The Spirit in the Shadows of Moses
For some, the life of the Spirit of God has become a shadow of Mosaic Law.
As we study through the Old Testament, we are constantly built up in our faith, to say the least. We learn about man and his depravity, God and His perfection, and the great goodness of God that He should save any of us. We also see God’s ways and acts among humankind, and we encounter countless types and shadows of His Promised One, Jesus Christ. Indeed, the Old Testament will never grow old, as it is God’s endearing invitation for us to enter into His chamber so that He may lavish His love upon us! There is but one thing that God worked among His people of old that stands to hinder our walk with Him on this side of the Cross; it is that we should continue in Old Covenant ritual and practice rather than growing up into the mature Man, Jesus Christ, in New Covenant life through God’s Spirit.
Some teach that the New Covenant church strayed off course when the Old Testament began to fade from its former place in congregational worship. They contend that it was the only Word from God that the early church had, and thus their sole instrument of nourishment, until finally, some twenty or so years after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul’s earliest letters began to be written and circulated. I beg to disagree. Bear with me for a moment of truth, please.
The early church was more than adequately supplied for with a current Word from God, beginning with John the Baptist. He was the forerunner prophet to the Prince of Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself – Emmanuel, God with us! There were many other New Testament prophets who would follow in their footsteps, declaring a fresh Word from God to His people. The writer of the book of Hebrews put it this way: “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:1-3). The Son of God spoke openly throughout “all Judea and Samaria” for approximately three years! He was delivering God’s Word to the multitudes; and the multitudes heard His voice! Were His Words not recited throughout the bustling market places, from house to house and village to village, among both small and great? The Bible account clearly portrays both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ as God’s voice “crying in the wilderness.” They did not confine God’s message of the Good News to the synagogue or to the obscure corners of dead end streets. Each one declared God’s Word alive and anew, saying, “Repent! For the kingdom of God is at hand!” Jesus taught the Word of His Father, never saying anything except what He heard His Father say! These were the fresh Words of God that the early church had to cherish, to recite, and to remember. Notwithstanding, they clung to the Old Testament precious promises and mysterious prophecies that foretold of His coming; but they did not abide there only. They also learned to abide in the Messiah that the Old Covenant promised – The Vine, Jesus Christ! They loved Him, and they loved their new lives in Him!
Oh, how we discount the life of the Spirit in the life of the believers then and now. Many do so because the life of the Spirit is little known in their own lives. They cannot lay hold of His grace working in and through them as easily as they can lay hold of the Mosaic Law that is written on paper and that can be tangibly understood through the mind – the carnal mind by which so many of them still operate. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ! Awake from your slumber! The Spirit of Jesus Christ resides in you to give you His life! He is the law (the righteousness of God) written in our hearts!
Jesus Christ also clearly taught that it would be the Spirit that would tell us things that the disciples could not bear at that time. "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you" (John 16:12-15). It is the Spirit of God who guides us onward and upward into the full knowledge of God through Jesus Christ, who is alive in us. I continue to say that He is alive in us because, apparently, those who profess Jesus Christ but who put His Spirit in the shadow of the Torah do not realize this. The early church had the Spirit of God to feast on, in addition to the Old Testament, before the letters of Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and the gospels became available. We still have Him to feast on today!
Yes, of all that we observe through God’s testimony with Israel of old, there is only one thing that poses a threat to New Covenant believers, and that is the overemphasis of the need for living by Mosaic Law. This does not mean that we should not have respect for it, or that we should not become acquainted with it; but it does mean that, as the law was written on stones then, so now it is written on the hearts of all those who have the Spirit of God.
I have objectively observed many Torah teachings and have found that, while valuable insights can be gained from them, there are none that the Spirit of God (who is God, and who dictated the Torah to Moses) has not already illuminated to those of us who have Him in our hearts. Am I against Torah - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and all the Feasts? Absolutely not! Do I believe that it should be taught to New Covenant believers along with the rest of the Bible? Absolutely so! Nevertheless, our manner of life is to be dictated by the life and Person of God Himself through His Spirit who lives in all those who have been born of Him, and not by the partial Word and revelation of God which He delivered to Old Covenant Israel before His Son and His Spirit came. Who would want to place the Messiah and the Spirit of God in the shadows of Mosaic Law? It is the “letter” that kills, but the Spirit that gives life!
I recently heard a Torah teacher say, “What good is it to have the Spirit of God if you don’t also have the Ten Commandments? Without the Ten Commandments we would not know how to live.” With all due respect to this sincere follower of Torah, I must say, “How insane!” How is it that the Spirit of God does not know the Ten Commandments or that He does not reveal them to us? Jesus Christ said, “He will guide you into ALL truth.” Besides the fact that God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah saying that He would, "write His laws on our hearts" (Jer. 31; Heb. 8). This so-called Torah teacher went on to say, “With the 613 laws of Torah and all the new laws given under the New Covenant, we have more than 1,000 laws from God! We should never say that we do not know what He expects of us.” To a certain extent, this is true. The written Word will stand as an undeniable testimony against those who are judged thereby. But perfect obedience to God is not attained by obeying a thousand laws of God. It is attained by believing on the One whom He sent, and by putting Him on – by walking in His Spirit, who is God Himself.
These teachers give very little credit to the progressive revelation that God gives to His people down through the ages. They almost make void the ability and availability of the Spirit of God to lead God’s people under the New Covenant.
As we study through the Old Testament, we are constantly built up in our faith, to say the least. We learn about man and his depravity, God and His perfection, and the great goodness of God that He should save any of us. We also see God’s ways and acts among humankind, and we encounter countless types and shadows of His Promised One, Jesus Christ. Indeed, the Old Testament will never grow old, as it is God’s endearing invitation for us to enter into His chamber so that He may lavish His love upon us! There is but one thing that God worked among His people of old that stands to hinder our walk with Him on this side of the Cross; it is that we should continue in Old Covenant ritual and practice rather than growing up into the mature Man, Jesus Christ, in New Covenant life through God’s Spirit.
Some teach that the New Covenant church strayed off course when the Old Testament began to fade from its former place in congregational worship. They contend that it was the only Word from God that the early church had, and thus their sole instrument of nourishment, until finally, some twenty or so years after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul’s earliest letters began to be written and circulated. I beg to disagree. Bear with me for a moment of truth, please.
The early church was more than adequately supplied for with a current Word from God, beginning with John the Baptist. He was the forerunner prophet to the Prince of Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself – Emmanuel, God with us! There were many other New Testament prophets who would follow in their footsteps, declaring a fresh Word from God to His people. The writer of the book of Hebrews put it this way: “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:1-3). The Son of God spoke openly throughout “all Judea and Samaria” for approximately three years! He was delivering God’s Word to the multitudes; and the multitudes heard His voice! Were His Words not recited throughout the bustling market places, from house to house and village to village, among both small and great? The Bible account clearly portrays both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ as God’s voice “crying in the wilderness.” They did not confine God’s message of the Good News to the synagogue or to the obscure corners of dead end streets. Each one declared God’s Word alive and anew, saying, “Repent! For the kingdom of God is at hand!” Jesus taught the Word of His Father, never saying anything except what He heard His Father say! These were the fresh Words of God that the early church had to cherish, to recite, and to remember. Notwithstanding, they clung to the Old Testament precious promises and mysterious prophecies that foretold of His coming; but they did not abide there only. They also learned to abide in the Messiah that the Old Covenant promised – The Vine, Jesus Christ! They loved Him, and they loved their new lives in Him!
Oh, how we discount the life of the Spirit in the life of the believers then and now. Many do so because the life of the Spirit is little known in their own lives. They cannot lay hold of His grace working in and through them as easily as they can lay hold of the Mosaic Law that is written on paper and that can be tangibly understood through the mind – the carnal mind by which so many of them still operate. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ! Awake from your slumber! The Spirit of Jesus Christ resides in you to give you His life! He is the law (the righteousness of God) written in our hearts!
Jesus Christ also clearly taught that it would be the Spirit that would tell us things that the disciples could not bear at that time. "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you" (John 16:12-15). It is the Spirit of God who guides us onward and upward into the full knowledge of God through Jesus Christ, who is alive in us. I continue to say that He is alive in us because, apparently, those who profess Jesus Christ but who put His Spirit in the shadow of the Torah do not realize this. The early church had the Spirit of God to feast on, in addition to the Old Testament, before the letters of Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and the gospels became available. We still have Him to feast on today!
Yes, of all that we observe through God’s testimony with Israel of old, there is only one thing that poses a threat to New Covenant believers, and that is the overemphasis of the need for living by Mosaic Law. This does not mean that we should not have respect for it, or that we should not become acquainted with it; but it does mean that, as the law was written on stones then, so now it is written on the hearts of all those who have the Spirit of God.
I have objectively observed many Torah teachings and have found that, while valuable insights can be gained from them, there are none that the Spirit of God (who is God, and who dictated the Torah to Moses) has not already illuminated to those of us who have Him in our hearts. Am I against Torah - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and all the Feasts? Absolutely not! Do I believe that it should be taught to New Covenant believers along with the rest of the Bible? Absolutely so! Nevertheless, our manner of life is to be dictated by the life and Person of God Himself through His Spirit who lives in all those who have been born of Him, and not by the partial Word and revelation of God which He delivered to Old Covenant Israel before His Son and His Spirit came. Who would want to place the Messiah and the Spirit of God in the shadows of Mosaic Law? It is the “letter” that kills, but the Spirit that gives life!
I recently heard a Torah teacher say, “What good is it to have the Spirit of God if you don’t also have the Ten Commandments? Without the Ten Commandments we would not know how to live.” With all due respect to this sincere follower of Torah, I must say, “How insane!” How is it that the Spirit of God does not know the Ten Commandments or that He does not reveal them to us? Jesus Christ said, “He will guide you into ALL truth.” Besides the fact that God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah saying that He would, "write His laws on our hearts" (Jer. 31; Heb. 8). This so-called Torah teacher went on to say, “With the 613 laws of Torah and all the new laws given under the New Covenant, we have more than 1,000 laws from God! We should never say that we do not know what He expects of us.” To a certain extent, this is true. The written Word will stand as an undeniable testimony against those who are judged thereby. But perfect obedience to God is not attained by obeying a thousand laws of God. It is attained by believing on the One whom He sent, and by putting Him on – by walking in His Spirit, who is God Himself.
These teachers give very little credit to the progressive revelation that God gives to His people down through the ages. They almost make void the ability and availability of the Spirit of God to lead God’s people under the New Covenant.