Lesson No. 4, Part 1. The Ten Commandments, the Great Constitution of the Bible Under Moses and Under Christ
TEXT: 2 Corinthians 3:3-7.
Our Bible study today is a very important one: the great Constitution
of the Bible under two ministrations. Yes, God has one great law
which holds the same place in the Bible that the U.S. national Constitution
holds in our national, state, and local laws. The Constitution of the Bible
is the Ten Commandments. It is the one God-given rule of
conduct for all mankind in all ages, from Adam to Christ's
Second Coming. Moses enforced obedience to the Ten Commandments and so
did our Lord Jesus Christ. Before we enter into a Bible study on this topic,
we have another question to which we will give a brief answer.
Question: "How do you explain Luke 1:74,75? Does this teach
that we should keep every day holy?"
ANSWER: Open your Bibles and read these verses
for yourselves. They teach that we should serve God, "without fear, in
holiness and righteousness . . . all the days of our life." This says nothing
about keeping every day holy, but that we must serve God in holinessevery
day. There is a difference between living in holiness all of our
days and in keeping every day holy. We are to serve Him without fear, in
holiness, seven days in the week, but there is only one day in the
week that is holy. This is "the Seventh Day." This day was
blessed and sanctified by God Himself at the end of Creation Week
(Genesis 2:1-3). It is now called the Sabbath. God calls the Sabbath
"My Holy Day" (Isaiah 58:13). There is no other day of the week
that was ever sanctified and made holy. God's Law says "Remember
the Sabbath day to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8-11). If we
are to live "in holiness" every day we must remember that the seventh
day
is God's holy Sabbath day. If we fail to remember and keep this day, we
thereby transgress the Law of God and fail in holy living on this
day. The Sabbath day was made for man (Mark 2:27). It is
commanded
in God's Law (Exodus 20:8-11, James 2:10-12, 1 John 3:4).
God's Constitution
To introduce this topic we will answer a question that is often
asked, "What is the ministration of death written in stones (2 Corinthians
3:7)? Is this the Ten Commandments?"
ANSWER: This ministration of death spoken of in 2 Corinthians
3:7 is not the Ten Commandments, but it is Moses' ministration,
or administrative laws. There are two ministrations spoken of
in this one chapter. Both ministrations enforce obedience to one
great law that can well be compared to the Constitution of the
U.S.A. The Ten Commandments hold the same place in the Bible that the Constitution
holds in our nation. This will become evident as we proceed with our study.
Shall we open our Bibles to 2 Corinthians 3:7? "But if the ministration
of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children
of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory
of his countenance; which glory was to be done away . . . ." Since
this verse deals with the ministration of death, we had better look at
the definition of the word "ministration." Webster gives the following:
"The act of performing service as a subordinate agent; or ministry." Now
look again at 2 Corinthians 3:7. Whose service, as a subordinate agent,
was Paul discussing in this verse? Whose ministration or ministry was so
glorious that his face shown with the glory of God? Moses is the one that
Paul is speaking of. His ministration ended; hence "the glory of his countenance"
was done away. It was Moses' ministration that ended and Christ's
ministration took its place. Read verses 6-11 please. The two
ministrations are clearly contrasted in these verses. They are spoken of
as the ministry of the letter and of the Spirit, the ministration of condemnation
and the ministration of righteousness. The ministration of death under
Moses was glorious, but the ministration of the Spirit exceeds it in
glory under Jesus Christ.
Moses was given his glorious ministration while upon Mt. Sinai
with the Lord (Exodus 21:1; Deuteronomy 4:12-14). After being up in the
Mount with the Lord forty days, Moses came down with the two tables of
stone in his hand, and his face shown so that the children of Israel were
afraid to come nigh him (Exodus 34:28-35). This is what Paul referred to
in 2 Corinthians 3:7. No, the two tables of stone did not
have the ministration of death on them.
The Constitution of the Bible, the Ten Commandments
This was written upon those two tables of stone, "written with the finger of God" (Deuteronomy 10:1-5; 9:10). God declared this Law audibly to all Israel (Deuteronomy 4:12,13). God wrote this Law on the two tables of stone (v. 13; Exodus 24:12). Moses placed this Law in the Ark himself (Deuteronomy 10:1-5). This Law is a perfect Law in both Old and New Scriptures (Psalm 19:7,8; James 1:23-25; 2:10-12). By it is the knowledge of sin for both Jews and Gentiles (Romans 3:9,19,20). Sin is the transgression of the Ten Commandments (1 John 3:4; Romans 7:7,12,13).
The Ministration of Death Written in Stones (2 Corinthians 3:7)
What was this ministration of death written in stones if it were
not the Ten Commandments? We have already shown that this ministration
of death was Moses ministration. The Ten Commandments are not
Moses' ministration in any sense of the word. Neither are the Ten Commandments
a ministration of death. There is nothing in the Ten Commandments that
says anything about enforcing obedience under penalty of death. This perfect
Law of God simply states what is right and what is not right before God.
This same thing is true of the Constitution of the U.S. The Constitution
simply states certain fundamental principles for which we stand as a nation.
We have also a lot of administrative laws, all of which are designed
to enforce obedience to that great code of law, the Constitution.
We change administrations but that does not change the Constitution. Each
administration is sworn to uphold the Constitution of the U.S.A.
Likewise with God's Constitutional Law, the Ten Commandments,
Moses was given an administrative code of laws to enforce obedience
to the Ten Commandments under penalty of death in the nation of
Israel. Willful violators were punished by the death penalty with few exceptions
(Hebrews 10:28; Deuteronomy 17:2-7). Moses' ministration, or administrative
law, was written in a book. Let us note a few Bible facts about
that book of the law "given by Moses" (2 Chronicles 34:14).
In Deuteronomy 4:12,13, we read that God declared and wrote the Ten Commandments.
In verse 14 Moses said, "And the Lord commanded me at that time
to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the
land whither ye go over to possess it." Some of those judgments that Moses
was to teach Israel were found in Exodus chapter 21, 22, and 23. Read them
for yourself.
"Moses wrote all the words of the Lord" (Exodus 24:3,4). "And
Moses wrote this law . . ." (Deuteronomy 31:9). "And it came to pass, when
Moses had made an end of writing this law in a book, until they
were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites . . . saying, Take this
book
of the law, and put it in the side of the ark . . ." (verses 24-26).
Paul speaks of this book of the law in Galatians 3:10 and in verse 19.
Of this same law he says, "Wherefore then serveth the law? It was
added
because of transgression . . . ." But was this
book of the law also
written
on
stones?
Yes, it was written upon an altar made of whole or unhewn
stones.
For proof, turn first to Deuteronomy 27:1-8. Read all eight verses. Here
we have one of the commands of Moses that was written in the book of the
law. The command in brief was that Israel, after crossing the Jordan, was
to build an altar in Mt. Ebal. That altar was to be made of "whole stones."
No iron tools were to be used in arranging these stones for the altar.
They were unhewn stones. This was to be a large altar made of
great stones and plastered over with plaster. What then? "And thou
shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly"
(verse 8). This is a plain command that needs no explanation. Did Israel
obey this command? Yes, they did. Turn to Joshua 8:30-35 and read: "Then
Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in Mt. Ebal, as
Moses . . . commanded . . . as it is written in the book
of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones . . . and
he
wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses . . . ."
Now look at 2 Corinthians 3:7 and read it carefully. Moses' ministration
of death was written upon
stones, an altar of whole stones.
The Ten Commandments were
not written upon stones. They were written
upon two tables of S-T-O-N-E, hewn stone.
Moses' Ministration of Death
Moses' law was an administrative law enforcing obedience to
the Ten Commandments in Israel. This law also regulated the
Levitical Priesthood, with all the sacrifices and rites (Hebrews 9:1-12;
10:1-10). The sin of ignorance was atoned for by certain animal sacrifices.
Read Leviticus 4.
Willful transgressions of the Ten Commandments brought
the death penalty, with few exceptions. Moses' law was the national
administrative law in Israel. Paul says, "He that despised Moses' law
died without mercy under two or three witnesses" (Hebrews 10:28).
Under Moses' ministration, the death penalty was executed without mercy
under two or more witnesses. That is why it is called "the ministration
of death." This will become clearer as we look at a few more texts of Scripture.
The real purpose of that ministration of death is given in Deuteronomy
17:2-7: "If there be found among you . . . man or woman, that hath wrought
wickedness
in the sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his covenant,
and hath gone and served other gods . . . thou . . . shalt stone them with
stones, till they die. At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses,
shall he . . . be put to death . . . . So thou shalt put
evil away
from among you." The nation of Israel was to be a righteous nation and
the strict execution of those who willfully violated the Ten Commandments
was the means by which they were to put evil away from themselves as a
nation.
The great Constitutional Law that was being enforced by this
ministration was the Ten Commandments. In Deuteronomy 17:2-7 the death
penalty was required for violation of the first Commandment "Thou
shalt have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 13:1-10).
Violation of the Seventh Commandment against adultery also carried the
death penalty (Leviticus 20:10). Children who cursed father or mother in
violation of the Fifth Commandment, were stoned to death (Leviticus 20:9).
Jesus refers to that very Commandment in Mark 7:9,10: "For Moses said,
Honour thy father and thy mother, and whoso curseth father or mother, let
him die the death . . . ." This should make it clear to all that
Moses' law was merely an administrative law enforcing obedience to the
great law of God that commands children to honor their parents (Exodus
20:12). The other Precepts in the Ten Commandments were enforced under
the same penalty. Examples: Murder--Numbers 35:30,31; Sabbath desecration--Numbers
15:32-36.
Christ's Ministration of the Spirit
Christ's ministration of the Spirit now enforces
obedience to the same Constitutional law the Ten Commandments.
Moses' ministration was a ministration of the "letter," and Christ's ministration
is a ministration of the "Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:6). Both ministrations
enforce obedience to the one perfect Law of God. The change of ministrations
did not change one word of the Ten Commandments (Matthew 5:17-22).
The ministration of death ended. We do not stone people to death for violations
of the Law of God, but the eternal penalty has not changed.
"The wages of sin is death . . ." (Romans 6:23). Under Christ's
ministration, the Holy Spirit reproves for sin and the penalty is
left until the Day of Judgment (Romans 12:19; Matthew 5:38-40; John 16:8-10).
Moses enforced obedience in the letter but Jesus enforces obedience
from the heart to the same perfect Law of God, the Ten Commandments.
For proof read the Sermon on the Mount starting with The Fifth Precept
in God's Law, and He also tells us that our righteousness must exceed that
of the Pharisees. The Pharisees obeyed in the letter, but Christians must
exceed that in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. In verses 21 and 22
we see the ministration of Moses in contrast to the ministration of Jesus
in regards to one Precept of God's Law, "Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13).
Jesus refers to murder and its penalty under Moses' ministration in verse
21 and then in verse 22 says, "But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry
with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the Judgment . .
. ." It is made plain in 1 John 3:15, "Whosoever hateth his brother
is a murderer . . . ." This includes our enemies, too (Matthew 4:43,44).
Under Moses a person had to commit the act to be a murderer, but under
Christ a person with hatred in his heart is guilty of violating the Commandment
that says, "Thou shalt not kill."
We must now obey from the heart the Ten Commandments.
Lust in the heart makes a person guilty of violating the Seventh Commandment
(Matthew 5:27,28). Under Moses, God's Law was written on tables of stone,
but under Christ's ministration that same law is written in the
heart by the Spirit (Jeremiah 31:31-33; 2 Corinthians 3:2,3; Hebrews
8:8-13). God's love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit
(Romans 5:5). That love moves us to obey God's Law from the heart
(1 John 5:3; Psalm 40:7,8). The great Constitutional Law of God remains
unchanged under Christ, but we must now obey it from the heart. Jesus set
aside Jewish tradition and taught how to keep the Sabbath under
His ministration in Matthew 12:1-12. Read it please. He said, "The Sabbath
was made for man . . ." (Mark 2:27,28). He kept it (Luke 4:16). His words
are "the words of eternal life" (John 6:68). Do you believe it? If so,
do you obey His Word?
In conclusion, let us look at John 8:3-11. Here the Pharisees
and scribes brought an adulteress to Christ. She was guilty of violating
the Seventh Commandment, and under Moses' ministration she would have been
stoned without mercy. The Pharisees referred to that in verses 4 and 5
and asked Christ, "But what sayest Thou?" After rebuking her accusers,
what did Jesus say to the woman? "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin
no more" (verse 11).
Under Moses' ministration of death this woman would have died
without mercy (Hebrews 10:28). In contrast, under Christ's ministration
of the Spirit, she received mercy and pardon for the past, but she was
strictly commanded to "sin no more." While extending mercy and
pardon to this woman who had sinned by violating one of the Ten Commandments,
Jesus commanded obedience to all ten precepts when He said, "Sin
no more." No one can deny that it was the Ten Commandments that she had
violated. Her sins that were forgiven were violations of the Ten Commandments.
The command to "sin no more" was a command to cease violating this
same law. Sin is still the transgression of this Law
(Romans 7:7; 1 John 3:4,5; James 2:10-12). We are commanded to sin no
more after being forgiven and made free from sin (Ephesians
1:7; Romans 6:12-18; 6:1,2; 1 John 2:1). Dead to sin (Romans 6:1,2).
The Gospel of Christ delivers from sin and commands obedience
to all ten precepts of God's Law (Matthew 19:16-23; 1 John 2:4-6;
Matthew 1:21). One precept in that Law says, "Remember the Sabbath
day to keep it holy. The Seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord
thy God" (Exodus 20:8-11). Can we violate that Precept and be less guilty
than the woman taken in adultery? It is the same Law that is being
violated. The wages of sin is the same for adultery and for Sabbath
desecration (Romans 6:23; James 2:10-12; Exodus 24:12).
An added thought: Under Moses' ministration he was to
teach, or enforce obedience to, the Ten Commandments. Under that Old Covenant
ministration both the Ten Commandments and the administrative law
of Moses were written upon stone: two Tables of Stone and an altar of
whole stone as shown above. In contrast now, the Spirit of God
changes
the hearts of repentant believers and writes God's holy Law in their hearts
as was promised under the New Covenant. Christ through the agency of
the Holy Spirit dwells in the hearts of the Christians enabling them to
maintain a life of obedience to both God's Law and the Gospel (Galatians
2:20; Revelation 12:17; 2 Corinthians 3:2,3; Jeremiah 31:31-34).
We obey as Jesus taught us under His ministration.
Part 2. A Transition Period from Moses to Christ . . . Three and one half years. Moses' Law of Ordinances and the Gospel of Christ
Jesus preached the Gospel for three and one half years before
that law of ordinances ended at His death on Calvary. This was a
great transition period and some questions need to be answered
in this study. Let us begin with a question that has come to our attention
on this matter.
QUESTION: It is clear that the law regulating the Levitical
priesthood and the many sacrifices ended when Jesus died and paid
the penalty for sin; but what about Jesus' setting aside certain parts
of the book of the law in His sermon in Matthew 5:38,39--also in John 8:1-11?
This was done before His death. Is it true that these parts of that law
of Moses ended before Calvary?
ANSWER: In answering this important question, we urge
the reader first to study carefully all of Lessons No. 3 and 4 prayerfully
because the Bible truths presented there will help one understand
the added point of Truth given here. This is an important question
and may God give us wisdom as we look for the Bible answer (see James 1:5;
2 Timothy 2:15).
It is true that the "law of commandments contained in
ordinances"
that is part of that book of the Law given by Moses was "abolished"
and nailed to the Cross of Jesus (Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 2:14). This
law of ordinances is further explained in Hebrews 9:1-10; 10:1-8;
and 7:11, 12-28 as the law that regulated the Old Testament priesthood
and the many sacrifices and rites that foreshadowed the sacrifice
and redemption through Jesus, "the Lamb of God" that takes away
the sins of the world (John 1:29). This is the
part of that
"book of the law" that had to do with justification. And yet those
sacrifices could not take away sin, but as an act of faith in Old
Testament times they carried them forward from year to year to Jesus
who died for all those Old Testament sins (Hebrews 9:15). This
is what Paul refers to in Acts 13:38, 39: "And by Him all that
believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not
be
justified
by the Law of Moses." Paul and others sometimes refer to "the book
of the law," or "the law of Moses," but as we study more fully,
and as we have already shown in Lessons No. 3 and 4, this law of ordinances
that foreshadowed the death of Christ and was abolished at the Cross was
not the whole book of the law. So Paul uses the term
in a limited degree in such cases.
The Ten Commandments did not originate with Moses. Neither did the two great commandments of love that Jesus quotes in Matthew 22:36-40. That civil code enforced obedience to these Laws. Israel could not look upon those two tables of stone to read the Ten Commandments. The book of the law taught them. Also those Two Commandments of Love are in the center of that civil code. (Read Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18). Yes, they are in that book of the law but are not part of that law of ordinances that was nailed to the cross, for Jesus taught obedience to both these Laws. They are in the Gospel of Christ. Study Lesson No. 4 again prayerfully. Moses commanded to obey the fifth commandment as Jesus said (Mark 7:9, 10-13). Moses' administrative laws enforced obedience to all the Ten Commandments and also to those two Great Commandments of love as we enforce obedience to those great moral laws of God. No change in those basic laws was made in the Gospel of Christ.
Change of Administrative Laws . . . From Moses to Christ
Now we come to the answer to our question. Did Jesus change
and annul some of Moses' administrative laws before
He died, during His three and one half years of ministry on earth? Yes,
He did as Mediator of the New Covenant. He magnified God's basic
Laws to their original intent and in doing so He set aside
some temporary administrative civil laws given by Moses. Moses was
mediator of the Old Covenant, and as mediator between God and Israel, he
gave to Israel the laws they were to obey and sealed the covenant with
animal blood (read Exodus 24:1-8). Jesus is Mediator of the New
Covenant, or Testament (Hebrews 9:15-28).
The New Covenant and the New Testament are one and the same.
During His three and one half years of ministry before He sealed
this New Testament with His death, Jesus was giving the Laws and conditions
for eternal life under the New Testament. Nothing could be added after
His
death. All had to be in that Testament before His death (Galatians
3:15). When Jesus started preaching the Gospel in Mark 1:14,15 He was giving
New Testament Laws. In the Sermon in Matthew chapter 5 He set aside some
of Moses' administrative laws, but He still enforced
obedience to
God's basic Moral Laws. Now obedience must be from the heart. Those
two Commandments of love take in our enemies (verses 43,44).
Verses 38,39 give an outstanding example of cancelling one precept in Moses'
civil code. In Israel Moses' law dealt severely with willful transgression
of the Ten Commandments, but that ministration of death ended with
the better ministry of the Spirit under the Lord Jesus (2 Corinthians
3:6-11). John 8:1-11 is an example of the Two ministrations in contrast.
We are not under Moses' ministration but under
Christ's
ministration. Moses foretold this change. He knew that a greater Prophet
would come to take his place.
Peter quotes from Moses' prophecy (Deuteronomy 18:15,18,19)
in Acts 3:22,23: "A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of
your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in
all things whatsoever He shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass,
that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed
from among the people." This clearly foretold the coming of Jesus as that
greater Prophet to Whom the people should listen, and to the end
of Moses' administrative laws.
This did not mean that Jesus abolished all those laws. Many
are fully endorsed by the Lord Jesus. Jesus did not abolish one
righteous principle that Moses taught. One temporary law about divorce
was permitted under Moses' law, but Jesus set that aside saying, "From
the beginning it was not so" (Matthew 19:3-10). He was giving the
original Law of God on the matter. It was a change in administrative laws
but no change in the basic moral Laws of God. Those needed
changes were made during the three-and-one-half year transition
period
when Jesus preached the Gospel before His death and Resurrection. This
was all sealed in the New Testament by Christ's blood, His death
on Calvary.
Conclusion
The reason that we call the three and one half years of Jesus' ministry before His death a transition period is because during this period we have both the law of Moses and the Gospel, or Law of Christ Jesus. The Law of ordinances with all those sacrifices, rites and ceremonies that foreshadowed the death of Christ for the sins of the world were abolished at the Cross (Ephesians 2:15, Colossians 2:14). This law continued on until the death of Christ, but the great civil code given by Moses, and also written in the book of the law was being set aside when it conflicted or was not in accord with the Gospel of Christ during Jesus' ministry before His death. Christ's Laws, or the Gospel of Christ, were taking the place of Moses' administrative laws. Those who accepted Jesus as Saviour obeyed His teachings, and we today are under Christ's ministration, not Moses'. The official end of all those typical laws and ordinances in Moses' law ended when Jesus sealed the New Covenant with His blood (Hebrews 8:10-12; 9:1-16). This was also the end of Moses' ministration. We obey the great moral Laws of God as Jesus taught them in the magnified state as recorded in the Gospel of the New Scriptures (see Isaiah 42:21). The Gospel and the laws of Moses are in accord on many points, but we look to the Gospel for our directions. It will be remembered that the Gospel teaches that in the Old Scriptures we can find instruction in righteousness to furnish us unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:15-17). This shows that Jesus made no basic change in any moral code that Moses taught--except to magnify it and place it in our hearts.
