In the Garden of Eden, there was only one commandment. God said: Don’t do it. Don’t eat of the forbidden fruit. If you do, you shall surely die.
At the time of Moses, God’s will was revealed in the Ten Commandments. But please notice: Each and every one of them incorporated the essence of that One Commandment given us in the Garden of Eden. Each of the Ten Commandments carries the grand message of the One: ‘Do not eat of this forbidden fruit. Do not step outside the perfect will of God. If you do, you shall surely die’.
When Jesus came, in His sermon on the mount He enlarged our view of the law of God by an unspecified number of commandments. Only, the word ‘commandments’ doesn’t fit any more, because none of the additional reference to the law was spoken in the spirit of commanding. Jesus was just revealing what glorious righteous characters will the children of God have, each and every one of those who will inherit His Kingdom. With His law comments Jesus was just describing the lives of loving and lovable Christians.
The same thing we see when the Apostles began preaching Salvation through the powerful name of Jesus. Each of the epistles carries numerous additional references to the righteousness which is expected to be found in the characters of God’s children. They point the right way the faithful followers of Christ would live. The right way is God’s way. And it leads to life.
And please, be aware, that each and every additional description of the righteousness of God we find in the Scriptures – is a part of the law of God which governs everything. God’s Kingdom and His government stand on that law, because it is the law of righteousness, the law of love.
It is interesting to note that each mention of the Godly way of life to be seen in His children, does carry God’s personal message imbedded among those human words of each commandment. That message is written in the language of love. That message may be heard if we are fine-tuned to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. That message may sound something like this:
“My dear child. I love you oh so much. I long to have you back with Me. You are so very precious. I have emptied the whole heaven in order to reach you. All love and all power and all resources which I command are poured out at the cross of Calvary for you. On that cross, my one and only Son whom I love beyond imagining has suffered and died for you. He has done that, because He Himself loves you more than words can tell. He has done that to pave the way for you to come back to your Father who loves you so. Please don’t delay. Please come back to me while the time still lingers.
“Each and every commandment like a beacon of light illuminates the path you need to travel, so you don’t loose your way. Each commandment points to a safe place you can set your foot on – to avoid enemy’s hidden traps. For as long as you follow the law’s faithful directions, you are travelling my ways. If you stray from the perfect will of God, you are in danger of being picked up by that uncompromising sentence: “You shall surely die””.
The echo of the message in the One Commandment we received in Eden still rings loud and clear: ‘Do not stray from the perfect will of God. Do not taste of the forbidden fruit. If you do, you shall surely die’. That verdict is set in stone. If we turn our backs on God, if we choose to live the wrong way, the wages of sin is death.
The Ten Commandments is a small document which describes in just a few words the perfect will of God. God’s will is seen in the righteous requirements of that law. What Jesus and the apostles added to our understanding of the law of God, is also a part of the perfect will of God. God is One. His will is One. Therefore, the One Commandment, the Ten Commandments, and the more comprehensive additions which now reveal the law of God in a more complete way, are all in full harmony with each other. The essence of that law – and a lot more besides which is not even mentioned in the Bible, that law which governs the harmony and wellbeing of the entire universe – it is the essence of that entire law, that is inscribed on our hearts and minds by the Spirit.
You remember when Jesus said: I have many more things to tell you, but you are not able to cope with it now?
““There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard….”
John 16:12-13 NLT
If you are wondering, how can we find out what is in that law? Jesus gave us a simple clue:
““Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.”
Matthew 7:12 NLT
Yes. The grand law of God is one, and He has decided to write it on our human nature. He has done that because we now belong. Through Jesus Christ we have become the children of God. We have been born into the family of God. God is bringing us up in harmony with His love which permeates everything He is and everything He does. Bringing us up in holiness which is His own prerogative. Bringing us up in righteousness which He shares equally with everyone in His vast domain. It is the Holy Spirit’s role – as the various occasions and circumstances in our lives arise – to instruct us of the right response, the right course of action we should take. That response is based on the grand law of God which is now inside us, and therefore, the responses prompted by the Spirit are in harmony with the perfect will of God.
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
Philippians 2:13 NLT
Yes. The Spirit enables us to do the right thing, and we are exuberant about it, because it brings us a taste of heaven, and a sweet sense of the divine Family to which we now belong.
That grand law of heaven reveals to us the goodness and kindness of God who lovingly and patiently teaches us the one and only way to escape the doom and death. That way is through Jesus. It is Jesus who produces a righteous character in His faithful followers. God’s children are delighted to be thus favoured, and are eager to cooperate with Jesus in that. It fills them with great joy, and it brings glory to God our Father.
“May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.”
Philippians 1:11 NLT
By looking at the volume of information accumulated from the law and the prophets, from Jesus Christ and the apostles, and from the Holy Spirit who is to guide us into all the truth – one may understandably become frightened. ‘How on earth will I remember all this? How on earth can I live such a glorious righteous life?’ From the human point of view, it is like looking at the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.
But God knew the weakness of our human flesh. He knew that in our own strength it cannot be done. So He came up with a solution. Amazing. Just look at what He has done:
“The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.”
Romans 8:3-4 NLT
Once again – God reveals His solution. The solution is: Through Jesus Christ.
“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”
Ephesians 1:4-5 NLT
““This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.””
Hebrews 10:16-17 NLT
The righteousness we receive by faith in Jesus Christ under the New Covenant, is Christ’s Righteousness. It is written on the fleshy tables of the heart and mind. It is written by the Spirit of life in the language of Heaven, written in the language of selfless, other-centred love. It is the real righteousness and not just a description of it. It is the essence of the goodness of God, faithfully reflecting His character. It is a gift of God. God desires His children to grow up and be like Him. Every provision to succeed is put in place by God Himself. It is made possible by the willing self sacrifice of Jesus, and it will not fail.
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
Philippians 1:6 NLT
“He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:8-9 NLT