Jesus' Fulfillment of the Law
By John Gavazzoni
For our salvation, was it really necessary for Jesus to fulfill the spiritual, moral, and ethical demands of the law? Did God require of Him, for our benefit, to take on that obligation? The assumption that there exists such a divine arrangement shows up in many versions of conventional Christian theology, and with it is the notion that by fulfilling the righteous demands of the law, Jesus gained merit for us that then can be imputed/reckoned to us if, in turn, we meet the added demand of believing that that's how things work salvation-wise. Then, and only then, do we become recipients of the grace of God unto salvation. Strange combination that: mixing merit with grace. We hear and read from many theological sources, "....by the merits of Jesus Christ" in respect to acquiring saving grace.
We must ask ourselves when confronted by that claim of supposed orthodoxy, does there exist any element of merit in the relationship of Father God, and His Deity-sharing Son? Can we possibly imagine a scenario as follows: God, the Father, says to His Son, "Look here, Son, We have rules around here, and it is incumbent upon you, especially, to obey those rules. If you do, you'll gain points with me that I can put to the account of sinners who cannot and will not obey My rules. I'll account your obedience to My rules as if it's their obedience, and we'll call that grace, that is, IF they'll trustingly accept that that's how forgiveness and saving grace work.
The question that arises is, what did Jesus mean when He said not one jot or tittle of the law shall pass away until all be fulfilled? Did He mean, fulfilled, as in, taking on the obligation of obeying the law, and then living in absolute obedience to its requirements? No! Emphatically, NO! Jesus fulfilled the law by being all that the law pointed to....One who would come and live like God among us, ending up living the God-life in us; living and dying in union with us, so that death will become the portal to glory.
You have to understand that God doesn't live by rules. God lives according to His nature. God doesn't have to check the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments) in order to remind Himself how He should live. He lives out Who and what He is....Love, redeeming Love; Love that breaks the sinner's heart when the sinner sees that such a manner of Love refuses to hold our sin against us. He lives so in the face of the infamy of our rebellion against Him, a rebellion that demanded His death. Away with all such notions of a God of such a legal mentality and orientation in His relationship with His children. Such a version of Him is abhorrent to anyone who enjoys intimacy with Him in any depths.
Delivered upon the basis of His law-obedience? No, we're delivered on the basis that He has delivered us from the curse of the law. Jesus wasn't crucified according to the law. He was crucified illegally, for no fault could be found in Him. He died, the Just for the unjust to bring us to God. God's Way is not the way of law-enforcement, it's the Way of a Father, against the demands of the law, determined, at any cost, to bring His kids back home.
