This study was first taught on February 17, 2010

Topic: Not to Destroy, But to Fulfill (1)

No audio available for this study.

---

Background
The last time we met we saw that the Christian is not only called to be the salt of the earth, but also the light of the world. It is the light that makes God’s plan of eternal salvation plain and clear to a people who are perishing and without hope.

We noted that the Christian is the light of the world, only because the life of the Lord Jesus Christ is in him. The Christian can only shine forth that light as long as he permits the light of God to be displayed through him. While God’s light is God’s life displayed in and through the Christian who declares God’s goodness and love to fallen mankind; the Christian must allow the light to enter and pass through him unto the world by yielding totally to the Holy Spirit. In addition, the Christian as a transmitter of the light of God, must receive light from the Lord Jesus only; and must be rid of all opacity (lying, envy, greed, an unforgiving spirit, stubbornness, prayerlessness, and disobedience to the word of God) thus making him spiritually transparent so that the light of God can pass through him.

We noted that our inability to shine forth the life of God is due to our refusal to obey Him and the corruption in our hearts (which refuses the true light to pass through). Fortunately, the situation can be remedied when we turn to God in genuine repentance and permit the Holy Spirit to have His way. We saw that Isaiah 60:1-3 which tells us to, among others arise and shine because the light of God has come into us, is actually an admonition to those of us who may be sleeping, to arise, and to remove every opacity that may prevent us from shining, so that those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus can come to the light and be saved.

Scripture Text(s)
Matthew 5:17-20
In the above text, the Lord informs His disciples of what He came and came not to do, as it concerns the Law and the Prophets. We pray that the Holy Spirit will help us to receive revelation tonight (Proverbs 29:18).
The Lord tells us that He did not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them. What does this statement imply? The expression ‘the Law or the Prophet’ signifies the requirements and content of the Old Testament. First, we will establish that the expression ‘the Law and the Prophets’ represent God’s word; then we will attempt to understand the meaning of the words ‘destroy’ and ‘fulfill’; and finally, we can reconstruct part of the text to see its implication for us, today’s Christian.
Matthew 7:12; Joshua 1:7-8; John 1:17; Psalms 40:7-8; Matthew 3:13-15; Romans 15:3; John 4:34; Romans 7:7-12; Psalm 19:7-13; 119:9, 11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Peter 2:2; Hebrews 4:12; Romans 10:1-3; Isaiah 64:6; Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1ff; Romans 3:19-22; Leviticus 18:5; Deuteronomy 30:6-14; Romans 10:5-13; 3:31.

Conclusion
The Lord Jesus did not come to destroy the requirements and contents of the word of God; rather, He came to fulfill every last one of it. The word ‘destroy’ as used in the scripture means, ‘to throw down what has been built’; ‘to dissolve’; ‘to demolish’; ‘to abolish’; ‘to abrogate’; ‘to repel’; ‘to annul’; ‘to cancel’. The word ‘fulfill’ means ‘to ‘accomplish’; ‘to perform fully’; ‘to fully satisfy’. Hence, we can reconstruct the Lord’s statement as follows: “Do not think or imagine for one moment that I have come to throw down or dissolve or demolish or abolish or abrogate or repeal or cancel what God has established or erected as His standard for living, as contained in His word (the Law and the Prophets). Rather, I have come to accomplish, perform fully, and fully satisfy all that it demands and requires”.

The Lord Jesus affirms that the Law is good, holy and just. The law of God is indeed very beneficial to us in that it enables us to know the right thing to do, so that we can live acceptably before God and peaceably among men. It keeps us from sinning against God, and does much more in us. Without the law of God, we will have to establish our own laws which will then make each one of us a law unto himself, which will result in a state of anarchy. Besides, the righteousness or standard of man for living is as filthy rags before God, and can never be accepted by Him. We cannot therefore abolish the Law; instead, we establish and enforce it.

The issue therefore should not be whether the Law is good, but how can we measure up to its demands, since we must satisfy it. Remember, the Lord Jesus did not come to avoid or circumvent the Law, but to fully satisfy its requirements, even when it meant the death on the cross! (Philippians 2:8-12). And just like the Lord Jesus, we must not attempt to circumvent the word of God with glowing words of human wisdom: we must establish it! We need to be able to fully satisfy its requirements in a way prescribed by God: this is the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ!

---

Back to all Bible Study Outline List