Fulfilled

“Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets.

I DID NOT COME TO DESTROY, BUT TO FULFILL.

Matthew 5:17

     There is at the present a rise in anti-Paul sentiment on the internet, specifically, against his teaching that the New Testament does not include keeping the law of Moses. It is good that some people can see that Paul taught his Gentile converts not to submit to Moses’ law, but it is not good that they oppose that teaching. To understand Paul, we must understand what it means to fulfill a thing, for Jesus fulfilled the law, as he said. But what does it mean to fulfill something? Considering how the Bible uses the word

“fulfill” will help us understand what it means.

      Let’s begin by looking at the one of the first times the Hebrew word for “fulfill” is used. This has to do with Isaac’s wife, Rebekah:

      Genesis 25

24. And when her days to deliver were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

      Rebekah’s time of pregnancy ended when she gave birth to her twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Their birth fulfilled the purpose of her pregnancy. It did not mean that her pregnancy had been worthless; rather, that fulfillment meant that the purpose for her pregnancy was complete, that its usefulness was ended and the pregnancy was over.

     Another example of what it means to fulfill something is from Solomon’s prayer of thanksgiving to God concerning His promise to give David a son who would build a temple in Jerusalem:

     “1Kings 8:

14. The King turned his face about, and blessed all the Assembly of Israel, and the  whole Assembly of Israel stood up.
15. And he said, “Blessed be Jehovah, God of Israel, who spoke by His mouth to David my father, and by His hand has fulfilled it.”

      By “fulfilled it”, Solomon meant that since God’s promise to David had come to pass, there was no longer any need for God to keep promising David that it would happen. What would be the point of God continuing to promise that He would give David a son who would build His temple, when it was already done? As Solomon said (v. 20): “Jehovah caused His word to stand which He spoke, for I have risen up in the place of my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah said, and I have built the house for the name of Jehovah, God of Israel.”

      Jesus’ revelation to Paul was that his fulfilling the law meant there was no longer a reason to continue in it. Jesus did not destroy the law or condemn it as worthless. On the contrary, his fulfilling the law proved beyond all question that it was from God. Paul honored the law of Moses by honoring Jesus and receiving his baptism of life, which was the law’s entire purpose. “The love of God”, wrote Paul, “is poured out within our hearts by the holy Spirit which is given to us,” and “love is the fulfillment of the law, [for] love does not do wrong to a neighbor” (Rom. 5:5b; 13:10).

      It is as impossible now for people to continue in the law as it would have been for Rebekah to continue to be pregnant after she gave birth to Jacob and Esau. And what use would there have been for God to continue promising David a son who would build His temple after David was long dead and Solomon had done it? Just so, it is useless for anyone now to try to keep Moses’ law after the law’s purpose has been fulfilled.

      Dear friends, do not believe those who are saying Paul was wrong. It is my sincere prayer that God will open the eyes of your understanding, as He opened Paul’s, to see the surpassing glory of what Jesus accomplished for us all! The law of God is now written on our hearts by the Spirit, and because that is done, Paul rejoiced that

      Romans 8:

2. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death!
3. For what the law could not do, in that it was powerless because it was of the flesh, God did, after He had sent His Son in the form of sinful flesh to deal with sin. He condemned sin in the flesh
4. so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk after the flesh but after the Spirit.

      Let us rejoice with Paul that because of Jesus, “we are released from the law so that we now serve God in newness of spirit, and not in oldness of a document” (Rom. 7:6).

Pastor John D. Clark

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What a wonderful way to explain the law, Pastor John. I feel like people can understand this! Its purpose was fulfilled.( and now their is life!)  I really like this blog!

“Genesis 25
24. And when her days to deliver were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
Rebekah’s time of pregnancy ended when she gave birth to her twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Their
birth fulfilled the purpose of her pregnancy. It did not mean that her pregnancy had been worthless;
rather, that fulfillment meant that the purpose for her pregnancy was complete, that its usefulness was
ended and the pregnancy was over.”

Sincerely,

Elizabeth

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Whew! I feel such liberty and love while reading this blog. It makes me feel just like Barbara says, “What a good God!”

Donna

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John,

These Blogs are a wonderful gift to wake up to.   Thank you….I literally lifted my hands to God and thanked Him for allowing me to understand (and to love) what you have passed on to us.)  Like you said Sunday morning.  We are so loved. 

Gary

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Morning!  I really like this blog on Fulfilled.  To understand and have examples of the meaning of things and certain words or phrases in the Bible really helps put things in perspective.   I also like that you are explaining Paul’s stance.  I watched a video yesterday on what you were saying here about the anti-Paul sentiment.  I sat there with my mouth open for most of it.  It’s amazing how the flesh will come up with anything to get around the truth and the men God sends to tell it.  They were basically saying Paul was just a renegade who made himself an apostle, and it went downhill from there.  The excuse not to believe Paul was “Jesus didn’t say that,” and “Paul didn’t walk with Jesus”; therefore, he could not have been sent from God.

One thing I noticed when watching that video on Paul’s agenda was that Christian teaching would have us to go backwards in time to where Jesus was.  But with Jesus’ teachings, even in following the law and then fulfilling it, he was always pointing forward.  He was always pointing toward the goal.  Paul was also doing that.  And true men of God now do that, encouraging one another in Christ that we should still be looking to fulfill our life in the Spirit to obtain a crown of life in the end. 

There is no telling what the future holds with new doctrines and phrases and word-meaning changes, but the one thing that will hold true is the Spirit that Jesus died for us all to have.  You can trust that.  And if you have a kinship through the Spirit with Jesus, you and Paul are in perfect agreement.

Amy B.

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So clear!  Pure scripture and word definition!  No opinions!  Thank you Jesus for John’s anointing as a teacher.  May children of God all over the world benefit from this wisdom.

Allison

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Pastor John,

I love this!  You’ve made it so clear and easy to understand.  I wish God’s children everywhere could take this in!

We are so blessed!

Michelle

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I like the way you defined fulfilled in this blog.  The examples you used really make it clear.  I particularly like this one, “It did not mean that her (Rebekah) pregnancy had been worthless; rather, that fulfillment meant that the purpose for her pregnancy was complete, that its usefulness was ended and the pregnancy was over.”

The law was not worthless, and its purpose was completed (fulfilled) by Jesus. 

“Paul honored the law of Moses by honoring Jesus and receiving his baptism of life, which was the law’s entire purpose.”

I love that.

Thank you for writing this blog and sharing it with us.

Tom  

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John,

 I really love this and how you explain it.  I love the gift Jesus has given you.  Just the other day a man in my class, he was finally alone with me in the classroom and Jesus came up!  He mentioned how he isn’t feeling going to church and how God wants his children to follow him.  He’s looking for the “how”, and I spoke to him of the very same thing of the fulfillment of the law!  I hope this gives him some understanding.  He may or may not come to a meeting, but if he does, I hope he feels his “how”, and the fulfillment comes to life in understanding.  

I hope all of God’s children get the understanding.

Naomi

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Hey Pastor John,

Sunday morning when we were sitting around, we were talking about how each person had a different path for getting here, and how it is also different for people that grew up here.  Aunt Barbara asked me what it was for me that made me want to stay here instead of having something else.  I gave a simple answer, but I have been thinking about it and wanted to share more. 

All of my friends in Boone were Christians.  I was asked a few times if I wanted to go to church by some of them.  I went to a couple different churches to see what it was like.  I remember after the service, they always talked about what they liked and agreed with and what they didn’t like.  They were always comparing different churches in the area.  For them, that was just the norm, to go to church on Sunday mornings because “it was the right thing to do”, regardless of whether or not they would be satisfied with it.  I’ve been thinking about that, and how wonderful it is to be fully satisfied.  We don’t have to wonder if we’re going to enjoy the music, sermon, or testimonies because we know we already will!  I love being excited and being able to expect good things from a meeting without having to wonder if it will be confusing or not.  I’m thankful to feel satisfied with the Truth and that it satisfies us.  We are very blessed! 

Karlee 

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Pastor John,

This morning, you said something to the effect “Do people not know that I know where they are in the Lord when I lay hands on them?”

I was blessed during our meeting Wednesday night to hear you pray for several brothers and sisters and each one received a message just for them.  It was remarkable and stood out to me more than it has in the past.

Your prayer for me was “Let Him in your heart” (or something close to that).  Intellectually I’ve been thinking on what that meant and then this morning happened.

After you talked about knowing where we are in the Lord, all I wanted to do was to get out there on the floor on my back and open my heart to Him. Instead, I stretched up and out on the love seat and spread my arms up and out so my chest cavity would be available to Him to come into my heart. I breathed in His Spirit not into my body but into my heart and could feel Him filling every inch of it.  I wanted nothing more than to stay right there and have Him fill every inch of me up. I was drunk in Him, and I was loving it.

As it was time for me to leave, I asked Jesus to not let the tasks of the world close my heart back up, and I felt His answer, “it doesn’t have to”. I can feel Him in me as I write; with every breath I take. He’s that close

Thank you, Jesus for your love. Thank you, Jesus for my family. Thank you, Jesus for my Pastor.

Allison C.

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Hi Pastor John,

Today during coffee morning, when you were talking about Daniel asking God to forgive us (as opposed to one person) and how Jesus takes on our suffering, I was reminded of that section of offerings in Leviticus. I remember that we have discussed how merciful it was for God to allow an offering for the sin of the nation, and it was basically the same offering as the sin of an individual.  But one thing that struck me today was that God wants us to think of the one body of Christ in this way.  One person’s sin/hurt/love/joy should be all of ours.

For instance, if one person is hurting, we’re all hurting until Jesus takes that burden.  He wants us to be so united that if there is a burden in the body, we each feel it, and then we can feel when it lifts, and rejoice in what God has done.  When Carrie was testifying today, I felt that burden lift off her as if it was my own.  It’s a wonderful thing to hear someone’s testimony and know that it is God, but this additional space is feeling the testimony together for what God has done for us.  We can know and feel it simultaneously…together!  And that’s how everything works with the body of Christ: right judgment, joy, happiness, understanding, etc. That’s really fellowship; it’s the immediate feedback of the feelings that unite us in the Spirit.  Because, as you have said before, the knowledge of God is in the feelings of the Spirit.  And that makes so much sense because the Spirit is the only thing alive on earth!

I feel like there have been situations in the body lately where God is trying to take all types of burdens: from burdens of biological family, earthly possessions, jobs, God’s people who are disobeying Him, from carnal thoughts, etc. It is an opportunity for each individual to be more in harmony with God and, thus, more united with each other.  We have to have faith that Jesus can and WILL take those burdens away from each person, then we as a body can rejoice together in what He is doing for any one of us.  And we can also be excited to anticipate what God will do for each of us so we can have more unity together.

Family is not about genealogy/biology anymore, as it was in the old covenant.  In this covenant, it’s all about spiritual unity.  What a wonderful family of God we have! 

Wendy

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That is true, Wendy.  It is our heavenly Father’s great desire is for us to see ourselves as He sees us, that is, as His family, and for us to be close enough to share in each other’s joys and sorrows.  I am ashamed of the divisions that exist in the family of God, the divisions, I should say, which exist among us who believe in Jesus.  We are all less than we could be in Christ, because of the divisions that exist among us.  We need the strength we get from one another’s testimonies and faith.

In Jesus’ prayer the night before he was crucified, he said that unity among those who believe in him would be a convincing testimony to the world that God had truly sent him:

John 17

20. I am not asking for these alone, but also for those who believe in me through their word,
21. that they all might be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may also be one in us, so that the world might believe that you sent me.

That being true, it follows that divisions in the family of God is a convincing testimony that God did not send Jesus.  It makes it harder for people to believe Jesus is Lord if those who call him Lord are themselves divided and confused.  That is why I am ashamed of the divisions among believers that I have known; it is a reproach on the holy name of Jesus.  He does not deserve that from the people he has rescued from sins and death.

If there is anything we can do to make peace in the family of God around us, may God grant us the grace to do it!

Matthew 5

9. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Pastor John

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Hey, Pastor John.

Last night’s meeting was really sweet for a few reasons! The minute I walked in I felt like I belonged. I felt like I did 24 years ago, that this is my family and everyone loves me and Jesus wants me here. I realized I was happy. When I got prayed for, this time it was, “Here’s me.” And that’s it. It was a blessing to me for Jesus to let me feel comfort and peace from him…for him to care enough about me!

You said so many good things that I wish I would have written them down during the meeting. One thing that stood out that I loved is when you said that “God had our names written down since before the foundation of the world, and he waited all this time for us. Let’s make Him happy that He waited” (paraphrased and maybe I added some, but that’s how it felt). That’s my heart’s desire! 

In my Bible time with Clara’s class this morning, we got to the part of the 10 commandments and we wrote in easier words what they mean. When we were done, I told them, “Wow, God really made things easy for us. All He said to do was love Him and treat people right.” There was nothing (and is nothing) that He has asked people to do that is too hard. He knows how weak we are and that we can’t do anything much without Him anyway, but He wanted us to have at least something that our little selves could strive for and feel like we were doing. 🙂 

Even the smallest bit of direction is helpful, even if we still need His help to do it! I’m thankful this morning for those feelings last night and wanted to share. 

Leah

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Hey John,

I had an experience with God last night when I got into bed.  Our Father spoke to me and said, “Jesus didn’t sacrifice Himself.”  Immediately, my spiritual ears perked up!  And all of these thoughts started coming to me. 

Jesus was God’s Lamb!  When John the Baptist saw Jesus walking along the Jordan River, he said “Behold the Lamb of God”!  He didn’t say “Behold the Lamb of Jesus” or “Behold the Lamb of Christ”! He was God’s Lamb!  Abraham prophesied of that on Mt Moriah when he said that “God will provide Himself a Lamb.”

The Father was the One that nailed Jesus to that cross just as surely as He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances when He nailed them to the cross!  God nailed Jesus to that cross using a Roman soldier with a hammer and nails, just as surely as David slew Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites!

Jesus was the sacrifice, but He didn’t sacrifice Himself.  God made the sacrifice. Jesus was as a Lamb, led to the slaughter, yet He opened not His mouth!  But because He was faithful unto death, even the death of the cross, God has given Him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! 

Oh, so many wonderful thoughts were coming to me lying there in my bed!  And I know that you know all these things.  But it was so good to me that I was going to tell it at the fireside this morning, but the Spirit wasn’t in it, so I kept it to myself until I felt an unction from the Spirit to tell it.

I felt that unction when I listened and read the Conclusion (IK4 Conclusion PDF) of the Iron Kingdom book 4 that y’all read around the fire yesterday. 

At the top of page 1, at the beginning of the second sentence, you wrote “Paul’s gospel proclaimed that Christ’s sacrifice was intended…”  When I read that, it felt like you were saying that Christ was the One making the sacrifice, even though I am confident that it wasn’t your intention to do so.  And, except for my experience last night, I probably would not have noticed it.  But I did have that experience last night, and I did notice it.  So I felt that I should write to you and ask if perhaps you could change that sentence to “Paul’s gospel proclaimed that the sacrifice of Christ was intended….?

Thank you for all of the labor that you do for us!

Billy H.

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Hi Billy,

Thank you for writing.  That is an interesting point.  I believe that to God belongs the eventual credit for everything the Son accomplished.  After all, Jesus did say once that “of myself, I can do nothing.”

But there is another side of the issue that we cannot ignore.  That is, even though it is the grace of God in anyone that enables that person to accomplish God’s will in his life, God gives that person the credit for doing it and rewards him accordingly.  The Bible says that “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself,” which goes along with your testimony from last night.  But it also says these things concerning what Jesus did after he ascended back to the Father in heaven:

Ephesians 5

2. Live in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a fragrant aroma.

Hebrews 7

26. It was fitting that we should have such a High Priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens,
27. who does not need, as those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for their own sins and then for those of the people, for this he did once for all when he offered up himself.

Hebrews 9

24. Christ did not enter into holy places made by hands, the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us,
25. not to offer himself over and over again, as the high priest entered into the sanctuary year after year with the blood of others,
26. for then, he would have had to suffer many times from the foundation of the world.  But now, once for all, at the close of the ages, he has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Hebrews 10

10. We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.
11. Moreover, every priest stands daily, ministering and offering the same sacrifices, time after time, which can never take away sins,
12. but he, having offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, sat down at the right hand of God

Jesus was himself the sacrifice because he was, as you pointed out, God’s Lamb.  And as you know, according to the law that God gave to Israel, the owner of the sacrificial animal was the one who had to kill it.  That means that God was the one who had to kill His Lamb.

At the same time, it would be wrong to ignore the fact that Jesus performed the sacrifice for sin which God demanded.  The very reason that God made Jesus our high priest was to offer an eternal sacrifice for our sin—himself.  And he did.

It was all God’s plan, and it was only by God’s power and wisdom that Jesus was able to accomplish his mission.  The Father gets the glory for it all, of course.  Jesus would certainly say so.  Even so, if by God’s grace we would “rightly divide” the information provided for us in Scripture, we must conclude that Jesus offered himself to God as a sacrifice for sin.  God certainly gave him credit for doing so,  and we cannot be wrong to agree with God.

Thank you for the thought-provoking testimony.

Pastor John

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Wow! Thank you John! That was some response! I agree with everything that you said! I got blessed last night while I was receiving all of those thoughts. And I was blessed again today when I wrote them out. And now I have been blessed again after reading your response. Feeling so blessed for being able to know and understand these things that are higher than I am.

Thank you for your help!

Billy H.

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Good morning John,

Ben and I read the first half of the edited section in your Iron Kingdom book on “Paul’s Gospel” last night, and it was really good.  I love everything you added.  The Shakespearean opening was perfect!  You got Billy H’s wonderful new thought in there about God giving the law and God taking it away.  One of my favorite lines from Sunday was still there about Moses’ law being robbed of its glory by the surpassing glory of the Son of God who was exalted above the heavens themselves.  I especially love that verse you included from Galatians 5:5 when Paul says, “For we await the hope of righteousness by faith in the SPIRIT!“ (Not by faith in ceremonies).  I remember that was the verse that triggered my testimony the night we were putting the Montanaus book (Going to Jesus.com – Montanus: Prophet to an Apostate Body of Christ) mailing together.

I love that all of Paul’s faith was in the Spirit alone!  I stopped reading last night and told Ben, “THAT’S the basket where you want to put all your eggs.  That is, the Spirit of God basket!” Putting your eggs anywhere else dishonors the sacrifice of Christ!!  I saw my own relatives who have walked away and are now worshipping in ceremonies without any regard for the Spirit of God that He so mercifully gave them, when I read from Paul, “You are estranged from Christ…you have fallen from grace” (Gal 5:4).

And I love that you included that amazing prophecy from Jeremiah about God making a new covenant with us.  The prophecy that God would write His law on our hearts and He would be our God and we would be his people is now our reality!  Praise God!  I love having his law written on my heart and being one of His people!!  To be one of His people is everything!

After we finished reading, I wanted to find something I transcribed several years ago from Sis Edna testifying in a meeting in her farmhouse about her love of the doctrine!  It’s so good!  Here it is:

“There used to be a scripture; they’d teach me it was [talking about] tobacco, and it said, “Taste not, handle not, with the using all are to perish.”  That’s [talking about] the doctrine and commandments of men.  Well, I’m glad I found God’s doctrine!  D-O-C-T-R-I-N-E.  Not doctors.  I thank the Lord for the doctrine of God, and because I love it, and I don’t care who knows it.  And I want you to know that I been a-standing for it for 50 years!  The doctrine of Christ is gonna live on!  It never dies!  This is something that doesn’t die.  The doctrine is just as fresh today as the day when I got it!  It ain’t gone dead, and it never will die!  Praise God!  I’m so glad of it, I don’t know what to do!  This thing is living now!  I’m so glad of it!  My Father is rich! They’re fussin over their inheritance down here, well I’ll tell you one thing!  My father is rich!  It’s all in his hands.”

Sis Edna testified this in a meeting at least fifty years ago, and I still feel it today because the doctrine she loved so much is still just as fresh today as it was when she said it!  The reason I love this section in the Iron Kingdom book on “Paul’s Gospel” so much is because it’s not some boring history about Paul.   It’s alive!  I told Ben I know exactly why Jesus put Sister Edna and me together in a dream.  We have the same testimony, and that one paragraph about her love for the doctrine is part of our testimony!!  I felt my spirit stirring while reading her testimony out loud to Ben the same way I felt it stirring while reading this section on Paul’s Gospel!  I love it!  Thank you for writing it!

My Father is rich!!

Lee Ann

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Pastor John

I think the Conclusion* of the IK4 book that you have written is one of the greatest things I’ve ever read/heard.  It took me some place that I couldn’t leave.  It really was a love letter at the end, as someone said, inviting souls to be loved and to live, versus the alternative to life that is being offered by the institution of Christianity.

At the end of the second page, you said the way out of that abomination was “obedience.” 

I LOVE that because it puts so many things in order.  It means that we are not at war with Christianity; it is not our enemy, nor is its destruction the goal of your work.  As you have said for years, “They can have Christianity; I just want God’s people out.”

Your work shines a light on where Jesus really is—in a life lived in Spirit and in truth—outside of that institution.

Your work sounds a trumpet and shines a light for God’s spirit-filled children to follow, if they will just obey his voice and come out.  That is our job.  To be what Jesus is and to shine with His spiritual light in a world that will ridicule and despise us, so God’s children can see the way to Him.  And he is not a “place,” but a Life.

If all the heavenly things that God teaches us does nothing else, it makes us burn brighter if we’ll become it, and it makes us more visible to his wandering children.  Wow.  So, all these things given from God aren’t just for us, even if they are only given to us.  Because if we consume them, we become brighter lights in this dark world.  Brighter lights for God’s children everywhere to see.  What a beautiful responsibility!

I’ve got to go back to work.

Jerry

* IK4 Conclusion PDF

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Hey,

A friend put this post (below) on Facebook.  It is an interesting possibility, and I feel like it is a much better translation possibility for Ex. 12:23, 27 especially.  The blood on the doors is a figure of the Spirit, so the idea of covenant and presence of God in this post has merit.

In Isaiah 31:5, the idea of hovering seems much better than “pass over her“, as we have it.

Like birds flying, so will Jehovah of Hosts defend Jerusalem; He will defend and deliver her. He will pass over her and spare her.

This article https://www.thetorah.com/article/how-pesach-became-passover was interesting as background to the history of the translation of the word.

Damien

“Most people think Passover means God skipped over the houses with blood on the doorposts. But the Hebrew word “pesach” doesn’t mean “to pass by”—it means to hover over or protect.

God didn’t avoid those homes…

He entered into covenant with them.

He hovered over them like a shield.

He stood guard as death swept through Egypt.

Passover isn’t about avoidance—it’s about presence.

A God who draws near to protect those marked by His covenant.”

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Hi Damien.

I have to wonder if this is an idea that comes from people wanting to help clean up God’s reputation, to keep Him from being a killer.  If He is only hovering over and protecting the houses of the Israelites, then what is He protecting them from?  A rogue angel.  In Ex. 12:12, He said this:

 וְעָבַרְתִּ֣י בְאֶֽרֶץ־מִצְרַיִם֮ בַּלַּ֣יְלָה הַזֶּה֒

He is the one (in the angel of death) who is passing through Egypt killing people.  It seems to me that God is not hovering over the Israelites protecting them, but is letting them live as He passes through the land killing the firstborn.

Exodus 22:23 says that God will “pass across/through” Egypt and will “skip over” the Israelites.  I don’t see the need to make that “hover over” them.  I don’t see a problem with “pass over” there.

All this seems suspect to me of a new-age type defense of God’s character.  That’s my take on it, anyway.

jdc.

PS

What would we do with “killing the Passover” as in Ex. 12:21; Dt. 16:2, 5–6, etc., “keeping the Passover” as in 2Chron. 35:1, or “eating the Passover” as in 2Chron. 30:18?

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Yes, I think you have it right. Thanks.

djc

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