The Law Within

When Jesus fulfilled worship, he moved it from the earthly shadows and image to the heavenly reality. He moved it from outside a person to within a person. He took all the outward laws and commands that were required under the Old Testament and placed them within the hearts of His people so that wherever they are and in whatever they do, they are God’s holy place. No longer is it required to “go to” another place to worship and be instructed by God. Wherever we are, God is there; through this relationship God will be our God and we will be His people. Without this relationship, seeking to worship God with external trappings and works keeps us removed from relationship with Him. Concerning this law within the author of Hebrews writes:

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 8:10-12; see also 10:16)

How living with the Holy Spirit is different than living in obedience to outward laws, commands, and structures begins with the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:17-18:

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

When Jesus came to do away with the then present religious system of temples, priests, ritual, order of service, etc., he did not come to destroy the religious system they represented, but to fulfill it by establishing the reality they represented. How the fulfillment came was then explained by Jesus. Take a moment to read Matthew chapters 5-7. Now let’s look at how the law was not destroyed, but fulfilled.

In the below chart observe the command given by the law in Matthew 5 and then the new command given by Jesus to fulfill this law. I find this study to be absolutely mind blowing.

THE LAW	THE FULLFILLMENT	SCRIPTURE
Do not kill	Do not be angry	Matt 5:21-22
Do not commit adultery	Do not look with desire	Matt 5:27-28
Divorce permitted	Permitted for 1 reason	Matt 5:31-32
Perform oaths to God	No oaths, let yes be yes	Matt 5:33-37
Eye for Eye	Suffer the injustice	Matt 5:38-42
Hate your enemy	Love your enemy	Matt 5:43-48

Notice that when the law is fulfilled it no longer gives permission for any sinful word or action. The law against the action of killing was replaced with the law against the emotion of anger that leads to killing. The act of adultery was replaced with looking with the desire that leads to adultery. When we serve God within our spirit and in truth, the emotions and thoughts that cause the sinful act or word are removed before they ever become a word or action. The fulfillment of the law no longer gives permission for any act or word of sin experienced through our body. The oaths once permitted must now be our word coming from a heart without hypocrisy. The injustices done to us are to be endured so as to not cause suffering to others, even if they have done evil to us. We are not to return evil for evil (Romans 12:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; 1 Peter 3:9). Our enemies are not to have evil done to them, but are to be loved as we love even our neighbor.

When the law is fulfilled it gives to us the ability, through the Holy Spirit, to be perfect by dealing with the cause of our sinful behavior and words within our spirit and our thoughts (Matthew 5:48). We no longer have to kill or commit adultery or commit any sin because we now have the ability to remove the anger and the lust from our spirit and our thoughts before they ever become an action. Concerning this, the Apostle James had this to say:

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.” (James 1:13-16)

Notice that James is clear that sin is committed because 1) a person is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed; 2) when the lust and desire is not removed; 3) sin is then committed. James is telling us the same thing as Jesus: the action of sin begins as a desire or thought from within the spirit and mind. When the sinful desire or thought is removed, the sinful word or action will not be committed.

In these last days the difference between true and false Christians is that the true, Spirit filled Christian, has the power of God’s Spirit to remove the emotions and thoughts that causes sin before they ever become a sinful word or action. It is true that we will continue to be tempted, but it is not true that we have to let our temptations lead us to sin. Sin can be removed.