 15 makes clear that the law in regard to circumcision, which had antedated the covenant at Sinai, was not binding upon Gentile Christians. Therefore, based upon this example of God’s Church using the power entrusted to it by Christ to make binding decisions (Matt 16:19), the Church of God recognizes the same administrative responsibilities –– based upon New Testament principles and examples –– to determine the application of Old Testament laws today.
Doctrinal Expostition
The term “law” is intrinsic to any systematic study of theology. Yet, the English word “law” carries a narrow, legal connotation which may cause a misunderstanding of the biblical terms. A number of words in both the Old and the New Testaments are commonly translated “law” in the major English versions. These words, however, often admit of broader meaning than the normal English usage and do not necessarily have the legalistic overtones of their English counterparts (or are otherwise unequivalent).
A thorough study of the Hebrew and Greek terminology in the Bible would be out of place here because of length and technicality, though some of the major terms are briefly discussed later on in this paper. But it might be helpful to illustrate why “law” may not always be a suitable equivalent of the original. An important term in the Old Testament and later Judaism is the well-known Hebrew word torah. It may refer to law as a legal system; it may refer to specific regulations and statutes. Yet torah is often used in the broad sense of anything considered traditional, customary, and authoritative. Perhaps the best English equivalent is “teachings” though even that may not be broad enough in meaning.
One needs to be careful that he does not assume laws are necessarily categorized by the Hebrew (or English) terms used. There is no consistent terminology for the various types of laws. For example, one might assume a distinction between “statute” and “ordinance” as found in certain translations. However, neither term consistently translates the same Hebrew word. Thus, the Hebrew hoq is variously translated as “law,” “statute,” “ordinance,” and “commandment” in the major English versions. The Ten Commandments are never called by the Hebrew term usually translated “commandment” (miswah). They are simply referred to as the ten “words” (devarim). As mentioned previously, the word torah means much more than just the English word “law.”
It is also important to note that the term “law of Moses” is itself used interchangeably with the term “law of God.” Thus, in Nehemiah 8, the expression alternates between “law of Moses” in verse 1 and “law of God” in verses 8 and 18. The term “law of Moses” is generally used as a designation for the Pentateauch or “Torah.” The term “law of Moses” would thus apply to anything in those five books, whether it be the Ten Commandments or the sacrificial laws or circumcision. Such usage is confirmed in the New Testament as, for example, in Luke 24:44.
Thus, the occurrence of “law” in an English translation may imply –– depending on the original Hebrew or Greek and the context –– “legal system,” “regulation,” “sacrificial ritual,” “Ten Commandments,” “principle,” “natural law,” “ the Pentateuch,” “customary tradition,” “belief,” etc. It is therefore impossible to give a simple definition of “law.” The concept of “law” in the Bible is complex and cannot be defined or summarized in any brief way without danger of oversimplification. The very complexity of the subject requires that the many aspects of the biblical concept of law be discussed. No adequate understanding of the teaching of God’s Church on law can be gained without a thorough and careful reading of the entire overview given here. Seldom is an “either/or” position taken. The Church believes in freedom and law, faith and works, love and law, forgiveness and justice, reward and selfless service, grace and law, to name only a few of the traditional dichotomies found in treatments of the subject.
The Bible itself sets the tone for the use of the term “law.” Sometimes law is viewed as the only important thing, sometimes as a good thing; at other times it is considered something obsolete, inadequate or incomplete. Perhaps the epitome of biblical discussion on the subject is found in Paul’s writings, yet it is obvious that Paul has been frequently misunderstood.
Love is the Fulfillment of the Law
God is love. That is His nature and essence (I John 4:8). It is only from God that we can learn what real and perfect love is. A great deal depends on the guidance of His Holy Spirit, but God’s love is essentially expressed and taught through His law (Rom. 13:10; I John 5:3). It is the major vehicle by which His love has been made known to mankind.
If we human beings had the love that God has –– perfect, complete and limitless love –– we would have no need of any external moral law (though we should still need God to reveal to us His Sabbath, holy days, spiritual meanings, ceremonial laws, etc.). If human beings had the full knowledge of love, plus the full power to express that love that God has, there should be no need of external guidelines or codified statements or definitions or examples of any kind: we would always express love to its full extent. But we are not God, and we do not have the perfect love which is exemplified in Him. Human beings must learn love. Christians must grow toward that absolute embodiment of love of which all fall so short. This is the purpose of God’s law.
How can one know love unless he is taught what it is and how it works? Ultimately, it is learned by practice. Yet, before one can practice it, there must be some sort of beginning. The various aspects of God’s law in the Bible are designed to give a start to the individual. These aspects then lead him to greater and greater understanding of this concept until he learns to live by internalized spiritual motivations which, while no longer adequately expressible in human words, impel him to continue to fulfill the objective of God’s law which is love at the highest plane.
The concept of love can be epitomized, albeit inadequately, in the following statement: Love is both wholehearted worship toward God and outgoing concern for one’s fellow man equal to the natural concern for self. This is seen in Matthew 22, where Jesus says that the great commandment in the law is to:
“…Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (vv. 36-40).
Here, Jesus states that our love must be first toward God with full fervency, and then toward our neighbor in a manner equal to our love for ourselves. In fact, these two great commandments of God are the very foundation of God’s law on which all the law and all the prophets hang. All the biblical books on the law and the prophets teach one, by example as well as by command, how to show love toward his neighbor. Many of the basic principles of loving one’s fellow man are well known; the basic principles of love of neighbor have appeared in almost every culture, age and religion (cf. Rom. 2:14-15).
Yet, love of God is a point about which there is considerable difference of opinion. For that reason God gave four basic commands or principles that are the first four of the great Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:3-11). The last six proceed to give basic principles of love of fellow human beings (Ex. 20:12-17). Thus, the two “great commandments” of love of God and love of man are made more specific in the broad precepts of the Ten Commandments (cf. Deut. 5:7-21).
Limited as they are, however, human beings find it difficult to translate broad principles into practical application.
Therefore, when God gave the Ten Commandments to ancient Israel –– though it is clear they had already been known for thousands of years –– He did not stop there. He went on to give them more detailed instructions, some of them rather broad, others very minute and detailed, applicable only to a specific situation in a specific time or culture. (These will be discussed later at length.)
It is in the detailed physical regulations that man first finds himself able to grasp what God’s law is all about (cf. James 1:22-25). Almost everyone understands the need today for a speed limit or a no-parking sign. Likewise, in ancient Israel, there was little chance for dispute about the need for a parapet surrounding one’s roof (Deut. 22:8). These are very tangible regulations which anyone can come to grips with. It is these detailed instructions –– often time or culturally bound –– which begin to lead one toward the higher concepts of God’s law and hence “love.” This is assuming that one obeys them and reflects on their purpose: to teach one how to love God and how to love his fellow man.
The command to build a guard rail around one’s roof has variable application in societies today. It would only serve as a bird perch in some areas of the world. Yet in the society of ancient Israel, as also in certain modern forms of architecture, it was, and is, common to use the roof as living quarters or for other similar purposes. One who did not protect the users of his roof with a guarding parapet was guilty of negligence and, consequently, of not loving his neighbor. One cannot love his neighbor, after all, if he does not correct a potential hazard to life and limb.
As the individual regulates his life by these more narrow ordinances, he starts to perceive what it means to think of others. He begins to grasp the meaning of living a life which shows concern for others and is not just purely egocentric. Suddenly, the minor regulations have a significance greater than their specific object or immediate concern. The man who would never think of killing a neighbor in cold blood might accomplish the same act –– through unthinking carelessness –– by not penning up his berserk bull. The one who caused an innocent person to be condemned by his false testimony would be as guilty of his blood as if he had struck him with a meat cleaver.
The detailed regulations, whether statute, ordinance or judgment (the terminology is of little significance, as already discussed, since the Hebrew terms do not correspond exactly with the English ones) lead to more general precepts. As the individual attempts to apply the more minute instructions and in so doing considers their purpose, he comes to see how they relate to one another and how they incorporate broader concepts. These broader concepts themselves cohere to form the basic structure of love embodied in the Ten Commandments. Through these two major facets unfold love of God and love of man –– neither of which can be omitted from the total meaning of love.
At this point, the artificial dilemma regarding the spirit of the law and the letter of the law takes on a different perspective. Ultimately, the love of God can be discerned only through His Spirit. It cannot be expressed in human language in other than inadequate form. This is why knowledge of God’s love is conveyed through legal, ethical and moral regulations. These instructions are not ends in themselves. They point to the true end and provide a means of reaching it. They were not, in their deepest significance, set up as a code by which a person could be adjudged innocent or guilty. They were designed to show the way to love of God and love of man.
Naturally, in any human society which does not understand God’s perfect love, some sort of administrative system of reward and punishment is necessary. In the same way, the concept of sin as the breaking of God’s law is a New Testament concept, and sin plays an important part in New Testament theology. Yet it is due to the failings of human nature, not because God is simply interested in the law as a means of judging sin. Ultimately, the law points beyond the level of sin, transgression and living by the letter to the love of God.
To fulfill the law to its greatest extent is to have perfect love. Conversely, to have perfect love means to fulfill the law in its most spiritual manifestation.
Summary: Read these scriptures in your own Bible:
1 John 4:8 – God is love.
2 Timothy 3:16 – All scripture is given by inspiration of God.
Exodus 20 – The 10 commandments.
Romans 13:10 – Love taught through law (also 1 John 5:3).
Questions (Answers Below):
1. God’s law teaches man how to:
a) properly love God
b) love his fellowman
c) Live life abundantly
d) prepare for eternal spiritual life in the Family of God
e) all of the above
2. God’s laws are all designed to lead to knowledge and understanding of God, the purpose of life, and of godly love and character. True or False?
3. The English term “law” and the biblical term “law” have the same definition and meaning. True or False?
4. The term “Law of Moses” and “Law of God” are used interchangeably in the Bible. True or False?
5. The term “law” in the English translation may imply, depending on the original Hebrew and Greek and the context, which of the following:
a) legal system
b) regulation
c) sacrificial ritual
d) ten commandments
e) principle
f) natural law
g) the Pentateuch
h) customary tradition
i) belief
j) all of the above
6. God is love (1 John 4:8). God’s love is essentially taught through His law. True or False?
7. The first time man knew of God’s law was when the commandments were given to Moses at Mt. Sinai. True or False?
8. Ultimately, the love of God can only be discerned through His Spirit. True or False?
9. Which of the following statements is false?
a) the knowledge of love is conveyed through legal, ethical and moral regulations.
b) the laws in their deepest significance are set up as a code by which a person could be adjudged innocent or guilty.
c) the laws point to the true end and provide a means of reaching it.
d) laws were designed to show the way of love of God and love of man.
10. To fulfill the law to its greatest extent is to have perfect love. True or False?
Lesson Sixteen Answers:
1. (e)
2. (True)
3. (False)
4. (True)
5. (j)
6. (True)
7. (False)
8. (True)
9. (b)
10. (True)
