Jesus Came to Fulfil the Law-What Does It Mean?
Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish (destroy, dissolve, overthrow) the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill (make full, complete) them.” (Matthew 5:17)
[Abolish: Greek 2647. kataluó: To destroy, to dissolve, to overthrow, to abolish; Fulfill: Greek 4137. pléroó: To fill, to make full, to complete, to fulfill]
“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.” Matthew 5:18
“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matthew 24:35
“…the scripture cannot be broken.” John 10:35
“Do we then make void (nullify) the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish (uphold) the law.” Romans 3:31
What does not being under the law mean?
There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about believers in Jesus no longer being expected to keep the law because of Paul’s words in Romans 6:14, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
Some people erroneously believe the Old Testament law, which is God’s law, has been abolished and that believers no longer need to be concerned about it or keep it. Some think being under grace means they can now sin and live how they want because “we are no longer under the law but under grace.” They almost seem to use Jesus’ brutal death on the cross (for sin) as an excuse to sin, violate God’s law, and offend God.
But that is not what ‘not being under the law‘ means, nor is it what Paul meant. It simply means that we do not earn our righteousness or get salvation from God by keeping the law of Moses, including through sacrificing animals and all the ceremonial rituals and laws the Jews kept to atone for sins in the Old Covenant.
This old system never succeeded in making the Jews righteous because they could not keep God’s laws by human effort. Instead, in the new covenant, we are under grace (God’s unmerited favor), which has been displayed by God sending his son to die for our sins as a perfect sacrifice once and for all. As a result, God has imputed the righteousness of HIS SON (the only one who kept the law perfectly) freely to us. He has given us the Holy Spirit and new birth in Christ so that we can be able to live righteously.
That old covenant system of atonement is what Paul was talking about as having been abolished, and not the actual moral law of God.
The New Covenant standards are higher
In the new covenant, through God’s grace, we become righteous through Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice and shed blood on the cross. Through faith in Jesus, we receive HIS Spirit, who is HOLY and helps us to keep God’s laws and obey him. Christ in us enables us to fulfill the law’s righteous requirements.
Jesus said, “For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:20
The standards are higher for New Testament Christians because Jesus lives inside of us through his Spirit, enabling us to fulfill the law.
“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:3-4
Jesus summarized the law in this: Love
A Pharisee expert in the law asked Jesus, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt 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.” Matthew 22:36-40
Jesus summarized the entire law in loving God and our neighbors. He said that the law and the prophets hang on these two. The law was a guardian or a schoolmaster to help the Jews fulfill the love of God and man through a list of laws. The Jews were given a list of 613 commandments by God. However, no one was able to fulfill these laws, as it was impossible.
“For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come from the law. But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.” Galatians 3:21-24
“If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well.” James 2:8-12
“The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:14
“Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:10
The law of Christ
Jesus’ death and resurrection ended the law of Moses as a means of righteousness with God. In Jesus, the spirit of the law, which is love for God and love for others, is fulfilled. Those who are in Christ are under the law of Christ.
“Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2
Jesus kept God’s law perfectly; He obeyed God. When we believe in him, his Spirit comes to dwell in us and enables us to fulfill God’s law. The Christian is enabled to keep God’s moral law by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Christian is not a slave to sin but free from the power of sin and now a slave to God and his righteousness.
God, through the prophet Ezekiel, pointed to a time when he would write his law in our hearts:
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. / And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.” Ezekiel 36:26-27
Ceremonial vs. Moral Laws
Only the ceremonial laws of atonement and cleansing of sins were abolished because a better sacrifice (Jesus Christ) came. These laws included circumcision, purification rites, blood sacrifices, ceremonial cleansing and washings, dietary restrictions, customary laws, and so forth.
But none of the moral laws were abolished. Anything God called evil or an abomination in the Old Covenant is still evil and an abomination to him today. God does not change. God has not changed his mind to now accept sin in the name of grace. That is impossible. Anything God termed as sinful in the Old Covenant is still sinful today because God is still holy. Grace provides the power to obey God’s commands; it does not condone sin.
“God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind.” Numbers 23:19
Jesus fulfilled the law so that we could be enabled to fulfill its requirements by the power of his Spirit in us
Jesus said he didn’t come to abolish the law and prophets but to FULFILL them. This means everything the law attempted to do has been fulfilled (made possible) in him, and now man can be made righteous through his blood and made obedient like Jesus was to God’s laws (he came to bring many more (obedient) sons to glory—Hebrews 2:10).
Jesus never disobeyed God’s laws and would never ask us to. Instead, he even made the standards even higher in the New Covenant because our consciences and spirits are now regenerated through the sacrifice of his blood. This is something the blood of bulls and goats could not do (Hebrews 10:4).
“He saved us, not by works in righteousness that we did, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:5
Do not be deceived by those who claim the moral law doesn’t apply to us. God does not change. What he hated before, he hates now; his holiness never changes, and God does not change his mind like men do. “I AM GOD; I CHANGE NOT” (Malachi 3:6). Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matthew 24:35. God’s words do not fall to the ground.
Paul, who was the great teacher of grace, emphasizes this and says, “Do we then make void (nullify) the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish (uphold) the law.” Romans 3:31. The law has not been nullified. The distinction Paul was always making is that we are not saved, justified, or sanctified through the law but through God’s grace. But God’s grace and the new birth enable us to obey God’s commands.
Revere God’s word
The word of God must be studied from Genesis to Revelation, with spiritual wisdom and understanding, to know the nature and character of God. We are in days of increasing deception where many are disobeying God’s word and teaching others to do so, which Jesus warned about.
“So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:19
As I was meditating on this topic to finalize this article, the Holy Spirit told me, “The law brings men to Christ by revealing their sin, and Christ helps men fulfill the righteous requirement of the law.”
“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:3-4
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