Jesus Christ Fulfilled the Law (Matt. 5:17-20)
Let us bless one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” Today’s Word may be a little difficult for you to understand, if you don’t have the background knowledge of the Bible, but I believe God will work upon you with the same grace. Last week, God gave us the Word titled, “You are the Salt and Light of the Earth,” and for me, God guided me throughout the week in that way.
Even though we all receive the Word of God, there are some people who see the Word of God fulfilled in their lives and others who do not see it at all. That simply means there’s a perspective or point of view with which we live our lives. Because they are seeing from their own point of view, they’re not able to see God’s Word being fulfilled. However, if you lay down your own point of view and look through the lens that the Lord gave you, you will see God moving. Then, you will be able to confirm the God Who is living and invisible, is confirming His Word every single week.
If you’re not able to do that, it means your own standards are set too strongly. It’s because you have your own worldview. Then, until that changes, you will not be able to see. Only when you realize that your own worldview and perspective is not that great and you lay that down will you see the point of view God is trying to show you. It is the same whether you’re a student who is studying or a businessperson. You will realize, “Oh, this is how God is fulfilling God’s Word through my studies or my business.”
If you think that the world is hard, it is because you are looking at the world from your difficult perspective, but if you believe in Jesus Christ, it means that you lay down your worldview and you are looking at Jesus Christ. Then, amazingly enough, you will receive the evidence that God works according to the Word He gives you, and you will stand as a witness.
1. The Law and the Prophets
1) Old Testament (Lk. 24:44) – Law
Last week, we received the Word that you will be the light and salt of the earth, and today, through the main scripture, we are seeing the main content with which we must be the light and the salt. During the age of Matthew, the Old Testament was the Bible, they say that this Bible was the Word of God; it was the Law, and the Law was not something that was made; it was given to us by God. Sometimes they summarize the Old Testament as the Pentateuch of Moses, as well as the Prophets and the Psalms. The book of the Prophets is telling us through the prophets that we have disobeyed God’s Word, now, return back to God. The Psalms are the poems of the people who meditated on the Law God gave them and wrote the Psalms with the wisdom God gave them.
Then, in the Old Testament, is there only the Law? The Law does not exist on its own; it is connected with the gospel. The reason why people who have lived their walk of faith for a long time and are not developing in their walk of faith is because they are stuck somewhere. Or, even if someone is not a believer at all, if they are facing some difficulty in their life, it’s because something is getting caught on their standards, and that is when they fall. If the Word of God and His grace come upon you today, you will receive the grace to overcome that. Then, you will have peace and freedom in your spirit and heart.
As that takes place, you will be healed of the mental illnesses that are a great problem here in America. The problems inside of you that you cannot speak of will be healed. The problems you cannot understand at all will start to disappear. You will be freed from addictions because it doesn’t matter what the problem is; it is bound to be resolved before the Word of God.
(1) Ten Commandments – Moral law
Within the law, there are three kinds of laws. There’s the law of the Ten Commandments, we call that the moral law.
(2) Sacrificial law – Consciousness law
There’s the sacrificial law, which is about the religion or ritual laws. There are rituals, for example, during worship, you must take a lamb and go to the priest and perform this and that ritual.
(3) Judicial law – Social law
Then, third, there is the judicial law where, if you commit a crime, you must go before the judge and get this kind of punishment. These are the three kinds of laws in the Old Testament.
2) Fulfilled the Law
(1) Appears to have come to abolish the Law (Mt. 5:17)
However, from the perspective of the Israelites who were following all of the laws of the Old Testament, they saw the words and actions that Jesus Christ was doing, and it didn’t seem like He was following these laws. For example, one of the laws God gave to the Israelites was, “You shall do no work on the Sabbath,” but Jesus Christ came, healing people and going around to get food on the Sabbath, so the Israelites determined, “He is here to abolish the Law.” But in reality, the Israelites had lost the deeper meaning of the reason why God had given them the Law to begin with, and they were only looking at the outer appearance.
(2) Did not align with the law of the Pharisees
The Law says, “Do not murder,” so if I don’t murder someone, then I’ve kept that law. The Law says, “Do not lust or covet,” so they thought, “If I don’t do anything with another man or woman, I’ve kept that law.”. So they were thinking, “With my actions, I am clean, I am righteous.” However, that was not the intention with which God gave us the Law. Inside your heart, if you are cursing someone, that in itself is murder. If you simply look at someone and you have lust for someone, you have already committed adultery. Then, the reason why God gave us the laws is so that He can reveal to us that we are, without a doubt, sinners, not so that He could curse us but so He could give us the grace to come to the gospel and receive salvation.
(3) Fulfilled the Law (Mt 5:17)
When Jesus Christ died on the cross and resurrected, that fulfilled all three of those laws. The judicial law and the sacrificial laws and rituals have all been finished because Jesus Christ died on the cross, and we no longer have to slaughter lambs because He was the ultimate, final Lamb, and He died to receive judgment for all of our sins.
3) Doctrine of the law (Mt. 22:37-40)
(1) Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind
(2) Love your neighbor as yourself
If you really want to summarize the first type of law, the Ten Commandments, there are really two parts, love of God and love of people.
(3) Love – Fulfillment of the law (Rom. 13:10)
Romans 13:10 says, “Love is the fulfillment of the law.” So the second and third type of laws were fulfilled by Jesus Christ on the cross. However, the moral law, the Ten Commandments, still remains. The reason why people who have lived their walk of faith for a long time but they’re still looking at everything based on their actions. Another reason why people are not able to develop their walk of faith is because they may know the gospel, the cross, and Jesus Christ, and they know Jesus Christ fulfilled the law, but they live their lives irrelevant of that.
(4) Whoever loves others – Fulfilled the Law (Rom. 13:8)
2. Incident of the cross
1) It is finished (Jn. 19:30)
(1) Redeemed from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13)
Then why is the incident of the cross the way Jesus Christ fulfilled all the law? Gal. 3:13 says that Jesus Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law because He received the curse on our behalf. Now, to anyone who believes in Jesus Christ, we can no longer say that they have sin.
(2) Destroyed the work of devil (1 Jn. 3:8)
Second, He liberated us from the authority of the devil. Therefore, He has liberated us from the fear of death and the fear of hell.
(3) With God (Jn. 14:6)
He has opened up the way for us to meet and be with God, and the incident of the cross has fulfilled the law. We were not able to do this ourselves, so the Lord did it on our behalf. So if you simply believe in Jesus Christ, you are regarded as righteous. “Righteous” does not mean you no longer sin; it means God is covering up your sin. He is saying, “Because you believe in Jesus Christ, I will turn a blind eye to your sin.”
However, if we don’t understand these words well, there are some people who are so focused on the law that they decide our walk of faith, based on our actions. The Lord is fulfilling the law even right now, but they don’t know that, so they are taking the gospel and running with it wherever they want. They talk about the gospel but inside of them, there’s nothing; they do whatever they want. Those are the two kinds of people who block the proper walks of faith.
Third, there’s someone who doesn’t know religion at all, and when they receive Jesus Christ, the thing that is blocking them is their own standard. When the Bible talks about sin, what it’s talking about is human beings thinking they can be like God, knowing good and evil. We need to be centered on God to determine what is good and evil but instead we are centered on humans to determine what is good or evil. That in itself is sin, and that is what makes us seized by Satan and results in our suffering.
For the people who don’t believe in Jesus Christ at all, of course they are suffering, but let’s say, someone does believe in Jesus Christ, why do they still suffer? It’s because they are centered on themselves, so “From my perspective, this is right, or that is evil.” God is the only One Who is able to determine what is good and what is evil but I am sitting in the seat of God, determining what is right and what is wrong, and that is the state that causes us suffering. It causes us suffering to the point of drug addiction, and later on, it even results in shootings. It is connected even to mental illnesses and depression. Even though we can take medication to get rid of some of the effects, unless our fundamental state is changed, these problems will repeat.
When the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross and resurrected for me, it means He has come as the Master and Lord of my heart, my thoughts, my spirit and my body. He has come as my Master, but I have become my own master. So, the Kingdom of God has come upon me, but I try to develop and move forward my own kingdom, so my kingdom must be broken down. That process of my kingdom breaking down is painful to me.
Through today’s Word, may all of your suffering and problems be finished. Even when you listen to the Word of God, I hope you will ask, “What is the Word God desires to give to me?” Not the word you want to receive, but the Word God thinks you need. If the Word of God doesn’t go into you like this, then your walk of faith will face a problem, and you’ll say, “This is a problem” because it’s a problem to me. If something good happens, you’ll say it’s good, because it’s something good happening to you.
What is prayer? Prayer is, whether you face a good thing or a problem, you ask God, “What is the real good thing or bad thing You want me to see?” But the reason we cannot escape from our problems is because it’s a problem from our perspective. If Christ is my Lord, then my role is finding God’s good plan inside of this problem. I may have good things like success, and unimaginable things may have happened to me, but just because it’s good for me doesn’t mean it’s really good. You need to find what is God’s good plan inside of this success or good event, then God will continue to relay answers to us.
2) Fulfilled the law
(1) Cross – Confirmed love for people (Rom 5:8)
But even as we live our walk of faith, if you’re so bound up by your own thoughts and standards, that is sin, and that’s what it means to be seized by Satan. Jesus Christ finished all the problems of curses, darkness, and Hell on the cross, and He is with me as my Lord. On the cross, Jesus Christ confirmed this love, and that’s in Romans 5:8. We are not able to love God or love people, but God demonstrated His love for us, so if we believe in that Jesus Christ, then God redeems us as righteous.
(2) Law – Eternal (Mt. 5:18)
Then in Matthew 5:18, it says, “Until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear.” The Old Testament was written in the Hebrew language, which has a strange alphabet, so even if you just miss one dot or a small stroke of a pen, then the whole meaning of the word could change. This is saying that the Law is eternal because God gave it to us. There is a law that has been fulfilled and there is a law that will continue.
(3) Holy Spirit – Requirement of the law fulfilled (Rom. 8:4)
The Ten Commandments and the Old Testament can be summarized as loving God and loving people, and that will continue. However, we do not have the ability to love God or love people. That is why in Romans 8:4, it says that the Holy Spirit has come into us and is fulfilling the law inside of us. What that means is, whether you are working, studying, or running a ministry, you must have the Holy Spirit inside of you, fulfilling the law through your studies, business, and ministry. Then, because it is all being fulfilled by the working and guidance of the Holy Spirit, it will be easy.
What does it mean that it becomes “easy”? It means that the burden is no longer on me. Because I’m not the Lord of anything and Jesus Christ is the Lord, all those heavy burdens are no longer on my shoulders, and the greater your faith in that is, the greater works you can do, because if you do really great works and all that burden is on you, then it will be oppressive and stressful. However, if Jesus Christ becomes your Lord and Master, then the Holy Spirit inside of you will fulfill God’s Word inside of you, and it becomes very easy for you. You need to have both skill in the world as well as faith in this God because God is fulfilling His law to love God and to love people through the Holy Spirit living inside of us even now.
The way for us to love God is to believe in Jesus Christ and to worship like this, but what does it mean to love people? If you love the person you like, that’s not love; they’re just doing something that makes me like them, but God told me to love all people. “But there are people I really don’t like, and I have enemies, and there are people I do like,” but God gave us the law to love all people. But the Jewish people were not able to love all people, so they actually took out that law because it’s impossible by their own strength.
Can you love your enemy? It’s impossible; you want to kill them instead. That’s why people grit their teeth for decades, wanting to kill this person. But the law tells you to love them? It’s impossible. But the Lord comes into us and gives us that strength and moves us to be like that by His grace, then we will change. The way to love people is to save their souls through your studies or your job. Then, God’s Holy Spirit will continue to work and to guide you. That is the business that is Biblical, but there are many people who don’t live like that. They run their own business for their own goals, and if they don’t reach their goals, they suffer. They have to use all their different methods and strategies to reach their goals. So, even if they have received salvation, they keep living a life that is irrelevant to God.
To some extent, that was the Pharisees. They gave worship and did all the actions, they did everything, but that is not fulfilling the law. Galatians 5 says that if the Holy Spirit is inside of you, you are no longer under the law. This means that if you receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit, then God will actually fulfill the Law for us, so even the people you hated the most, you will one day reconcile with them. Even the parents you may have hated so much, God moves your heart and you’re able to reconcile with them.
Why did you hate your parents? Because they weren’t good to me. Why did you become enemies with that friend? Because they betrayed me, but you go to church and believe in Christ, but you can’t escape from that. In reality, you can’t escape from yourself, and the Bible tells us that those who love themselves will suffer in the end times. But for the people who have received Christ as their Lord and Savior, by the grace of the cross, there is no “me.” “It’s a benefit for me,” or, “I like this, and I don’t like that,” there’s no such thing. Now, the Lord becomes your Master and the only thing that remains is, “The Lord like this,” or, “The Lord does not like that.” Even though you’re living in the same physical body, you’ll be completely different from religious people or unbelievers.
3) Great in the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 5:19)
In Matthew 5:19, it says, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” Whoever does not set aside any of these commands and teaches all of them to others accordingly, is the great one in the Kingdom of heaven. On the opposite hand, it means that those who are the least in heaven are those who will pick and choose parts of the law, and not follow others, and try to teach that. If you only receive one part of the law, it means you’re picking and choosing what you like, and omitting what you don’t, and then you teach that to others. Those people are the least in heaven.
(1) Followed the Law – Strength of the Holy Spirit
But who is the greatest in heaven? The one who is completely fulfilling “Loving God and loving people.” It’s impossible for us to fulfill that on our own, so the Holy Spirit gives us the grace and the strength to do so. When you give worship in the church, you need to go back into the field and the world, and act it out in order for the Word to be continued.
(2) One who teaches – Proclaim the word
Doing that Word does not mean it is centered on you; it is talking about someone who is centered on God, so God gives them the strength and grace to fulfill that Word through their life. For those people, they will receive the evidence of God so they can teach others rightfully. Those are the greatest in heaven.
(3) One who has authority in heaven, earth – With (Mt. 28:18-20)
We believe in Jesus Christ, then we go to heaven, but in heaven, there will be the great ones, and there will be lesser ones. From our human perspective, it seems that the one who is most successful or diligent is the greatest in the world, but that’s not how God sees it. God says, “The one who is filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit and the goodness of the cross of Jesus Christ to save other people is the greatest in heaven.” That is God’s standard.
People’s perspective may be, “You just have to work hard,” but that’s just the human perspective; however, most Christians who go to church only receive the Word that they like. “I cannot love all people so I’m just going to omit that.” “I hate that guy, I don’t even want to look at him, so I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear this Word,” and they only teach the things that gave them grace. Those are the least of the people in heaven. However, there are people who receive God’s commandments fully, God told us to love God and love people. It is not about what you do or you do not do. The Lord has fulfilled that law, so He is with me as the Holy Spirit, and He is fulfilling the Law.
So, when it says that you are doing the Law, it means your life is naturally following the fulfillment of God’s Word. That is the person who teaches others, and that is the great one in the Kingdom of Heaven. It means the reward is large. In heaven, there is no suffering, in heaven, there is no need for diamonds and things like that. However, the Bible does tell us there are larger and smaller rewards.
3. Righteous one
1) Righteousness of the Sadducees and Pharisees
The third point is that you may not go into the Kingdom of heaven unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Pharisees followed all the laws of God that they needed. Then, the characteristic of their life is that they’re so focused on their actions, their behaviors, and the results, so these Pharisees look at other people’s actions and behaviors and judge them. They think, “I don’t do things like that, so I’m righteous,” so they have their own righteousness, but they cannot go to heaven. It doesn’t matter how much you keep the law of God; you cannot. Only when you believe in the fact that Jesus Christ fulfilled the law on your behalf on the cross will God call you righteous.
Then, rightfully, you received your righteousness by believing in Jesus Christ and the cross, so you have no choice but to return the glory back to God. However, legalistic people and Pharisees accomplish their righteousness by following their actions, so they give the glory to themselves. But that actually is not knowing the gospel and the cross of Jesus Christ. Those are the people who are stuck in the Old Testament. If you want to go into the New Testament, then the meaning of the cross has to come to you.
In other words, on the cross of Jesus Christ, He finished all problems on mankind because He says we have no sin, and as evidence of that, He promised to be with us to guide us. It doesn’t matter what problems or crises we face, it is not a problem for us, and it doesn’t matter if it’s poverty or desperation; it doesn’t matter because He is guiding me and taking responsibility over me as my Lord and as my Shepherd. Those who believe in that will see the fulfillment of that Word.
If you want to do great works, then you must have great faith, because if it is God’ plan, then God will do it. Temple Construction? God will do that. If you think, “I’m going to do this,” that’s your end. If you say, “I’m going to do this,” you’re going to say things like, “It’s working,” or, “It’s not working,” but without a doubt, if God needs a Temple that saves lives for world evangelization, then God will do that work, and God answers us there.
It’s the same thing for your job. If your business is aligned with the Word of God to save human lives, then God is bound to work upon your business. Even without that, you can run your business well just to feed and support yourself, but at the very most, you’ll only feed and make a living for yourself. It’s just living a better quality of life, and in the end, you’re only going to go to the extent of your abilities and your diligence. Then when you face a limitation, you’ll get stuck there. That’s why people say, “Life is hard, it’s difficult and painful,” but if Christ becomes the Master of my life, then God will fulfill His Word through me, using my business, my studies, and my ministries. Without a doubt, the Word of God will never disappear and God is fulfilling His Word through your life. You have faith regarding that, and those people can see the future, but if you don’t know God’s Word, you cannot see your future.
(1) Difference between outside and inside (Mt. 23:28)
(2) Done for people to see (Mt. 23:5)
(3) To maintain their own seat (Mt. 23:2)
2) God’s righteousness
It’s only about God’s righteousness, because God is righteousness. It doesn’t matter how well you keep the law, we are still sinners.
(1) Believe in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21-22)
(2) All who believe – God’s righteousness (Rom. 3:22)
In Romans 3:21-22, it says that believing in Jesus Christ is righteousness, and the one who believes in Jesus Christ has God’s righteousness.
(3) Believer – Declared righteous (Rom. 3:26)
(4) Law of faith (Rom. 3:27)
Romans 3:27 says we have now been left out from the law, but we now have a law of faith. Now, we are going into the law of faith and believing in what Jesus Christ did, that is the law of the Spirit of life and grace. As much grace as you’ve received from God is how much this will be fulfilled. If you think people can do anything, maybe they can just make a living and eat and survive, and because they’re just doing everything they can, they are facing their limitations. But we have a blessing that overcomes that, that overcomes the limitations of “myself.” When God comes upon me and works upon me and guides me, that is going into God’s works, that’s what it means for God’s Kingdom to be established within me. Inside of God’s Kingdom, you’ll be overflowing with things like joy, love, and hope. Then the things inside of us will be restored and healed, and that’s what happened to me when I believed in Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter what kind of difficulties I was facing, because of God’s grace, I saw those things being resolved.
3) Filling of the Holy Spirit
(1) Thoughts, heart – Filling of the Holy Spirit (Ac. 1:8)
(2) Fulfillment of the word (Law)
Before I knew Jesus Christ and before I knew the gospel, I was someone who thought about everything, because I wanted to become perfect, and I thought that that was right, so imagine how hard that was for me, because whenever I looked at somebody else, there were so many things that were wrong about them, and so the perspective with which I lived in the world was one of resentment. So, I decided not to get married. I looked at people who got married and had kids, and I thought, “You can’t even raise your kid right,” so I decided to not get married. Even unbelievers who don’t believe in Jesus Christ have their own set of laws, they say, “I am righteous because I’m not going to live like that, I’m not going to live like my parents, and that’s why I’m not going to get married,” and for me, not getting married was the solution to that problem. But even if I don’t get married, what about my human relationships, and what about my job and the things that I do?
Now that I believe in Jesus Christ, I escape from myself, so it seems like Jesus might be slow or not doing anything, but that’s not true, He is. It doesn’t matter how stubborn or resistant a problem is, it is not a problem for me, you just give it to God. It’s only hard for you because you decide what you want and when you want it, and you’re trying to make it happen. You’re getting stressed out when you look at other people because you’re looking at the standard of the laws you created. So you must not look at them from your perspective, but from the perspective God has. Then all problems are finished, why? Because God has the sovereignty and God is going to do the work according to His schedule. So there’s none of my standards there. That’s freedom, liberation. I look crazy, don’t I? But that’s what God wants, that’s why you have no righteousness. You only get it through faith, so give all the glory to God.
(3) Relay the word – Witness (Ac. 1:8)
As you tell these words to other people, you save them. “It’s so hard for me to go to church. I’m so used to legalistic life, how can I make them do this?” They’re not able to guide anyone well, however, if you enjoy this for yourself, you’re bound to save many other people because the gospel saves. The law judges people and tells us we’re sinners and drags us into curses. If you just give them the gospel, and you give them a life where Christ is their Master, then they will start to move naturally. Now that Christ is inside of me as my Master, this person looking at the cross is the filling of the Holy Spirit. If you concentrate on your worries, you’re going to be full of your problems, worries, and anxiety. You’re so deeply concerned, aren’t you? The Lord is your Master and you should concentrate and be deeply filled with Him, but instead, you’re deeply concentrating on your problems, aren’t you? But the devil comes in through those worries, concerns, and problems.
When you get depression, your emotions are controlled and you may have a lot of fear. You’re in fear because you’re afraid. But the only thing that can save this person is if you give them this gospel and allow them to concentrate on the gospel, then the other things will disappear. This is not something that can be fully resolved by taking medication. If it could be resolved by medication, then America has the best medicine and hospitals in the world, so it should be resolved, but it’s the country with the biggest drug addiction problem. If the hospitals are so developed, these problems shouldn’t be around, but it doesn’t go away. Do you know why? Because America’s education and central value is money, and the independence of people. Even if they believe in God, they believe it, centered on themselves. There are so many churches and so many seminaries, but there’s no choice but for the mental illnesses to continue to accelerate, and there are more people who are becoming Christians because they’re so oppressed by the laws of the church, and if you go to the church, you can’t live as you want, why? It’s because they haven’t been able to receive the gospel that God gave them as the perfect and complete gospel.
You’re oppressed by your business and you’re oppressed by your studies, aren’t you? The reason you’re so oppressed by them is because you lack the strength, and we try to receive more strength to overcome these problems. But the more you try, because it is not by God’s strength, you will be more oppressed. Quickly change your Master to the Christ, quickly change the direction of your prayers to fulfilling God’s Word, then you are bound to receive the answer of God moving and God guiding. That’s what it means when Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened.” That is the only method to solve the problems of America, like addictions, the mental illnesses, family problems, the future generation problems, and shootings. May you have this blessing all week long.
Conclusion
1. Gospel of Jesus Christ – Faith (Ac. 1:1)
2. Kingdom of God – Word fulfillment (Ac. 1:3)
3. Working of the Holy Spirit – Gospel proclamation (Ac. 2:1-47)
Message Prayer
Let us pray holding onto the Word God gave us.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Prayer
God, we thank You. We thank You for solving all of life’s problems on the cross. We thank You for giving us the faith that the Holy Spirit is inside of us with the Word God gave us. God, we pray You will bless us to be the ones who experience this Word and are able to relay this Word to our neighbors. We have returned our material blessings as offering. We pray that everywhere this offering is used, the Word will be fulfilled. We pray that You will bless the offering so it may be used for the life saving movement of raising the church, the future generations, and temple construction. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
God, we thank You. We pray that you will allow these two students to finish all of their problems with the cross of Jesus Christ. Allow them to begin a new life with the filling of the Holy Spirit with Jesus Christ as their Lord. God, we pray You will work upon their studies and their future jobs and their work in the future to save lives. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, working, guidance, and communion of the Holy Spirit, be upon all the people of God, the multiethnic people, and the remnants who desire to have Jesus Christ be the Lord of their lives, to establish the kingdom of God that saves people through the filling and working of the Holy Spirit, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.