Psalm 40:8

NASB – I delight to do Your will, my God; Your Law is within my heart.”

NRSVUE – I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”

VOICE – I am pleased to live how You want, my God. Your law is etched into my soul.

Willfulness to Follow God

Obeying God’s commands is a positive response to having a relationship with God through the new covenant created through Jesus. Jesus’s obedience allowed God’s redemptive process to be completed in full – something the old covenant sacrificial system could never to. God’s command is not something to be burdened by. It’s something to celebrate, through our faith and worship. God’s instruction was a primary part of David’s life, guiding his thoughts, actions, and desires moreso than any law could. Taught throughout all of the Old Testament, Jesus embodied the law and that righteousness that allows His people to obey God’s command out of a place of transformation.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: When it comes to God’s command, how do you see His teachings play out in our world today? What differences do you see between the Old Covenant laws and the New Covenant teachings?

Jesus Fulfilled the Law

Jesus fulfills the law that God created. The law typically refers to the commands that were given through Moses throughout the first five books of the Bible. These include moral, civil, and ceremonial regulations for ancient Israel. Jesus says directly that He did not come to accept or invalidate the Law, but to comprehensively fulfill it. Now, fulfill can mean different things in this context. It could be a prophetic fulfillment – recognizing that Jesus fulfilled many prophecies about His birth, life, death, and resurrection. It could be through obedience – keeping the law perfectly and not committing a sin. It could be through completing and further revealing more about God’s commands – showing the intention and guiding people towards true righteousness. The law shows us where we sin and how we need Jesus.

Jesus guides our eyes towards faith in Him as the perfect Mediator. Jesus is our advocate with God, working to help get us right with God. The law shows us where we fall short of God’s righteous path of life. Jesus fulfilled the redemptive purpose of the law, ensuring that our sins are forgiven and we can reconcile our relationship with Him. Jesus also teaches us that the laws are grounded in two commands: love God and love neighbor. All the Mosaic laws are given in respect to treating God with love and treating each other with love. How this looks like was different then than it would look like today because of the historical and cultural differences, but the goal is still the same. It’s not going to be an overnight process, but one that we must progress in each day. We can find transformation within our minds and hearts so that we can become more Christ-like and can share with the world a true reflection of who God is: compassionate, patient, faithful, gracious, and loving.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: With this view of fulfilling God’s law, how can we take what Jesus did with us throughout everything we say and do in our lives?

Additional Sources:

Did Jesus abolish or fulfill the law?

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