The Relation of Christ to the Sinaitic Law
By J. O. Corliss
HE topic introduced at the head of this article involves a far-reaching exploration, extending back to the foundation principles of reciprocity between heaven and earth. It can not well be denied that man's earliest cause for gratitude and service to an acknowledged Leader was the fact of having been created with infinite possibilities of greatness before him. Had man never forfeited his original prospect of eternally living in the closest relation with his Maker, no sacrifice for sin would have been needed, hence no suffering Christ would have hung on Calvary's cross. But would this possible condition have canceled the existence of God's only-begotten Son? This could not possibly have been the case; because the Christ of God was superior to all such considerations, having been with the ever-living Father from the days of eternity. Micah 5:2, margin. Even before the mountains or water fountains of earth appeared, yea, likewise prior to the provision of clouds in the skies, the Prince of Heaven was with Jehovah "as one brought up with Him." The Father's delight was in His Son, and the Son rejoiced always in the presence of the Father. Prov. 8:22-30. So vividly, indeed, was this early relationship, and its enrapturing association, impressed upon the Saviour's heart, that the very thought of it doubtless buoyed Him up amid the excessive trials of His earth-life. This conception seems entirely defensible when one considers that as He approached the climax of His earthly passion, and prepared to meet the awful crisis in His redemptive work, His mind ran back to the ages of bliss enjoyed with the Father, and after committing His case to the consideration of Heaven, the Son of God entreated, "And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." John 17:5. Creatorship and Sovereignty
But what was the nature of this concerted honor so earnestly invoked? Divorce from Jehovah the elevated dignity attached to His name as Creator, and He is at once robbed of the glory which is and ever has been unqualifiedly conceded to Him. It is this attribute alone which has so elevated Him in human minds as to give prompt recognition of His claim to absolute sovereignty. This, indeed, is taught in the closing of that wonderful model prayer transmitted by the Saviour to His followers of every age, in the words, "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever." Matt. 6:13. The question, then, becomes pertinent at this juncture, Did Christ share in the glory of being associated with God in the world's creation? Somebody evidently participated in that wonderful primeval action, since the inspired account of that event reveals that God said to some one, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness." To whom would such coöperation most likely be accorded? Certainly not to one inferior to the Son of God. But happily we are not left to grope in darkness for the solution of this problem. The latest inspired information on this point plainly states that God made the worlds by, or through, His own Son, who was also appointed heir of them all. Heb. 1:2. True, we are told that the worlds were created by the Word of God (Ps. 33:6, 9); but we read again that this Word, which was in the beginning with God, and was Himself really God, is He by whom all things were made. John 1:1-3. From this text we gather that in every case when God's will was to be made known to men, Christ has spoken in Jehovah's stead, and in this, as in creation, shared the glory of God's authority. This being true, it is a short step in faith to believe that the Son of God declared the will of His Father from Sinai, in delivering to Israel the law of Ten Commandments. That this was the persuasion of the martyr Stephen also, we may gather from the sermon which brought his violent death. The occasion was when Stephen had been brought before the Jewish Sanhedrin to be tried for preaching that Christ was in very deed the Son of God. In his final attempt to open the eyes of those chieftains in Israel to Christ's exalted position, he called attention to a prophecy delivered by Moses, their honored guide in religious ethics, in which he had said that in time, God would raise up a Prophet for them like himself, to whom they would listen. He then emphasized the thought that this Prophet was none other than Christ, and that as far9back as the days of Moses this same Christ was with the church in its wilderness wanderings, and was He who spoke to Moses in Mount Sinai, when the “lively oracles” were delivered for their benefit, and ours as well. Acts 7:37, 38. “No man hath seen God at any time.” Even at Sinai Christ had the honor of declaring for the Father His righteous decrees; and the law there delivered, in every part was just as much the law of Christ as it was the law of God. Were the Son of God to come to earth, and attempt to abolish, or change in any respect, the law so majestically proclaimed as was that one, such an effort would be the stultification of His own moral soundness. In that case the Jews would have had some cause for their treatment of His claim to Messiahship. But the Saviour gave no opportunity for a charge of disloyalty against Him. In the very first of His public utterances, in what might be termed His inaugural address, He made plain His attitude toward the law that He had so long before proclaimed from Sinai’s heights. After declaring heavenly bliss upon the heads of His loyal supporters under all of life’s vicissitudes, He proceeded at once to guard the sacredness of the law, and the importance of its observance, lest with the generous promise of so many blessings, some might expect their continued benefits without the obligation of any bond of duty resting upon them. All those embraced in the promise of these heavenly joys were to be the “light of the world.” To learn what this station among men would exact, one has but to study the meaning of the word “light” in its Scriptural sense. It is said of Christ, “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4. From this it is natural to conclude that the life of Christ tabernacled in the disciples, and acted in their daily walk, would constitute the light which their fellow men might follow, until that resplendent day when the King of Kings shall come in all His glory to welcome home His faithful saints. But in thus transferring from Himself to them and us the responsibility of representing the God-life before men, the Saviour did not leave men to be a law to themselves, and thus permit them to create dissimilar standards of integrity. Their light was to shine for one purpose alone, and that was to let men view a uniform line of good works, in order that they might glorify the heavenly Father. Had the standard of right been left for men to erect, the world would have been confused by the multitude of theories advanced, and as at the present time, would have been inclined to repudiate moral responsibility. Therefore there could be but one standard of right maintained, and this Jesus proceeded to elevate in the following terms: “Think not that I am come to destroy [Greek, “dissolve,” or “overthrow”] the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” Matt. 5:17. Christ was proclaimed to be the true Light, by which all men might be led into the service of God. John 1:9. All who would come to God and be taught of Him must come through the mediation of Christ. John 6:45. To carry out His mission as the way to God (John 14:6), Christ could do no less than point that way through the law of Jehovah, and thus maintain a single standard of righteousness before the world. This must of necessity be so; for if as the Light of the world Christ came to fulfil the law, then when He ascended, and constituted His followers the “light of the world” as His representatives (Matt. 5:14), certainly their duty must be to fulfil the law as He did, in order to maintain the position assigned them. This requirement is intimated in the instruction given to the disciples in this connection, wherein He said, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot [the smallest letter] or one tittle [a horn, or corner, of a letter] shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Verse 18. The fulfilment of all things will not be met until the mystery of God, the Gospel of Christ (Eph. 3:3-6), has finished its work in the earth, and the saints of God are gathered home. Therefore the law of God, in every part, must hold its place throughout the established order of the Gospel. In view of this, the Saviour’s admonition regarding the observance of the law should be borne in mind. It is this: “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. 5:19. To follow in the way our blessed Saviour walked is safe. To do otherwise is to jeopardize the soul.