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Peace and grace brethren! In this Q&A article, we will seek to answer the question above. Someone said to us, "I found it interesting that you said 'Jesus fulfilled the law' and didn't abolish it. Can you talk more about the Old Testament Law and how it was not abolished? I have doubts about the laws." Thanks for asking! This is a good question, one that many sincere believers have. We have asked this question to ourselves in different occasions. We came to realize that embedded in this question is usually another question, Should new testament believers obey The Law or The Old Testament Laws? Often the latter ends up being the real question when someone asks Law-related questions. Perhaps that's why you said, "I have doubts about the laws." In either case, by the grace of God, in this article, we will seek to answer both questions in a somewhat straightforward manner, so the article doesn't get as lengthy, and another detailed article directly addressing the question, "Should New Testament Believers Obey The Law" will follow. It's our prayer that God though these articles will establish your heart regarding this issue or lead you to learn more through other materials. Let's go to the question! Did Jesus abolish The Law? Jesus Himself gave a direct and precise answer to this question, and His answer was: NO! In Matthew 5:17, Jesus said, "'“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.'" The verb translated destroy carries the meaning of "abolish, cancel nullify, make void, and etc." The New Living Translation translated it in the following way, "'“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.'" Matthew 5:17. The phrase that we used that led you to ask the question was essentially a paraphrase of Jesus own words. Jesus didn't abolish the law but came to accomplish its purpose. But Jesus didn't stay there, his answer was broader. While we seek to understand only whether the law was abolished or not, we see that Jesus' answer included the prophets also. The Law refers to the set of laws that Moses received in the Mount Sinai and others that followed when the Israelites first enter their covenant with God. The Law also refers to the covenant itself and indicates the time period in which that covenant was in effect. Whereas, the Prophets refer to the writings of the Prophets according to Jewish tradition, which includes Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, plus all the known prophets from Isaiah to Malachi as we have in the new testament. Interestingly enough, all these prophets wrote during the time period when the covenant of the law was in effect, and spoke in figures about the coming of Jesus. Just like He did not abolish the Law, He didn't abolish what the Prophets said either. So, if He did not abolish, what happened then? On the latter part of Matthew 5:17, Jesus said, "...I came to accomplish their purpose.'" Instead of abolishing it, Jesus fulfilled the law, He accomplished its purpose. He explains further in verse 18 of Matthew 5 saying, "'For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.'" Jot and tittle refers to the smallest characters in the Hebraic alphabet/writings. Jesus is saying that all that is written in the law and all that the prophets prophesied will be fulfilled, and not abolished. Jesus came to fulfill them, bring them to pass, bring them into existence, meaning accomplish their purpose. Perhaps its important for us to seek to comprehend the purpose of the law, so we can better understand what Jesus meant. The Law had several specifics purposes and one general purpose. The specifics are: 1) Expose our offenses or sins. It's written, "'Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,'" Romans 5:20. 2) Make us guilt before God. It's written, "'Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.'" Romans 3:19. 3) Grant us the knowledge of sin. it's written, "'Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.'" Romans 3:20. Moreover, "'What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.'" Romans 7:7-8. 4) Keep us until faith came. It's written, "But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed." Galatians 3:23. 5) Foreshadowing the future blessings in Christ. All the sacrifices, the feasts, the burning of incense, the ceremonies, and etc. had a prophetic nature, they were not the real things, they pointed to superior realities that would be fully revealed and available to us in Christ. It's written, "For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect." Hebrews 10:1. All these specific purposes converge to the general purpose of the Law which is: Bring us to Christ. It's written, "Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. " Galatians 3:21-25 NKJV. You see, the ultimate goal of the law was and is to lead us to Christ, and from Christ we get to the Father. The law was never meant to save us, that's why Romans 3:20 says "'Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.'"  Often when we read the old testament, we get astonished with the amount of laws and with the idea of having to keep all of them without failing a single one, otherwise, as James says we would be guilt of all of them; it's written, "'For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.'" James 2:10. This is a serious demand and speaks of the holiness of God, He is Holy and those who approach Him must be Holy (Leviticus 10:2). The requirements of the law scares us, leads us to conclude that it's impossible to keep them without failing at least one. Yes, indeed it's impossible; therefore, by the law you can see that we cannot obey God, and thus we become guilty before Him, unless we receive mercy, which is only found in Christ. In other words, the law reveals our inability to obey God, leaves us desperate, screaming, "Lord, have mercy on us, we are sinners," and then God comes and says, "Yes, you are a sinner, that's what I wanted you to see, so you can receive grace gladly. By your own deeds or your attempts obey me by keeping the law, won't work, but I made Him, Jesus, who knew no sin to be sin, so you could be justified, saved, made righteous before my eyes." [Ref, 2 Corinthians 5:21]. Is The Law Bad Then? The Answer is: No, By no means! Paul argues this saying, "'What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.'" Romans 7:7-12 Here again, Paul reminds us that the law was not a mistake. The law is holy, the commandment holy and just and good; we were the problem, we did not have the capacity to obey it. Our inability to obey the law doesn't make it bad, rather it shows that we need help. For instance, in our society we have traffic laws right? Why we have them? So that people don't go about driving anyhow, endangering themselves and other people's lives. However, how many people break the traffic laws? Many! Out of these people, how many break the law repeatedly? Several! Does it mean that the laws are useless or bad? By no means, if not for the law things would be even worse. But what about those who repeatedly break the laws? They simply show that they need help and not more and more laws! Traffic laws help us knowing what to obey but they don't give us the ability to drive well or the capacity to obey; again, they simply give us something to obey. A defensive driving course on the contrary can help us by correcting our bad driving habits. Once, one corrects his poor driving habits or rather is "empowered" to obey the traffic laws and begins to drive safely, he can surely acknowledge that the problem was never the law, but their inability to obey it. Same is applicable to us with respect to the law. The law is good, it is an extension of God's own character, and it was given in part because of transgression to keep us in line (1 Timothy 1:8-11) while The Savior, Christ, was to come, and at the same time, show us that we are guilty and helpless sinners, needing God's mercy. So, the law is good, not bad; therefore, it didn't need to be canceled. The law was not a mistake in God's agenda, as if He had given it and then realized, 'They won't be able to obey it, let me give then grace', Not at all! God knew from the beginning that Israel and we would never be able to obey the law fully, yet He gave it to us so we could be led to Christ by the revelation of sin that the Law brings. Again, this was the purpose of the Law, therefore, when Christ came, the Law had done its job and no longer was needed. Therefore, instead of saying abolished, Jesus said fulfilled. An illustration would be, If you want to go to a certain destination, and to get there, you need to take a taxi. By the time you get to your destination through the taxi, you will not say, 'The taxi was abolished because it took me to my destination'. Instead, you would say, 'The taxi fulfilled its purpose by taking me to my destination, consequently, I do not need to take the taxi again; I am at my destination'". The taxi accomplished its purpose, instead of being canceled. The Law was the means, taxi, to lead us to Christ, our destination, and by the time we are in Him, Christ, we no longer need a taxi, the law; not because taking a taxi is bad but because we no longer need it - it's not useful for us anymore. Perhaps, you can begin to see the answer of the implied question: should new testament believers obey the law? The answer is: No, because they are already at their destination, Christ. However, we can learn, and only learn, from the essence of the Law, because it still reveals the Holy nature of God, but this must be done in the light of the New Testament, without ever submitting ourselves to the Law again. Conclusion Jesus did not abolish or canceled the law, instead He fulfilled its purpose. Once the law finished its course, it was set aside, not canceled, and a New Covenant was ratified. It's written, "'For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord , when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— [...] In that He says, “A new covenant ,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.'" Hebrews 8:7-8,13. The Law could not save or transform us, therefore, a new one had to be ratified. The priesthood was changed from Levitical to Christ's, therefore the laws also changed. It's written, "'Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.'" Hebrews 7:11-12. The Law could not save or transform us, not because the law was bad but because we are sinners who cannot obey God's law and salvation was never meant to come through the law but by Faith because 430 years prior to the law, God had already justified Abraham by faith and promised that in Abraham's seed, who is Christ, all the families of the earth would be saved, or justified by Faith like Abraham was. Thus, from the very beginning the law had a temporary nature; it would only be in effect until the seed of Abraham came to scene, and He did (John 1:14). It's written, "'Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise'" Galatians 3:15-18. This covenant of Faith is the new covenant, the one that Jesus ratified in His blood, under which new covenant believers are bound, therefore, they don't have to obey the demands of the old, but in obeying the new, they fulfill the old and are made righteous before God because of Christ. Hallelujah! Hope this article was helpful in answering your question. To help you further, we recommend that you read the books of Romans, Galatians and Hebrews as they provide valuable insights about the law and the new covenant, and stay tuned for the next article. May God bless you, may you continue in knowing Him, and may your love for Him grow more and more in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. In Christ Knowing-God Family Like - Comment - Share - Subscribe Knowing-God.com Love . Grace . Intimacy

In the previous related article, we sought to answer a question we were asked, Did Jesus Abolish The Law? . In case you haven't read yet, please do it for better context. In the article we saw that Jesus did not abolish or canceled the law, instead He fulfilled its purpose, which according to Galatians 3:24, was to be a tutor and bring people to Christ . Once the law finished its course, it was set aside and a New Covenant was ratified, the covenant of Faith. As mentioned in the article also, the Law was not and is not bad, it simply worked to accomplish its purpose. Now, the question is: knowing that the Law is not bad and it was not canceled, are Christians supposed to still obey it? In our experiences, this is the real question many believers want answered when they begin to wonder or not the law was abolished. We have been there and asked ourselves the same question! it is our prayer that through this article God gives you clarity in Jesus. If the Law Is Not Bad, Should New Testament Believers Obey It Then? The straightforward answer to this question is: No! Not at all, not even a single command. Some people believe that the ceremonial laws, those pertaining to the service in the temple and the sacrifices, were the only laws canceled, but that the moral laws are still in effect. However, looking to the purpose of the law this seems contradicting. The law itself was not canceled, and not part of the was canceled or abolished either; again, Jesus Himself said it. The law had a purpose and it was accomplished, therefore, the law was set aside and not canceled, it became antiquated. Not a single commandment of the law is to be obeyed by new testament believers, hence we call it old. We are under the new covenant, thus, under the law of Christ and not under the law of Moses. However, we can learn - and believe me there is a great deal to learn in Law, but only learn, from the essence of the Law because it still reveals the Holy nature of God. Nevertheless, it must be done in the light of the New Testament, without ever submitting ourselves to the Law again, and we will explain why in the course of this article. Let's jump to it. The Law Foreshadowed Superior Spiritual Blessings As we have mentioned briefly in the previous article also, one of the purposes of the Law was to foreshadow superior spiritual blessings found in Christ. Thus, if we are in Christ, we have access to the superior-spiritual blessings themselves and not their shadows anymore, the veil is removed and we can see them clearly. If we have the superior blessings themselves, then the shadows are automatically rendered unnecessary. Why would we then, need again the lesser blessings? That would mark a regression and not a progression and render the work of Christ of no effect. The book of Hebrews put this way, "'And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;'" Hebrews 9:22-24. Notice the passage says, "the copies of the things in heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices." The system that came through the Law was a copy of the heavenly realities - superior blessings, therefore, God warned Moses saying, "'And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.'" Exodus 25:40. However, in Christ, we have access to the superior blessings themselves, not the copies like they had; therefore, if we focus on obeying only the righteous requirements of the new covenant, which is superior, automatically we fulfil the righteous requirements of the Law. Paul puts this way, "'There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.'" Romans 8:1-4 Notice the last verses, " For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.' ". In other words, the Law was impotent to redeem or transform us, but Christ's sacrifice is sufficient to redeem and transform us. In him get we access to a new law, "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus", and if we walk on it, we fulfill the righteous requirement of the old testament law. Under this new covenant, we have access to the Holy Spirit, who leads us so we don't fulfill the lusts or the sinful desires of the flesh, and in so doing, we will fulfill the demands of justice or righteous requirements that the Law of Moses had, this is because, the bible says, "'For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”' (Galatians 5:14). Thus, if one loves his neighbor as himself, like the New testament commands, although is a commandment also given under the law (Leviticus 19:18), he is fulfilling the requirement of the law but not obeying the law itself and neither putting himself under its yoke. Do you see the difference? Again, obeying the requirements of the new covenant is enough for Christians; by doing so, they satisfy the law without obeying it. Now, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” refers only to the aspects of the law related to our relationship with our neighbors. However, the law had also requirements about our relationship with God Himself. Perhaps the best way to see this is by looking to the Ten Commandments first mentioned in Exodus 20:1-17. The first part comprised of the first 4 commandments, verses 1-11, pertains directly to our relationship with God, and the remaining 6 commandments comprise the second part and deals directly with our relationship with our neighbors, although it ultimately also affects our relationship with God. What is the point? The point is that with the above in mind, these 10 laws can be summed up in two great commandments. Jesus puts this way, "..., “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’'" Matthew 22:37-39. If you obey these two great commandments to the core, you then fulfill all the ten commandments because they resume the essence of the Law, and the prophets according to Jesus. He said, "'On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”' Matthew 22:40. In other words, "'The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”' Matthew 22:40 NLT. So, when new testament believers wonder whether or not they should obey the law, they show they never understood the new covenant, the character of God, the law itself and its purpose, or that they have been deceived by someone somewhere during their walk. If you have the latest iPhone why would you go back to the old? In theory the latest has all the feature of the old and much more, unless some old features were deemed unnecessary. Of course this is an imperfect analogy, considering the distraction that newer technologies can bring alongside better productivity. However, such is not the case of the new covenant. The truth is that the latest covenant of God has embedded on it the essence of the old, and obeying the demands of the new covenant in Christ leads us to obey the demands of the law, fulfilling its righteous requirements, which quite frankly are nothing compared to new. The requirements of the New covenant are stricter compared to the old. Consider the words of Jesus, "'“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.'" Matthew 5:21-22. What is easier the old, " you must no murder" or the new, "if you are even angry with someone [without a cause], you are subject to judgment" ? Certainly the new is. If you continue, you will see that Jesus makes other contrasts and in so doing He was removing the old and establishing the new covenant, founded on better promises (Hebrews 8:6) and with stricter requirements for righteousness. However, there is a couple caveats: The new covenant is transformation driven and not performance driven, under the new covenant, we have access to a new nature (John 1:12-13) not dominated by sin and access to the Holy Spirit who helps us subdue our old carnal nature. Thus, although the demands of the new are stricter, the amount of help we have to obey them are greater also. On the contrary, if we go back to the law, we are left helpless and incapable of even obey God and fulfil the Law. Under the law it is, "either you obey all or you obey none", James frames it as follows, "'For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.'" (James 2:10). The law is not a pick-and-chose system. If one says that we should obey "some" laws relevant for us today, then we should go back sacrificing animals and etc. Paul warns us against the idea of going back to the law in his letter addressed to the church of the Galatians. A Warning Against The Old Heresy He said, "'Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.'" Galatians 3:1-5 NLT. Paul expressly said that for someone, meaning new testament believers, who understood the meaning of Christ's death and received the Holy Spirit by believing the message of the cross, to go back to the law, it is an evil spell; it does not happen only by means of someone simply deciding to do it but by means of being deceived by a corrupted preacher, like the Judaizers that came to the church of Galatia after they had been saved by the preaching of the cross. This is the only way that new testament believers go back the law, it's by deception. Do not go back to the law! You cannot obey it and you won't be able to do so, the new covenant is enough, "'Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 1 Corinthians 15:33. You see, the attempt to get believers back to the law is not a new thing. Paul dealt a lot with this issue in several churches throughout his ministry, and it usually began with circumcision and soon the Judaizers demanded more and more. For instance in Acts 15:1-2 reads, "'And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.'" Notice that Paul and Barnabas didn't stay quiet, they disputed with those Judaizers, and so shall we do. Moreover, notice also, that the Church of Antioch determined that Paul and Barnabas should to go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, to ask about this question and settle this issue once and forever. Again, this is not a new issue, the claim, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." is the first major heresy the church had to deal with. In fact, this is the issue that led the church to have its first major council with Paul and Barnabas going to Jerusalem; who better than the apostles and elders of the early church to resolve this issue? No one but them. Thank God, they were still alive then and made a decree concerning this issue, as written: "'They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “ You must be circumcised and keep the law” —to whom we gave no such commandment— it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.'" Acts 15:23-29. Praise God! In short, the only thing coming from the law that believers are to observe, not as means to uphold the law or go back to it, but because they became requirements of the new covenant and are tied to the nature of God, are: "'[...] abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. [...]'" Acts 15:29. In another words, "'Do not eat any food that people have given to their idols . Do not eat anything that still has blood in it. If people have strangled [squeeze or constrict the neck, especially so as to cause death, of] an animal to kill it, do not eat its meat. Do not have sex with anyone that you are not married to. If you obey these rules, you will do well. Goodbye.’" Acts 15:29 EASY Bible 2024. The leaders of the early church said, " If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well." Acts 15:29b. These were the only requirements the apostles had for gentiles, they did not agree for a minute with the idea of being circumcised or obeying the law of Moses. They said, it would be "[...] a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?'" Acts 15:10b. For believers to obey the law is a yoke of bondage that neither the old testament figures nor the apostles were able to obey, so we won't either. Paul said in Colossians 2:16-17 NKJV, "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ." . Do not go back to the law. It had a purposed and it was accomplished in Christ. What is prescribed in the new testament or covenant is enough for us. In summary The law is not bad, therefore, it did not have to be abolished and Jesus did not abolish it, rather He fulfilled it and ushered a new covenant in His blood. Thus, the Law is outdated, it is part of an old testament or covenant to which new testament or covenant believers are not liable or bound - you are only legally bound to contracts or covenants you signed or that affects you, I speak as a man! Although some people claim that the moral laws are still in effect, again, not a single command of the law is to be obeyed by new testament believer, including the moral laws - to obey them because the law says so or because they are found in the bible is to obey the law and placed upon ourselves a yoke that was already removed in Christ, and explained by no else but the leaders of the early church. Moreover, Paul warned us saying, "'Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— '" Galatians 3:3-5. Don't perfect yourself in the flesh by going back to the law. James says, "'For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.'" (James 2:10). Thus, we can't simply choose to obey the moral laws, it's either all or none. Hence, the law is not for new testament saints. However, we can learn, and only learn, from the essence of the Law, because it still reveals the Holy nature of God, but this must be done in the light of the New Testament, without ever submitting ourselves to the Law again because, Paul also said, "'For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.'" Romans 8:3-4. As we walk in the Spirit and obey the new covenant, we satisfy the righteous requirement of law and enjoy fellowship with God, having no need to obey anything else. To be a perfect, complete or mature Christian is not to add upon ourselves the law, but rather to be a good new testament believer, obeying all that is prescribed in the new covenant only. Now it is important to note that when we talk about the Law we are not talking about the old testament. Although the Law is found in the old testament, it doesn't make up its entirety. The old testament as we have today in our bibles didn't have only the law it also had the prophets, the historical books, the wisdom books and etc, although the events and books were written when the Law was in effect. So, it's important to distinguish the Law from the Old Testament, the usefulness of the Old Testament from what has been said about the Law, and this will be the subject of the next article God willing. May God bless you, may you be free from any yoke God did not place upon you, and run the race of faith unhindered for His glory. See you and stay tuned for the next article in this category: Law & Grace . Like - Comment - Share - Subscribe Knowing-God.com Love . Grace . Intimacy

Jesus is: The great "I AM..." [Ref: John 8:58] "The bread of life..."  [Ref: John 6:35] "The Son of God... " [Ref: Revelation 2:18] “The light of the world..." [Ref: John 8:12] “The door of the sheep..."  [Ref: John 10:7-9] Jesus is: "Life-given Spirit..." [Ref: 1 Corinthians 15:45] "Our righteousness..."  [Ref: 1 Corinthians 1:30] “The resurrection and the life..."  [Ref: John 11:25] "One like the Son of Man..." [Ref: Revelation 1:13] "He who is holy and is True..."  [Ref: Revelation 3:7] Jesus is: “The way, The truth, and The life..." [Ref: John 14:6] "The firstborn from the dead..."  [Ref: Revelation 1:5] "He who has the key of David..."  [Ref: Revelation 3:7] "He who has the seven Spirits..."  [Ref: Revelation 3:1] "The Ruler over the Kings of the earth..." [Revelation 1:5] Jesus is: "The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness..."  [Revelation 3:14] "The Beginning of the creation of God..." [Ref: Revelation 3:14] "He who has the sharp two-edged sword..." [Ref: Revelation 2:12] He who has " the government upon His shoulder... " [Ref: Isaiah 9:6] He whose  ".... name is called The Word of God...."  [Ref: Rev 19:13-16] Jesus is: "He who holds the seven stars in His right hand..." [Ref: Revelation 2:1] “The true vine" and "His Father is the vinedresser…" [Ref: John 15:1-5] “He who is and was and is to come, the Almighty...” [Ref: Revelation 1:8] "The propitiation for our sins… and for the whole world"  [Ref: 1 John 2:2] "He who washed us from our sins in His own blood..."  [Ref: Revelation 1:5] Jesus is: “The good shepherd who gives His life for the sheep..."  [Ref: John 10:11-14] "The First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life..."  [Ref: Revelation 2:8] "The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,...” [Ref: Revelation 1:8] "He who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands..." [Ref: Revelation 2:1] "He who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens...” [Ref: Revelation 3:7] Jesus is, He who is " called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace .", and "... has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.'..." [Ref: Isaiah 9:6, Revelation 19:16] All Hail Jesus Christ, who is The Kings of Kings and Lord of Lords! Like - Comment - Share - Subscribe ________________________________ Knowing-God.com Love . Grace . Intimacy

Welcome to Knowing-GOD, a practical teaching ministry aiming to serve the body of Christ in the advancement of the Kingdom of God by diffusing the knowledge of God to all people​​. Welcome again, may you know God, and grow in love, grace and intimacy with Him. God bless you! Jesus said, 'So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. [...]' Matthew 5:19a Welcome Welcome to Knowing-GOD, a practical teaching ministry and a growing hub for discipleship, aiming to serve the body of Christ in the advancement of the Kingdom of God by diffusing the fragrance of the knowledge of God to people in every nation, tribe, and tongues through the preaching of the Gospel and the making of disciples, in obedience to Christ, Our Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit. For Jesus said, " 'And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.'" John 17:3 Welcome again. God bless you! Read More Anchor 1 April 27th, 2026 The Origin of Wars and Fights It's Written, 'What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. ' James 4:1-3 NLT May God Bless You Devotional Anchor 2 Recent Articles The Race of Faith, Part 1: Not Disqualified, Learning From Israel's Examples Christian Walk - Feb 4 11 min read Time and Sessions: Setting The Lord Before You Christian Walk - Jan 15 8 min read His Name Is Jesus by Jeremy Riddle Singing to The Lord - Dec 26, 2025 2 min read 1 2 3 4 5 Jesus, The Way, The Truth, and The Life... "'Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” '" Acts 2:38-39 Read More Helder & Rebeca "We are Christ's disciples called to make disciples from all the nations. Glad you are here!" Read More Stay Updated Language Gender Join Thanks for subscribing! Address United States Email info@knowing-god.com Connect

The Knowledge of GOD. In Jeremiah 9, 23-24 God said, "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord , exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the Lord ." God through prophet Jeremiah makes known that He desires all men to understand and to know Him. The Knowledge of GOD In Jeremiah 9, 23-24 God said, "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord , exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the Lord ." God through prophet Jeremiah makes known that He desires all men to understand and to know Him. In fact, knowing and by extension understanding God are the very essence of eternal life and the reason we have been created. Jesus in John 17, 3 said “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” What did you think we would be doing with so much time in eternity? Besides, living "normal" lives like we already do on earth now, of course without the sinful aspects, the core of the life in eternity is knowing God, progressing in knowing Him, and by extension understand the mysteries of His creation. Paul in Acts 17, 26-27 said “And He [God] has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;” God has made mankind to know and seek Him eternally for the good pleasure of His will, this is our eternal calling. Moreover, God doesn’t only desire to be known and understood by men, but also that such knowledge and understanding be the very epicenter of men’s joy and boast. God wants people to glory or shine, be vocal about Him and delightful for knowing Him. However, our society has marginalized the knowledge of God, its inhabitants don’t boast in the knowledge of God, instead they boast in wealth, technological advancement, worldly wisdom and knowledge, and so many temporal things. Those are not the kinds of boasting that pleases the Lord, God said, “...let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord” Jeremiah 9, 24. Jesus’ warning for the inhabitants of our society is similar to the one He issued to the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3, 17-18, He said, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.” It is worth noting that if our society is devoid of the knowledge of God it is not because such knowledge is not available, rather it is because we deliberately choose to suppress the truth or reject it. The bible says, “... what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.” Romans 1:19-23. Every man is without excuse for creation bears witness of a creator as a "painting alludes to a painter, a building to a builder, and a writing to a writer" (Ray Comfort). God purposely fashioned the world in a way that His characteristics, qualities or attributes that are invisible to us would be clearly seen and comprehended through the observation of the things He created. For instance, the goodness of God can be seen through the way He provides and cares for His creatures. The bible says, "... for He [God] makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:45. Moreover, Job 38:39-41 says “Can you hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, When they crouch in their dens, Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait? Who provides food for the raven, When its young ones cry to God, And wander about for lack of food?” On the other hand, the omnipotence of God can also be seen in the things he created. It takes energy, a lot of energy, to get certain processes going. For instance, the amount of energy necessary to instantaneously alter earth’s topography on a large scale is so great that only activities such as volcano’s eruption, earthquakes, tsunamis, bomb explosions, etc. are able to achieve it. Now, imagine how much energy or power it took to create the whole world and give form to it, but God did it all in a matter of days. God is powerful and creation bears witness of it. The bible says, “But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.” Jeremiah 10:12. The natural laws and order in the universe alludes to His faithfulness, sovereignty, and other characteristics. For instance, Genesis 1:14-18 says, “Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.” God is faithful! He said that the greater light, that is the Sun, would rule the day and the lesser light, the moon, would rule the night, and still today we see this happening because God said so. Moreover, in Genesis 8:22, God said, “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease,” again still today we see this happening - the farmer plants seeds and then harvest comes, we have different seasons and climates, and day and night do not cease to show up. God is faithful and this attribute of His as well others can be seen in His marvelous creation. God did all of these so men would be without excuse “so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;” Acts 17: 2. 1 of 6 Chapter 1

When God desires men to know Him, it is a demonstration of His love and care for them, God is their maker and knows that without Him, men can do nothing (John 15, 5). It is not because God is in need of relationships or has a void that only men can fill, not at all, that was stated in plain human terms to set us free from seeing God wrongly; to claim otherwise is a heresy. God is perfect, needing nothing from man (Psalm 24:1), sufficient in Himself (Exodus 3:14). An expression of Love: God's Invitation Remains When God desires men to know Him, it is a demonstration of His love and care for them, God is their maker and knows that without Him, men can do nothing (John 15, 5). It is not because God is in need of relationships or has a void that only men can fill, not at all; it was only stated in plain human terms to set us free from seeing God wrongly; to claim otherwise is a heresy. God is perfect, needing nothing from man (Psalm 24:1), sufficient in Himself (Exodus 3:14), enjoying unity and fellowship with Himself (John 16:13-15, Hebrews 1:1-4) receiving constant worship from the angels around His throne (Isaiah 6:1-4). Undoubtedly, God does not need anything from men all things are His. God said, “Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.” Job 41:11 and also “I will not take a bull from your house, Nor goats out of your folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats?” Psalms 50:9:13. God enjoys fellowship in Himself, He is not alone, He is a triune being, John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Likewise in the beginning His Spirit hovered upon the waters, it says “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:1-2. God enjoys fellowship in Himself, different from us who need another of our kind to be complete. It’s written, “And the Lord God said, “ It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Genesis 2:18. Although we have been made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), we don’t enjoy fellowship by ourselves, God made women to complete men, and etc. Again, God doesn’t need anything from men, when God manifests His desire for man to know Him, He is definitely having men’s best interest in mind, not His. The bible says that “... God is love.” I John 4:8 and that “..., [Love] does not seek its own, ...” I Corinthians 13:5. God is love and love does not pursue its own interest without regarding the interest of others, therefore God cares for men, doesn’t give up on them, even when they act rebelliously. The bible says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16. It's only out of love that God desires man to know Him and be known by him (1 Corinthians 8:3). It's because of love that God made this possible by sending His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins, so that if anyone believes in Him should not perish eternally in the lake fire, rather be reconciled with Him, begin the journey of knowing God, and have everlasting life. God said, For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord , thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11. However, if men don't acknowledge God’s love as demonstrated by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, it’s men who loose. Men's denial of God or refusal to pursue Him does not add or remove anything from God; however, it hinders men from being reconciled to God, know Him and receiving eternal life since God is the source of life. Moreover, God can give them up to their own desires, meaning let them do as they desire; this is a judgment not a blessing, it leads to hell and then to eternal damnation in hell. The time to know God is now. Isaiah the prophet said, “Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.” Isaiah 55:6. God has been patient with men, calling all to repent for He desires all to be saved (1 Timothy 2, 1-6) and not that any should perish (II Peter 3:9). The bible says “For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2. God has set up a day in which He will judge all flesh, and by then it will be too late. It is written, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:30-31. Moreover, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:11-15. Today is the acceptable time to know God while the knowledge of Him is available to all. God has sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ to announce His ways and reconcile men to Him (John 3:16, II Corinthians 5:18-19), He has given us His Word, and pleads with every man through His ambassadors every day (II Corinthians 5:20). It is written, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John 3:16-19. God's invitation through Jeremiah remains. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). God loves you and is reaching out to you, but if you reject the knowledge of Him, He will also reject you. It’s written, “Because they hated knowledge, didn’t choose to fear the Lord, were not interested in my counsel, and rejected all my corrections, they will eat the fruit of their way and be glutted with their own schemes. For the apostasy of the inexperienced will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. But whoever listens to me will live securely and be undisturbed by the dread of danger.” Proverbs 1:29‭-‬33 CSB. May God be with you. Chapter 1 6 of 6 The Gospel