God's Law, Part 3 - by Clint

This is the third and final installment in this series. You can read part one here, and part two here.

This is further explained in Galatians 5:24-25, where St. Paul points out that “those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Even more clearly, a few verses earlier, he claims that “if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Galatians 5:18). Here he juxtaposes the Old Testament Law, which lead to a curse, and points to the Law of Christ, which is based on love of God and man. Those who are belonging to Christ, walking according to his Law of love, are no longer under the curse of sin. As already mentioned in Galatians 6:2, the point is that we can live the Law of Christ by loving one another, based upon our love of God. This is consistent with the rest of the New Testament message, such as we read in 1 John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” It is when walking in the permanent Law of Christ that we truly have fellowship both with God and man.

Ultimately, we see that the Old Testament Law is holy, yet had a particular purpose – to show what is holy and right, leading to the fulfillment of holiness, Christ Jesus. As St. Paul teaches in Galatians, it served as a tutor, but now that Christ has come, that purpose has been fulfilled. However, the truth inherent in that Old Testament Law is still valid, and is bodily presented in Christ. Those who are baptized into Christ:

…were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. (Romans 6:3-9)

Christians now follow Christ, living according to his eternal Law of the Spirit of Life. The Old Testament law was one manifestation of that greater Law. This final and perfect manifestation, embodied in Christ himself, is the standard that Christians are bound to follow. We do that by loving God and loving our fellow man. We avoid conceit and damaging actions to others, and focus on bearing burdens, caring for one another, and thus fulfill that eternal Law of Christ.