Jesus the Fulfillment of the Old Testament

Matthew 5:17 (NIV)

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Jesus did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but He came to fulfill them. The law was recorded in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

The prophets referred to in Matthew 5:17 speaks of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, and others. The books of the Law and the Prophets combined all spoken of Jesus. The Law gave types and shadows about Christ and the Prophets gave detailed and clear prophetic words about Him.

2 Peter 1:21 (NKJV)

²¹ for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

This scripture speaks of the fact that the men who wrote the scriptures were moved by the Holy Spirit to write the things that they did. These men did not just make up what they wrote from their own imaginations but it came by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The things that these holy men wrote in the Bible came from God and that is why the bible is the only divine book that is inspired by God. It is the prophetic that distinguishes the bible from any other ordinary book. Prophetic fulfillment results when men of God write things hundreds or even thousands of years in advance before the events, they spoke about took place. In order for this to happen it shows that a God who knows the future inspired these men to write the things that they did.

It is exciting that there are things in the bible that were written hundreds of years before the birth of Christ and yet every word was fulfilled in great detail by Jesus. It is also interesting that prophets who wrote prophetic words lived in different times and in different generations and even in different places but spoke of events that came to pass much later than when they were predicted. This is due to the fact that these men were inspired by the same Holy Spirit of God so different men living in different generations could receive divinely inspired messages that spoke of the same things.

Matthew 1:22-23 (NIV)

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

²³ “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.”

Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

The birth of Jesus was a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy in Isaiah. The book of Isaiah was written 792-722 B.C. This means that Isaiah the prophet spoke out words that were fulfilled more than 700 years later by the birth of Jesus. The prophet Isaiah was inspired by God’s Spirit. He could in no way prophesy these words of his own accord. Over 700 years before Jesus was born it was predicted that He would be born of a virgin and his Name would be called Immanuel which means “God with us.”

Matthew 2:14-15 (NIV)

¹⁴ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,

¹⁵ where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Hosea 11:1 (NIV)

¹ “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

Jesus did not just look up prophecies about himself and randomly fulfill them. Jesus fulfilled prophecy even as an infant child. This prophecy in Hosea was written 781-711 B.C. This was written more than 700 years before Jesus was born and this detail prophecy was given by a man who was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write this. Over 700 years before Jesus was born it was predicted that he would be called out of Egypt and this was fulfilled when the parents of Jesus returned from hiding in Egypt and came back to the land of Israel.

Matthew 13:35 (NIV)

³⁵ So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”

Psalm 78:2 (NIV)

² I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old–

The book of Psalms was written about 1,500-1,450 B.C. This is an example of how David spoke prophetic words that were nearly 1,500 years before the birth of Christ. Jesus fulfilled these prophecies that were written about him long before he was born on the earth.

Matthew 21:4-5 (NIV)

⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵ “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'”

Zechariah 9:9 (NIV)

⁹ Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The book of Zechariah was written about 557-525 B.C. Zechariah the prophet spoke accurate words more than 500 years before they happened. The life and times of Jesus are no accident because they were a fulfillment of what was written hundreds of years before their occurrence. Jesus entered into Jerusalem riding upon a donkey just as the prophet Zechariah had written he would do hundreds of years before this event took place.

Matthew 27:35 (NIV)

³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

Psalm 22:18 (NIV)

¹⁸ They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

The book of Psalms was written about 1,500-1,450 B.C. David wrote these words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit nearly 1,500 years before the event transpired. We must never lose sight of the divine inspiration of the scriptures. No human being could have cleverly organized the bible. Men of different times and places wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament is fulfilled by the New Testament. From the beginning to the end the Bible is the inspired word of God. Even the soldiers unknowingly fulfilled scriptures when they divided up the clothing of Jesus and cast lots for his garments.

John 19:28-29 (NIV)

²⁸ Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”

²⁹ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.

Psalm 69:21 (NIV)

²¹ They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

Jesus fulfilled all things in the scriptures that were written about Him. Jesus fulfilled all that was written about Him in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms. Even the people who offered him vinegar to drink while he hung on the cross were unknowingly fulfilling scriptures written nearly 1,500 years before that event took place. It had already been prophesied by King David in the Psalms that they would offer Jesus vinegar to drink while he hung on the cross.

John 19:33 (NIV)

³³ But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.

Psalm 34:20 (NIV)

²⁰ he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.

Exodus 12:46 (NIV)

⁴⁶ “It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.

Even the Roman soldiers were unknowingly fulfilling scriptures when they did not break the legs of Jesus. It was already prophesied nearly 1,500 years before the event took place that the legs of Jesus would not be broken. This was a fulfillment of the scripture concerning the sacrificial Passover lamb that was not to have any broken bones.

John 19:34 (NIV)

³⁴ Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.

John 19:37 (NIV)

³⁷ and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

Zechariah 12:10 (NIV)

¹⁰ “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

Every detail of Jesus’ life was already predicted and prophesied including the manner in which He was crucified. The vinegar for thirst, the unbroken bones and the spear stabbing His side were all prophesied hundreds of years before the events took place.

John 19:30 (NIV)

³⁰ When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

The words, “It is finished” hold great significance because Jesus knew that all that was written about Him in the past was now fulfilled. So, Jesus was saying that all of the scriptures were fulfilled, His time on earth was accomplished, and what He came to do was finished or completed.

Matthew 5:18 (NIV)

¹⁸ I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

Jesus said that not even the smallest letter or least stroke of a pen would by any means disappear from the Law until everything was accomplished or fulfilled. These details are like the crossing of a letter “T” or a period at the end of a sentence. Every detail of what was written about Jesus was all fulfilled in entirety and not one detail was omitted. Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament completely.

Luke 24:44 (NIV)

⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Jesus said that the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms all recorded words that spoke of Him. The law gave types and shadows about Jesus, the prophets gave prophecies about Him, and the Psalms record many details of His life on earth including His crucifixion.

Hebrews 10:7 (NIV)

⁷ Then I said, ‘Here I am–it is written about me in the scroll– I have come to do your will, O God.'”

The entire volume of the Bible is related to and written about Jesus. Jesus came to do the Father’s will and He came to fulfill the word of God. Jesus is the theme of every book in the bible just because He is a fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptures. The New Testament is a fulfillment of the Old Testament and Jesus holds a key place in this fulfillment.

Righteousness by the Law

There are many laws recorded in the Old Testament and these laws can be divided among various categories. Below is a list of some general headings that can be used to describe the categories of the laws of God given to Moses.

1. Food Laws

2. Defilement Laws

3. Leprosy Laws

4. Personal Laws

5. Sin Laws

6. Inheritance Laws

7. Military Laws

8. Worship Laws

The categories of laws show that there was a vast and extensive array of laws. These laws recorded in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. There were strict consequences of any of these laws were broken. One example was that two of the sons of Aaron offered fire in a manner that was not prescribed by God and they broke one of God’s worship laws.

Leviticus 10:1-2 (NIV)

¹ Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command.

² So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.

These men were killed when they were careless and trivial in the manner in which they offered fire before the Lord. God does not take things lightly when men do not follow the prescribed manner that God has given and this resulted in death. These laws were strict and if they broke a worship law, they would experience death!

1 Chronicles 13:7-10 (NIV)

⁷ They moved the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it.

⁸ David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets.

⁹ When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled.

¹⁰ The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God.

It is evident that God could not be treated in a trivial or careless manner and if any of God’s prescribed laws were broken it would result in instant death!

1 Chronicles 13:12 (NIV)

¹² David was afraid of God that day and asked, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?”

David feared the Holy God if Israel because if mankind did not comply with God’s standards they would perish. David feared to bring the ark of God into the city of Jerusalem for this reason.

1 Chronicles 15:13-15 (NIV)

¹³ It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the LORD our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way.”

¹⁴ So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel.

¹⁵ And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the LORD.

Later when David again ventured to move the ark of God to Jerusalem he first consulted with the Priests and Levites about what was written in the Law of Moses concerning the prescribed manner in which the ark should be moved. They consecrated the Levites to carry the ark on poles inserted in the rings on the outside of the ark as was commanded by God through Moses. Nowhere in the Law of God did it command that the ark be moved on an ox cart. David was presumptuous when he followed the example of the pagan Philistines who sent the ark back to the land of Israel by an ox cart. God’s people are not to follow the ways of the world but they are to do things according to the manner prescribed by God. When God’s prescribed manner was violated then death would result.

This shows that keeping God’s laws was a serious thing and people could not be careless or passive about the laws of God.

Whenever any of God’s laws were broken this is called sin. So, in order to make atonement for sin the children of Israel were required to make offerings for their sins. There were many types of offerings and some of the general categories of offerings are listed below:

1. Burnt offerings

2. Meat offerings

3. Peace offerings

4. Heave offerings

5. Sin offerings

6. Memorial offerings

7. Trespass offerings

So, there were many types of offerings to cover many types of sins and offenses and these were given in great detail in the Law of Moses.

Leviticus 5:2 (NIV)

² “‘Or if a person touches anything ceremonially unclean–whether the carcasses of unclean wild animals or of unclean livestock or of unclean creatures that move along the ground–even though he is unaware of it, he has become unclean and is guilty.

One example of a law was that if a person touched anything that was unclean (even if they were not aware of it) they would still be considered unclean and guilty before God. This shows that these laws were extensive and they did not show mercy because even a person unaware of their transgression against any point of the law was still considered guilty before God.

Leviticus 5:17 (NIV)

¹⁷ “If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands, even though he does not know it, he is guilty and will be held responsible.

This shows that if a person sinned and did that which was forbidden against any of the Lord’s commands then that person will be guilty and held responsible (even though he did not know it). So, no one could plead ignorance because they would still be guilty before God whether they knew about the offense or not. This is an example of how strict the laws were and it shows there was no tolerance for breaking the laws of God.

Leviticus 21:21-23 (NIV)

²¹ No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect is to come near to present the offerings made to the LORD by fire. He has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God.

²² He may eat the most holy food of his God, as well as the holy food;

²³ yet because of his defect, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary. I am the LORD, who makes them holy.'”

Even Aaron the priest had high standards to live up to because even if they had some sort of defect or blemish (maybe something as small as a mole or a pimple) then they would be forbidden to come near to the curtain in the Holy of Holies and could not approach the altar because if they had any sort of defect or blemish that would desecrate the sanctuary. This shows that the standards of God were high and God did not compromise with mankind or give them any allowances for anything that was written in His Law.

James 2:10 (NIV)

¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

The word of God reveals that God was a Holy God who dwelt in a high and a holy place and He required holiness from those who approached him. There were hundreds of laws and even if a man had some defect or blemish as small as a mole or a pimple that would disqualify him as being unclean in the sight of the holy God. The scripture further reveals that is a man keeps the whole law but then stumbles on one point then the same man will be guilty as if he broke every law written by God in the Law of Moses. So, if someone worked really hard to obey every law of God but then had something as small as a blemish like a mole or pimple then that could disqualify them and make them guilty of breaking every one of the laws of God! They would be utterly guilty and condemned if they broke even the minutest detail of the Law of God and it would be considered as if they broke every law in the book!

Galatians 3:11 (NIV)

¹¹ Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”

The scriptures make it clear that no one is justified before God by trying to keep the law because it is impossible to do so. Even if they worked really hard to obey many of the laws but if they broke the smallest detail (just having a blemish or defect) then they would have broken every law in the book. If one detail was broken it is the same as if every law is broken in God’s sight. For this reason, no man is justified before God by trying to keep the law because it is impossible to do so. Every man on earth is born a sinner and not one of them is able to keep the law (except Jesus).

Romans 7:7 (NIV)

⁷ What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”

Is the law sinful because it serves to condemn mankind as sinners? No, the law is not evil but instead it was given to reveal to mankind the utter sinfulness of their own self-righteous acts. The law reveals sin, for example if the law did not say “do not covet” then people would not know that coveting was wrong. By the Law the knowledge of sin is revealed and this shows mankind that they are utterly drowned in sin and there is no one person righteous on earth because the law exposes them as sinners!

Romans 3:20 (NIV)

²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

It is through the law of God that mankind comes into realization that they are sinners. Without the law, sinful mankind will just say that they are not too bad and they can always find someone who is worse than themselves and so they can justify themselves. Some men will even try to do good deeds and suppose that they are righteous because of this. But mankind cannot buy their own righteousness by anything that they can do or by any good deeds. The law makes mankind conscience of their sin and that is the purpose of the law.

Romans 3:19 (NIV)

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

The scripture says that the law was given so that every mouth may be stopped and that the whole world would become guilty before God. Having every mouth stopped means that those who are self-righteous and trust in their own good deeds will try to brag about being a righteous person. But the law of God will expose them as vile sinners and shut their mouths from speaking with the arrogant pride of self-righteousness. The law provides the knowledge of sin and the law makes even the most arrogant and proud and self-righteous person see themselves as vile sinners. The law causes all mankind to become guilty before God because there is not one of them that are righteous and not one of them can pay for their own sins.

Romans 3:23 (NIV)

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

The scripture says that all of mankind has sinned and all of them have fallen short of God’s glory. There is not even one person who was ever born on earth who is righteous (except Jesus).

Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)

⁶ All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

All of mankind (of all generations of humans that ever lived on earth) are all unclean and their own righteous acts or good deeds are like filthy rags in the sight of God. No man can earn their own salvation by good works or good deeds and they are all vile and wicked in God’s sight.

Galatians 5:3 (NKJV)

³ And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.

There are some people who want to try and keep the law and be circumcised in the flesh. But if they want to keep one of the laws (like circumcision) then they are also required to keep all of the laws. God says that if they want to keep one law, they are then made liable to keep all of the hundreds of laws of God recorded in the first five books of the bible (written by Moses). Those who try to keep any of the laws are a debtor to keep the whole law and every detail in it and that will disqualify any man from being self-righteous.

Galatians 3:10-11 (NKJV)

¹⁰ For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”

¹¹ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”

Some people may try to select a few of God’s laws like circumcision or maybe a few of the food laws or dietary laws but if they want to return to keeping the law in any point then they are obligated by God to keep every detail of the entire body of laws given by God including every category of laws that can be found written by Moses. The scripture says that those who try to keep the law are under a curse because cursed is everyone who does not continue to do “everything” written in the Book of the Law. This means they cannot just pick and choose a few of the laws to obey and ignore the rest. They have to obey every single detail of the law and that is impossible for any man to do on earth (except Jesus). Clearly no man is justified before God by keeping the law because it is impossible for any human to do so.

Galatians 3:24 (KJV)

²⁴ Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

The scripture says that the law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ so that we might be justified by faith. It was never God’s intention that anyone should keep the law because it is impossible to do so. If a person even has a blemish then they have broken every law in the book of God because if they break one point, they are guilty of breaking everything! The purpose of the law therefore was not for mankind to keep it but rather it was to reveal to mankind just how utterly sinful that they are in the sight of God.

Even a pervert can say that they are not too bad because they may give money to the poor or to church and think they are basically a good person. But if they are exposed to the law of God these passive people will see how utterly sinful, they really are in the sight of God. The purpose of the law was to show mankind just how utterly sinful they really are.

Without the knowledge of sin then the sinner will not see his need for a Savior. They will continue on in their human good works and suppose they can make it to heaven by their own good deeds or self-righteousness. But God says that the good deeds of mankind are like filthy rags in the sight of God. The purpose of the law is to expose to mankind their great sinfulness so that they will be condemned and see their need for a Savior. So the law will bring sinners to Christ so that they will be justified by faith rather than their own human good works.

Galatians 2:21 (NIV)

²¹ I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

Those who try to keep the law have set aside the grace of God. The grace of God speaks of the free gift of eternal life that cannot be earned by good deeds of self-righteousness. If righteousness could be gained through keeping the law then Christ would have died for nothing because men could just earn their own salvation. But the fact of the matter is that no man can earn his own salvation and no human can pay for his own sins by doing good deeds.

Galatians 2:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.

The only way of salvation is for mankind to humble themselves and receive the free gift of eternal life offered only in Jesus the Jewish Messiah (who is the Christ). Jesus was born as the Son of God and he perfectly fulfilled every detail of the law and walked perfect on the earth without sinning one time. Jesus was the only perfect human that ever lived upon the earth! He fulfilled the law on behalf of sinful mankind because none of them were able to do it for themselves. He took their punishment in hell and then offered salvation as a free gift to whoever would call upon his Name to be saved.

But if a believer should be deceived to leave salvation by grace and faith in Jesus Christ and then attempt to return to keeping the law then they will make themselves a transgressor against God. The law is put away in Christ and those who try to revive it again and build again those things that were put away (or destroyed) become a transgressor. Such people have fallen from grace and are again condemned as sinners as they are liable to keep every detail of the law and that is impossible for any human to do.

Galatians 5:2 (NKJV)

² Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.

Paul warned the gentiles that if they try to become circumcised and keep the Law of Moses then Christ will profit them nothing because they would have fallen from grace and returned to self-effort of earning their own salvation by works.

Ephesians 2:7-9 (NIV)

⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–

⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

Those who come to Christ are justified by faith and they receive the free gift of eternal life without having to earn it by good works. It is by grace that they are saved through faith and their salvation is not from themselves or anything that they can do to earn it. It is a free gift of God and if it is a gift then it cannot be earned by any sort of labor or self-effort to keep the law. It is a free gift that cannot be earned by working for it. This keeps everyone from being able to boast or brag about their own self-righteousness because there is nothing, they can do to earn it through their own good works. They can only receive the gift of eternal life as a free gift purchased for them by Jesus.

Galatians 3:1-3 (NIV)

¹ You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.

² I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?

³ Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

The believers in the church at Galatia were deceived by legalistic religious people and told that they had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses or else they could not be saved. Paul asked them who had bewitched them to believe such nonsense! Jesus was crucified for them and He paid their penalty for sin and Jesus fulfilled every detail of the law on their behalf and then Jesus offered salvation that he purchased as a free gift to whoever would call upon his Name.

But these believers were deceived to follow false doctrines and lies and were told to forsake Christ and salvation by grace and return to the vanity of trying to keep the law. But no man can be justified by human effort in the sight of God and no man can earn their own salvation by human efforts in keeping the law. If they offended in one detail of the law, they are considered guilty of breaking every law in the book. If they try to keep a few laws like circumcision or a few dietary laws then they will be required to keep all of the law and that is impossible for any human to do this. This is great arrogance and pride to think that a human has no need for a Savior Jesus Christ and that they can earn their own righteous and earn their own salvation by their own human efforts.

Genesis 11:4 (NIV)

⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

The tower of Babel speaks of the efforts of mankind to gain their own righteousness. Building a tower that reaches to the heavens is symbolic of human efforts to reach heaven or to obtain eternal life apart from the atoning work of Christ.

Genesis 11:3 (NIV)

³ They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.

These men were making bricks out of clay and used tar (naturally occurring asphalt) to hold the bricks together. The clay bricks and the asphalt speak of human good works because humans are also made of clay.

Genesis 2:7 (NIV)

⁷ the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Man was originally made of the dust of the earth and when the men of Babel tried to make bricks out of the dust of the earth it speaks of the efforts of mankind to mimic or imitate God in also creating things out of the dust. This is symbolic of the efforts of humans to earn their own salvation and provide for their own way to heaven. The tower of Babel represents all of the efforts of mankind to earn their own salvation and this represents all of the false religions that have been invented by mankind. All of these false religions give a false-offer of eternal life but not one of them is able to provide a way to heaven because there is no other name that men can be saved except the Name of Jesus.

Acts 4:12 (NIV2011)

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Only the Name of Jesus can provide humans with salvation. That is why the way to hell is a broad way because there are many ways that lead to hell.

Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV)

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

But Jesus is that narrow or specific way and there is no salvation found outside of him and his free gift of eternal life. No humans can earn they own way to heaven or obtain their own salvation by their own human efforts. No humans can build their own tower that reaches to heaven and allows them the satisfaction of inventing their own way of salvation or own self-created avenue of salvation. If mankind does not submit to God’s only prescribed method of salvation (found only in his Son Jesus Christ) then they will go to hell.

The tower of Babel is symbolic of man’s efforts to gain their own salvation by their own human efforts. The hundreds of millions of clay bricks that made up the tower of Babel represent the hundreds of millions of false religions invented by mankind with new false religions invented every day! All of these false religions offer a false hope of eternal life without trusting in Jesus by faith for the free gift of salvation.

Keeping the Law is Self-Effort to Earn Own Salvation

Those to attempt to earn their own salvation by keeping the Law of Moses have also fallen from grace and have joined those of Babel who are attempting to build their own way to heaven. Those who fall from grace will end up in hell because they cannot earn the free of gift of eternal life.

Romans 11:6 (NIV)

⁶ And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

Salvation is only obtained by grace and that means it is only a free gift of God for those who call upon the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. But if they try to earn it by works then it is no longer grace so grace is cancelled out by human works. So those who leave salvation by grace and try to keep the Law have fallen from grace and they have fallen from the only source of salvation made available to mankind.

Acts 4:12 (NIV)

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

There is no other name given to men by which they must be saved except the Name of Jesus the Christ. If anyone leaves salvation by grace in Jesus (receiving it as a free gift) then returns to the law in an attempt to earn it by human effort then they have fallen from grace. They lose their salvation and cancel out grace by human works and in doing so they cancel out their own salvation. A person cannot be first saved (by grace) and then return again to keep the works of the law at the same time. Grace is no longer grace the moment that any person tries to earn their own salvation by self-efforts.

There are false cults who preach salvation by grace (plus works) but the moment they add works or human effort then they cancel out grace and cancel out their own salvation. Human effort or works cannot exist at the same time as salvation by grace because grace means it is a free gift from God and no man can earn it but only receive it freely from the Lord as a gift. If a person tries to pay for a gift then that gift is no longer a gift. This is how people fall from grace and lose their salvation by resorting to human good works and self-effort to earn their own salvation. This is greatly arrogant and proud for any person to presumes that they have no need of grace and free salvation because they think they can earn it for themselves.

It is the purpose of the law to expose mankind as sinners so that they will see they are in need of a Savior. As long as people think they can earn their own salvation then they will never turn to Jesus to receive the free gift of eternal life. False converts are made when the law is not first preached because these people will not have an understanding that they cannot earn their own salvation and they will not have an understanding that no man is justified by keeping the Law. They have to see themselves as sinners first because if they try to keep one law, they are liable to keep every one of the laws of God and every detail of the law and this is impossible to do.

So, Jesus did this for mankind and fulfilled every detail of the law and walked as a man perfectly without breaking one detail of God’s laws. He then obtained for mankind what they were unable to obtain for themselves. Jesus offers salvation free to whoever will call upon his Name.

Romans 10:13 (NIV)

¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved and that is how mankind can receive the free gift of eternal life. It was purchased for them and given to them freely as a gift that cannot be earned. The law was given only to condemn mankind as sinners and show them that they have need of a Savior who is Jesus Christ. As long as mankind presumes, they can earn their own salvation they will not humble themselves and call out to the Lord to receive their free gift of eternal life. Refusing to receive salvation by grace is religious arrogance and pride and it is based in human self-efforts and this will send every person to hell that does not humble themselves to receive their salvation as a free gift.

But even if people receive salvation as a free gift and then they try to return to keeping the law they will fall from grace and cancel out their own salvation and this will still put them in hell.

Law Done Away in Christ

Matthew 5:17 (NIV)

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Jesus did not come to abolish or destroy the Law and the prophets but rather Jesus came to fulfill them. Jesus fulfilled every detail of the Law and everything that the prophets spoke about him. He walked as a man on earth but he was the only man who was perfect and did not sin one time. Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets and he obtained eternal life as a free gift to give to anyone who would call upon him to be saved.

Matthew 5:18 (NIV)

¹⁸ I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

Jesus said that heaven and earth would disappear before even the smallest letter or least stroke of the pen of everything written in the Law should go unfulfilled or not be accomplished. This means that even the smallest stroke (like the crossing of the letter “T”) or the smallest detail (like the period at the end of a sentence) would not go unfulfilled in the Law. Jesus came to fulfill every detail of the law in its entirety.

Romans 8:3 (NIV)

³ For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,

The law was powerless in that it was weakened by sinful human nature because no humans were able to keep the law because they were all sinful. But God fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law by sending his Son Jesus and Jesus walked perfectly as a human on earth and fulfilled every detail of the law without failing one time. So, Jesus condemned sin for mankind by fulfilling the law for sinful mankind on their behalf.

Ephesians 2:15 (NIV)

¹⁵ by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,

Sin separated mankind from God and all sin is breaking God’s laws. So Jesus came and fulfilled all of the law in every detail and then offered salvation as a free gift to mankind who were powerless to earn their own salvation on their own and who could not keep the law of God. Jesus made peace between mankind and God by removing their sins for anyone who calls upon his Name for salvation.

Hebrews 4:15 (NIV)

¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin.

Jesus served as a high priest for mankind because he was serving in a role a mediator between God and man. Jesus understands the weakness of humans because he walked as a man on earth and was tested and tempted in every way that humans are tempted but yet he was without sin. Jesus did not sin one time and therefore he fulfilled the righteous requirements of God on behalf of sinful mankind and offers people salvation as free gift to whoever will call upon his Name.

Hebrews 10:20 (NIV)

²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,

Before Jesus died for the sins of all mankind there was a curtain that separated the people from the holy of holies in the temple. But when Jesus died and paid for the sin of mankind then that curtain was tore in two pieces showing that the way to come to the father was now opened by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

Matthew 27:50-51 (NIV)

⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.

When Jesus died on the cross he paid for the sins of all mankind and took their punishment and this means that the sin that separates mankind from God was removed for all those who call upon his Name. The moment that Jesus gave up his spirit on the cross, the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to the bottom signifying that Jesus had made salvation available so that mankind now has a way to come to God. Jesus is that way and all those who call upon him can be saved and come to God by grace.

Luke 16:16 (NIV)

¹⁶ “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.

The Law and the Prophets were ended or fulfilled at the time of the preaching of John the Baptist. John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus and since that time the kingdom of heaven is preached.

Hebrews 9:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

The Old Testament law was imposed only until the time of reformation and that was the time when John the Baptist announced salvation by grace through Jesus Christ. The law existed only to show men that they were sinful and they needed a Savior Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:25 (KJV)

²⁵ But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

After salvation by faith is come then mankind is no longer under the schoolmaster of the Law. The law only brought people to Christ so that they could be justified by faith. By the law is the knowledge of sin and the law revealed to mankind that they were sinners and had need of a Savior who is Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:25 (NIV)

²⁵ Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

The schoolmaster is the law and the purpose of the law is ended when people come to faith in Jesus Christ. The law revealed to mankind that they were sinners and this brought them to Christ to be justified by faith because it was impossible for them to keep the law.

Luke 16:16-18 (NIV)

¹⁶ “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.

¹⁷ It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

¹⁸ “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

The Old Testament Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John the Baptist and at that time the good news of the gospel was preached and salvation by grace was presented. It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the least stroke of the pen to drop out of the law. This means Jesus fulfilled the law in perfect detail and then provided salvation as a free gift to all that would call upon his Name. If anyone divorces his wife and marries another woman they will commit adultery and in the same way anyone who is married to Christ will commit adultery against the Lord if they leave salvation by grace and try to be married again to the Law and try to earn their own salvation by human effort. The man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery and this means that the Old Testament Law has been divorced and put away and those who return to the law and marry the law again commit adultery against Christ who offers salvation by grace.

PART TWO

Romans 7:2-4 (NIV)

² For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.

³ So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.

⁴ So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.

If a woman is married, she is bound to her husband as long as he is alive but if her husband dies she is free to remarry again. In the same way the Old Testament law is fulfilled and put away and has become dead in Christ. So those who were once married to (or in bondage to) the law are now free to marry Christ. Those who believe in Christ have died to the law and they are free to be married to him who was raised from the dead so that they can bear fruit of holiness to the Lord.

Hebrews 8:13 (NIV)

¹³ By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

The words “New Testament” mean “New Covenant” and under the New Covenant salvation is made available free by grace not by works. So, the “Old Covenant” or the “Old Testament” is now obsolete and put away because it is replaced by the New Covenant of grace.

Galatians 3:24-25 (NIV)

²⁴ So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.

²⁵ Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

When faith has come, then mankind is no longer under the Law because the Law only served to bring people to Christ to be justified by grace.

Galatians 5:4 (NIV)

⁴ You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

Those who try to be justified by keeping the law have alienated themselves from Christ and they have fallen from grace. Those who fall from grace will be damned to hell because there is no salvation outside of grace and the free gift of eternal life. No man can earn his own salvation by human efforts of keeping the law.

Romans 10:4 (NIV)

⁴ Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

Christ is the end of the law so that everyone who believes might be justified by grace as a free gift that cannot be earned.

Hebrews 10:9 (NIV)

⁹ Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second.

Jesus set aside the first covenant or the Old Testament and the Law so that he might establish the second or the New Testament of salvation by grace.

Galatians 3:1-3 (NIV)

¹ You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.

² I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?

³ Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

The Galatians were spiritually regenerated and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit by grace. This did not occur because they earned it by human effort of keeping the law. They began in the Spirit and were saved by grace but then were deceived by false teachers who told them they could not be saved unless they were circumcised and kept the Law of Moses. They then fell from grace by trying to obtain salvation by human effort and this would result in their damnation if they did not repent.

Romans 11:6 (NIV)

⁶ And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

The moment that people try to earn their own salvation they are automatically canceled from grace and this also means they cancel their salvation.

Romans 4:4-5 (NIV)

⁴ Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.

⁵ However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

Those who work are those who earn what they have by their own effort so that it is obligated that they be paid for their labor. But this will cancel out salvation as it is extremely proud and arrogant for any humans to assume, they can earn their own salvation and have no need for the salvation found only in Jesus Christ as a free gift. Those who just trust by faith will be made righteous by a free gift that cannot be earned.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–

⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

Salvation is not by works so no man can boast about earning his own salvation. Only by grace can people be saved by receiving a free gift from Jesus Christ.

Titus 3:5 (NIV)

⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

The believer is saved not because of any righteous things that they have done but only by the mercy of God who gave them eternal life for free. It is only by grace or a free gift that men can be saved and that is why all false religions go to hell that have their followers busy with trying to earn their own salvation or paying for it by works and efforts and self-sacrifice.

Redemption in the Blood

Genesis 3:21 (NIV)

²¹ The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

The first time that we see blood being used to make atonement for sins was when God made garments out of the skins of animals to cloth Adam and his wife after they fell into sin. The only way to remove a skin from an animal is to kill it and skin it and in this process the blood is shed. This is the first occurrence in the bible of the innocent dying in place of the guilty and this is the basis of the blood atonement.

Genesis 4:3-5 (NIV)

³ In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD.

⁴ But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

⁵ but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Blood atonement again shows up with the offering made by Cain and Abel (the two sons of Adam and Eve). Cain brought a bloodless offering of the fruits of the soil as an offering to God and he found that his offering was rejected. But Abel brought fat portions from the firstborn of his flock to the Lord and the Lord looked with favor on the offering of Abel. This was because the offering of Abel had blood because fat cannot be removed from an animal without first butchering that animal and shedding its blood. God did not look with favor on the offering of Cain because it did not comply with the standards of God for blood sacrifice. It is the blood that makes atonement for sin.

Leviticus 1:2 (NIV)

² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any of you brings an offering to the LORD, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.

In the book of Leviticus, it is made clear that offering for sin should be made from an animal of the herd (cattle) or from the flock (sheep or goats). There was blood shed from these sacrificial animals and this blood made atonement for the sins of the people.

Leviticus 17:11 (NIV)

¹¹ For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.

God made it clear that the life of a living creature is in the blood and God gave that blood to make atonement for the people and their sins. It is the blood that makes atonement for sin.

Leviticus 3:1-2 (NIV)

¹ “‘If someone’s offering is a fellowship offering, and he offers an animal from the herd, whether male or female, he is to present before the LORD an animal without defect.

² He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood against the altar on all sides.

The entire system of blood sacrifice in the Old Testament was a type and a shadow to teach the people about the blood sacrifice of Jesus. In the Old Testament the animal that was to be sacrificed for the sins of the people could not have any defect but it must be perfect. In the same way, Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for sins because he was perfect and walked without sin. It was by the blood of Jesus that he made atonement for the sins of all mankind of all generations that ever lived upon the earth.

Hebrews 9:12 (NIV)

¹² He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

Jesus did not enter into the most holy place in the natural temple like the natural priest who offered the blood of animals for atonement of sins. Jesus rather entered into the holy place in heaven with his own blood that he offered to obtain eternal redemption for all mankind that ever lived upon the earth for all generations.

Hebrews 9:13-14 (NIV)

¹³ The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.

¹⁴ How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

The blood of goats and bulls and heifers was sprinkled for sanctification and atonement of sin under the Old Testament. But when Christ came, he offered himself as a sacrifice to God and with his own blood he made atonement for the sins of the whole world.

Hebrews 9:23-24 (NIV)

²³ It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

²⁴ For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.

The natural high priest would enter the natural tabernacle and offer the blood of animals to atone for sins but Jesus entered not into the natural tabernacle on earth that was a copy of the true. Instead Jesus entered into the tabernacle of heaven where he appeared in God’s presence to offer his own blood to make atonement of the sins of the all mankind of all generations.

1 Peter 1:18-19 (NIV)

¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,

¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

The sacrificial lambs that were used to make atonement for sin had to be without blemish or defect and in the same way Jesus was perfect and without sin and without blemish or defect. His blood was pure because the blood type is determined by the father and Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit so that he did not receive the tainted blood of Adam or the original sin that all humans inherit from Adam. The blood that was in the veins of Jesus was pure and holy and so his precious blood was able to make atonement for all of the sins of the entire world (meaning all the sin of every generation of men who ever lived on earth).

John 1:29 (NIV)

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John the Baptist referred to Jesus and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” This had great significance to the Jewish mind because they were accustomed to seeing animal sacrifice yearly since the time of Moses and they understood about the innocent dying for the guilty to make atonement for them. When John called Jesus the Lamb of God it was speaking to the people that Jesus had come to make a sacrifice of Himself in the same way that a lamb is sacrificed to make atonement for sin. All of the Old Testament animal sacrifice was a testimony or illustration to teach people about the blood of Jesus that would be shed to pay for the sins of the world. Natural things were used to give illustrations of spiritual things and the blood sacrifice under the Old Testament was a type and a shadow that spoke of the final atoning work of Christ to shed his own blood to make atonement for the sins of the whole world.

Hebrews 10:1 (NIV)

¹ The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming–not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.

This scripture speaks of a shadow of the good things to come. A shadow of something gives a basic outline or general idea of what something looks like. The shadow of a man cast upon a wall gives a general outline of what that man looks like. If a person is familiar with that man they will be able to tell whose shadow it is being cast upon the wall. In the same way, the law of the Old Testament was a shadow that gave a general idea or impression of spiritual things. It is through the Law that mankind gained the understanding of blood atonement and that prepared them to understand why Jesus had to shed his blood in order to pay for the sins of the world. The animal sacrifice under the Old Testament was repeated every year but it had no power to wash away sins. It was only a type or a shadow that spoke of the final atoning work of Christ who shed his blood once and for all to pay for all sins of mankind of every generation on earth.

Hebrews 10:2-3 (NIV)

² If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.

³ But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins,

If the blood of animals was able to remove sin then the worshipers would have been cleansed of sin and the sacrifices would have ceased. But they still felt guilty for their sins because animal sacrifice did not wash their sins away. Animal sacrifice was only given to teach the people about the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus who would once and for all remove all sin by the sacrifice of his own blood in heaven.

Hebrews 10:4 (NIV)

⁴ because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins because this animal sacrifice was only given to teach people about the blood sacrifice of Jesus.

Hebrews 10:11-12 (NIV)

¹¹ Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

¹² But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.

Natural priests would offer blood sacrifices repeatedly but this activity would never take away sins. But Jesus came as a priest and entered one time into heaven to offer his own blood and that sacrifice was complete forever and never has to be repeated again. One time offering of the perfect blood of Jesus paid for the sins of all mankind eternally.

Hebrews 10:14 (NIV)

¹⁴ because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

By one sacrifice Jesus made perfect forever all those who call upon his Name for salvation. His blood makes atonement to wash away the sins of mankind for all who call upon him to be saved.

Ephesians 2:12 (NIV)

¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

Before accepting Christ, mankind is separated from God by sin but when they accept the Lord by faith, they become citizens of heaven and all of their sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus that was given for their atonement. The word atonement means to pay for sin by the sacrifice of another and that is what Jesus did when he paid for the sins of mankind with his own blood.

Ephesians 2:13 (NIV)

¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

Those who were once far away from God are now brought near because of the blood of Jesus who washed them from sins when they called upon the Name of the Lord to be saved.

Romans 5:8-9 (NIV)

⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!

Those who believe in Jesus and confess him as Lord are washed from their sins by his blood. They are justified by the blood of Jesus and saved from the wrath of God that will destroy all those who refuse to accept the free gift of eternal life found only in Jesus.

Colossians 1:14 (NIV)

¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Through Jesus all those who call upon his name will receive redemption through his blood and the forgiveness of their sins.

Revelation 1:5 (NIV)

⁵ and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,

Jesus washed those who believe in him from their sins by his blood. The blood of Jesus makes atonement for the sins of mankind and those who believe in Jesus and confess him as their Lord will be washed of all of their sins by faith in him.

Jesus Our Lamb

1 Peter 1:19 (NIV)

¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

Jesus is compared to a sacrificial lamb that is without blemish or spot. He was the perfect sacrifice without sin and this qualified him to pay for the sins of the whole world.

Exodus 12:3 (NIV)

³ Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.

The Passover lamb was first sacrificed when the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt. God instructed them through Moses to sacrifice a lamb and put the blood on the door posts of their houses and then the destroying angel would see the blood and pass over them without destroying them. Therefore, it was called the Passover lamb because its blood caused them to be spared from the judgment of God and the death angel passed over them. In the same way, Jesus served as a Passover Lamb to cause the wrath of God to pass over those who are redeemed by the blood of Jesus.

Exodus 12:5 (NKJV)

⁵ Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

The lamb had to be without blemish and this speaks of having a perfect sacrifice and it is a type and shadow of Jesus who was the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the people.

Exodus 12:7 (NIV)

⁷ Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door-frames of the houses where they eat the lambs.

Some of the blood was put on the sides and tops of the door-frames of the houses where they ate the Passover lambs and this was a sign to the destroying angel to pass over those houses and not destroy anyone within.

Exodus 12:11 (NIV)

¹¹ This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover.

They were to eat this Passover with haste with their cloak tucked into their belt and their sandals on their feet and their staff in their hand because they were to be expelled out of Egypt suddenly and they were to be ready to run.

Exodus 12:13 (NIV)

¹³ The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

When God saw the blood on the doorposts of the house, he passed over them so that no destructive plague touched them. Only those homes without the blood experienced death.

Exodus 12:14 (NIV)

¹⁴ “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD–a lasting ordinance.

The Jewish people were to commemorate the Passover for all of the generations as a lasting ordinance. It is the Passover that specifically identifies the people who came out of Egypt under Moses. Only the Jewish race observes the Passover until present times and this shows they are God’s chosen people and specifically the descendants of those who came out of Egypt under Moses. Salvation is from the Jews and Jesus was born Jewish and it is their culture and their Passover that is a type and shadow of Jesus the Lamb who was sacrificed for the sins of the whole world.

1 Peter 3:18 (NIV)

¹⁸ For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,

Jesus was righteous and holy but he died for the unrighteous in order to pay for their sins. In the same way, the innocent lamb was sacrificed to pay for the sins of mankind and the blood of the innocent Passover lamb caused the sinful people to be saved from the judgment of God. When sinful mankind believes in Jesus and confesses him as their Lord, the blood of Jesus washes them from all sin. They are saved from the wrath of God because Jesus (the righteous sacrificial Lamb) died for them (who were unrighteous) and washed away their sins.

Leviticus 22:20 (NIV)

²⁰ Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

No lamb with a defect could be used as a sacrifice for sin and this speaks of Jesus who was without sin and perfect in every way and was qualified to make atonement for sin by his own blood.

John 18:28 (NIV)

²⁸ Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.

It was the night before Passover when Jesus was being examined by the Roman governor just prior to his crucifixion. This is the reason that the Jews did not want to enter the Roman palace to avoid ceremonial uncleanness so they could still eat the Passover. This is significant because this means that at the same time that Jesus was being examined by Pilot that there were natural lambs being examined for the Passover sacrifice. The natural lambs had to be without blemish or defect before they could be offered so they were carefully examined to make sure they were perfect. Jesus was being examined at the same time in the Roman palace as the natural lambs were being examined for the Passover. Jesus is that Passover Lamb that was examined and found perfect and worthy of being offered as a sacrifice for sins.

John 19:14-15 (NIV)

¹⁴ It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.

¹⁵ But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

This scripture reveals that it was specifically the preparation time for the Passover when Jesus was being examined by Pilate. This is significant because it is the same time that the natural sheep were being examined for preparation to sacrifice them for the Passover.

Matthew 26:59-60 (NIV)

⁵⁹ The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death.

⁶⁰ But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward

Even before Jesus was examined by Pilate the chief Priests and Sanhedrin were all looking for false witnesses to produce false evidence to accuse Jesus so they could put him to death out of their great jealousy. But even though they had many false witnesses come forward they could not find any evidence against Jesus. This speaks of the fact that Jesus was sinless and He was the perfect sacrificial Lamb that was without blemish or defect of sin. The Chief Priests and Sanhedrin could not find anything wrong with Jesus and in the same way the natural sheep were being examined to find if there was anything wrong with them so that they could be declared acceptable as sacrifices.

Matthew 27:23-24 (NIV)

²³ “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

When Jesus was examined by the Roman governor, Pilate could not find anything wrong with him and said, “What crime has he committed?” Jesus did no crime at all and no sin was ever committed by him and so he was the perfect sacrifice for sin. When the crowd was in an uproar Pilate washed his hands before the angry mob and said, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person!” This shows that even Pilate examined Jesus and said that he was just and without sin. He found nothing wrong with Jesus just as those who were assigned to examine the natural sheep to find if they are without blemish or defect and if they qualified as a sacrificial lamb. All the while that Jesus was examined by both the chief priests and Sanhedrin and also by Pilot that was the time of the preparation for the Passover when the natural sheep where being examined for defects. All of this is a type and shadow that helped people to understand that Jesus was the sinless Lamb of God who was sacrificed to take away the sins of the world.

Numbers 9:12 (NIV)

¹² They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations.

Part of the requirements for the Passover lamb was that no bone of it would be broken. In the same way Jesus fulfilled the same requirements as the Passover Lamb when no bone of His was broken.

John 19:31-32 (NIV)

³¹ Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.

³² The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other.

During crucifixion the victims were standing on the nail that pinned their feet to the cross. Their arms would cramp and choke off their breathing by putting pressure on the throat area. So, the victims would have to stand on the nail in their feet and push themselves up to gain a grasp of air. But if the soldiers wanted to hasten death, they would break their legs and they would not be able to lift themselves up on the nail and they would suffocate to death. So, the solders broke the legs of the two criminals that were crucified with Jesus in order to hasten their death so their bodies could be taken down.

John 19:33-34 (NIV)

³³ But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.

³⁴ Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.

When the soldiers came to Jesus however, they found that he was already dead so they did not break his legs. These Roman soldiers were unknowingly fulfilling scripture that no bones of Jesus would be broken. Jesus was the Passover Lamb of God and it is written that no Passover lamb is to have its bones broken. The soldiers did break the leg bones of the criminals who died with Jesus but they did not break the legs of Jesus who is the Passover Lamb.

John 19:36 (NIV)

³⁶ These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”

Again, Jesus fulfilled the scripture for the Passover Lamb who did not have any of its bones broken.

1 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV)

⁷ Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast–as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

Jesus is referred to as Christ the Passover Lamb because he offered his blood to save the unrighteous from the judgment of God and all those who call upon the Name of the Lord will be saved from the wrath of God.

Romans 5:9 (NIV)

⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!

Those who have believed in Jesus and accepted him by faith are justified by his blood. They are saved from the wrath of God because their sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus.

Romans 6:23 (NIV)

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

All mankind will receive the wages of their sin which is death. This is like the death angel that brought death to the homes of those households who did not have the blood of the lamb on the doorposts. All those who do not accept Jesus will be destroyed by eternal death in the fires of hell. But those who accept Jesus will receive eternal life and the wrath of God will pass over them without harm.

John 1:29 (NIV)

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the Lamb of God and this has great significance to every Jewish person who was familiar with the Passover lamb. In the same way that the Passover lamb was sacrificed so Jesus was also sacrificed as a lamb without spot or blemish.

Revelation 5:12 (NIV)

¹² In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”

Jesus is referred to as the Lamb and this is significant because He is our Passover Lamb who was sacrificed to save us from the wrath and judgment of God. All those who believe in and accept Jesus as their Lord will be saved from the wrath and judgment of God that will pass over them and only harm those who have not been redeemed by the blood of Jesus.

Jesus Our High Priest

Hebrews 5:1 (NIV)

¹ Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

Another attribute of Christ is that He is also our high priest. A high priest is a mediator between God and man and it is the high priest who enters into the holy place to offer atonement of the sins of the people. The high priest is a type and shadow that also speaks of Christ.

Hebrews 8:5 (NIV)

⁵ They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

The natural tabernacle on earth was made after the pattern that was given to Moses and it was made in similitude of the real tabernacle that was in heaven. This natural tabernacle is therefore a type and shadow of the real tabernacle in heaven and gives the people and understanding of spiritual things found in heaven.

Hebrews 9:1 (NIV)

¹ Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary.

The Old Testament was the first covenant and it had regulations for worship and it also had an earthy sanctuary. This earthly (or natural sanctuary) spoke of spiritual things that exist in heaven and it was given to Moses by God when he was conversing with God on Mount Sinai.

Hebrews 9:2-5 (NIV)

² A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place.

³ Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,

⁴ which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.

⁵ Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

The things within the natural tabernacle and the layout of this tabernacle were all patterned after that real tabernacle in heaven and so serve as a type and shadow of spiritual things. These natural things on earth helped men to understand the spiritual things in heaven that they could not see.

Hebrews 9:6-7 (NIV)

⁶ When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry.

⁷ But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

The high priest would enter into the inner room of the holy of holies once a year but he never entered without blood to make atonement for sins both for his own sins and the sins of the people. The natural high priest was not perfect and was also a sinner and required atonement for his own sins also. But Jesus was a better high priest because He was perfect and He could make atonement for sin by one-time offering of Himself and He did not have to repeat this continually as the natural priests did using animal blood.

Hebrews 10:1 (NIV)

¹ The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming–not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.

The things of the natural tabernacle were only a shadow but not reality themselves. They were unable to make atonement with animal blood that was offered annually.

Hebrews 10:2-3 (NIV)

² If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.

³ But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins,

So, the sacrificial system continued year after year and it was something that pointed to Christ and helped the people understand the necessity of blood atonement and the principle of the innocent dying for the guilty.

Hebrews 10:4 (NIV)

⁴ because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

It is impossible for animal blood to take away sins but it was only done as a type and shadow to speak of Christ who would come as a perfect sacrifice and even serve as the high priest to offer his own blood.

Hebrews 10:11 (NIV)

¹¹ Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

The natural priests would offer sacrifices repeatedly but these sacrifices could never take away sins. These sacrifices only pointed toward Christ who is the great high priest of God who entered into the holy place in heaven to offer his own blood once and for all.

Hebrews 7:27 (NIV)

²⁷ Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.

Jesus offered Himself once and for all time so that His sacrifice paid for the sin of all humanity eternally.

Hebrews 9:25-26 (NIV)

²⁵ Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.

²⁶ Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Jesus only offered Himself one time and His sacrifice for all sins was completed forever.

Hebrews 9:23 (NIV)

²³ It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

The copies of the heavenly things were made on earth according to the pattern that God revealed to Moses. But there exists a real tabernacle in heaven and that needed to be purified by better sacrifices than animal blood. The true tabernacle in heaven was cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus.

Hebrews 9:24 (NIV)

²⁴ For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.

Jesus was our high priest who entered into the presence of God for us and offered his blood for atonement for all the sins of the whole world.

Hebrews 9:13-14 (NIV)

¹³ The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.

¹⁴ How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Jesus offered His own blood to cleanse the conscience of those sinners who believe in Him.

Hebrews 9:11-12 (NIV)

¹¹ When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation.

¹² He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

Jesus served as a high priest in heaven but He offered His own blood rather than the blood of animals.

Hebrews 10:14 (NIV)

¹⁴ because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Jesus had perfect blood so He only had to make one sacrifice to cleanse all sin of all humanity forever in heaven.

Hebrews 10:12 (NIV)

¹² But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.

After Jesus entered the tabernacle in heaven and served as our high priest, He offered his own blood and then sat down at the right hand of God.

Hebrews 8:1-2 (NIV)

¹ The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,

² and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.

Jesus is our high priest and as such He is our mediator between man and God in heaven.

Hebrews 7:23-25 (NIV)

²³ Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office;

²⁴ but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.

²⁵ Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

The natural high priests who served in the natural tabernacle on earth were limited in service because they would all grow old and die and have to be replaced by another. But Jesus lives eternally and so He is an eternal high priest that never dies.

PART THREE

The Covenant

Romans 9:4 (NIV)

⁴ the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises.

The word covenant means agreement or contract. The Old Covenant speaks of that which was under the Old Testament and the New Covenant speaks of that which is under the New Testament. The people of Israel are those who are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who is also called Israel. These are specifically the people who came out from slavery in Egypt under the leadership of Moses. They are identified today as the Jewish race because they are the only people on earth who celebrate the Passover just as all of their forefathers have done since the time of Moses until now. They are God’s chosen people and they have the covenant of God that was given to their father Abraham and his descendants the Jews forever.

Romans 3:1-2 (NIV)

¹ What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision?

² Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

The Jew has a great advantage because to them was entrusted the words of God. From them came the adoptions as sons, seeing the divine glory of God, receiving of the law through Moses, the temple worship that speaks of Christ, the promises of God and the covenant made to Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob.

Genesis 17:7 (NIV)

⁷ I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

God spoke to Abraham and told him that he would establish his everlasting covenant between Abraham and himself and also to his descendants after him in the generations to come. Abraham pleased God and obeyed God so God made an agreement with him that if Abraham would obey God’s voice then God would bless and prosper him and would bring a Savior to the world through the descendants of Abraham.

Genesis 17:10-11 (NIV)

¹⁰ This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

¹¹ You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.

Circumcision was a sign of the covenant between God and his chosen people the descendants of Abraham.

Ephesians 2:11-12 (NIV)

¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)–

¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

Those who are Gentiles are those who are non-Jewish people and the Gentiles were called uncircumcised by the Jews because the gentiles did not have a covenant with God. So the Gentiles were excluded from the citizenship in Israel and they were strangers to the covenant of promise made to Abraham and his offspring. The Gentiles were therefore without God and without hope in the world.

Hebrews 8:7-8 (NIV)

⁷ For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.

⁸ But God found fault with the people and said: “The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

But God found fault with the first covenant because the people could not keep God’s laws and so God sought to establish a new covenant with the house of Israel. The new covenant would not be dependent upon the people keeping the law but instead God would send his Son Jesus to fulfill the law on behalf of the people and then offer to them the free gift of eternal life.

Matthew 26:28 (NIV)

²⁸ This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

When Jesus partook of the last supper before He was crucified, He spoke of the blood of the covenant that would be ratified by His own blood. Jesus poured out his own blood for many for the forgiveness of sins. He died for many people and this also included all nations on earth of the Gentiles (non-Jews) so that all humanity would be able to receive the blessing of eternal life through Jesus the Jewish Messiah.

Hebrews 12:24 (NIV)

²⁴ to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant and it is established upon His own blood that speaks of the remission of sins of the whole world. Abel offered animal sacrifice for atonement but Jesus offered His own blood as an everlasting atonement for the sins of mankind once and forever.

Romans 3:29-30 (NIV)

²⁹ Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,

³⁰ since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

Under the New Covenant both the Jews and the Gentiles entered into the blessing of God. Both the circumcision and the uncircumcision are justified by faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law and then offers the free gift of salvation to all that call upon His name (both Jews and Gentiles).

Romans 4:2-3 (NIV)

² If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about–but not before God.

³ What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness and the same is true of those who believe in Jesus by faith and receive the free gift of eternal life and are made righteous by grace.

Romans 4:11-12 (NIV)

¹¹ And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.

¹² And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Abraham believed and was counted righteous in the sight of God before he was circumcised. This speaks of the Gentiles who are uncircumcised but believe God and are made righteous by faith. But Abraham is also the father of the entire Jewish race who are circumcised and he is an example for them to follow in his footsteps of faith toward God that he accomplished prior to his circumcision. This speaks of righteousness by faith apart from circumcision.

Romans 4:21-22 (NIV)

²¹ being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

²² This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Abraham believed God for the promised child Isaac when he was a hundred years old and his faith in God was counted as righteousness.

Romans 4:23-24 (NIV)

²³ The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone,

²⁴ but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness–for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

It is said that it was credited to Abraham as righteousness because he believed God and in the same way the Gentiles also are credited with righteousness when they believe in God who raised Jesus from the dead.

Romans 4:4-5 (NIV)

⁴ Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.

⁵ However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

If a man works for something then his wages are not credited to him as a gift but obligation for payment for work done. But a man who trusts God by faith his righteousness is credited as a free gift.

Romans 4:6-7 (NIV)

⁶ David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

⁷ “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

God credits righteousness apart from works for those who believe and that means even the gentiles can be made righteous by faith apart from having to keep the works of the law. They are blessed because their transgressions are forgiven and their sins are covered and this takes place by receiving the free gift of eternal life apart from working for it.

Romans 3:28-31 (NIV)

²⁸ For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

²⁹ Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,

³⁰ since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

³¹ Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

Under the new covenant a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. The law is not nullified by faith but rather it is upheld because Jesus fulfilled the law in perfect detail and then presented righteousness as a free gift to all who call upon his Name. Righteousness means to be in right standing with God and this is obtained freely by grace to all those who call upon the Name of the Lord both Jews and Gentiles.

Genesis 22:18 (NIV)

¹⁸ and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

God said that through the offspring of Abraham that all nations on earth will be blessed. This promise of God was fulfilled through Jesus who was born of the Jews (the descendants of Abraham through the promised child Isaac) and through Jesus all nations on earth have salvation made available to them.

John 4:22 (NIV)

²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.

Jesus said that salvation is from the Jews because the Jewish Messiah Jesus made salvation available to all nations and peoples of the earth by faith in His Name.

Matthew 1:1 (NIV)

¹ A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:

The genealogy of Jesus can be traced all the way to Abraham and it shows that God’s promise was fulfilled because through the descendants of Abraham all nations of earth would be blessed.

Genesis 12:1-3 (NIV)

¹ The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.

² “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

God promised Abraham that all of the peoples on earth would be blessed through him and this means that God had already planned to send the Savior Jesus Christ through the lineage of Abraham so that through Abraham both the Jews and the Gentiles would be justified by faith in Jesus Christ.

Zechariah 2:11 (NIV)

¹¹ “Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you.

Many nations shall be joined to the Lord and they shall become God’s people. This shows that God had an international plan from the beginning as He planned to bring a Savior for the entire world from the descendants of Abraham His friend.

Jeremiah 4:2 (NIV)

² and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ then the nations will be blessed by him and in him they will glory.”

The nations shall bless themselves in the Lord and this speaks of salvation coming to all races of people on earth through Jesus the Jewish Messiah.

Isaiah 55:5 (NKJV)

⁵ Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, And nations who do not know you shall run to you, Because of the LORD your God, And the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you.”

Gentile nations that did not know God will run to Him because they found salvation as a free gift through Jesus Christ.

Revelation 5:9 (NKJV)

⁹ And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

Jesus redeemed men from every tribe, and tongue, and people and nation and this shows that God has always had an international plan and was at work bringing this plan to pass even when He made a covenant with Abraham and said that all nations on earth would be blessed through Him.

Acts 10:35 (NKJV)

³⁵ But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.

God accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right by accepting Jesus the Son of God and receiving the free gift of eternal life. It is God’s will that salvation be made available to all nations on earth and whoever will call upon the Name of the Lord will be saved.

Under the New Covenant the blessing of salvation was made available to all languages, tribes and peoples and nations on earth. God started with a covenant with one man and raised up his offspring and multiplied them into a nation and from this nation of people God brought a Savior of the world. In this manner, the covenant of Abraham brought the blessing of salvation to all nations of earth and all peoples who come to Jesus to be justified by faith in his Name.

Types and Shadows

Colossians 2:16-17 (NKJV)

¹⁶ So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,

¹⁷ which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

The things of the Old Testament like religious festivals, new moon celebrations or Sabbath Days and other Old Testament operations were all things that were a shadow of things that were to come. A shadow is something that gives a general outline of something or a dark figure just as a man’s shadow that is cast upon a wall if there is a light source behind him. The shadow of a man is a general outline of the man but it is not a clear picture of that person. It is only a basic outline and if someone is familiar with that man, they will be able to guess that this shadow is being cast on the wall by this certain person.

In the same way, all of the things that occurred in the Old Testament are a shadow of things that are to come but are not a specific picture of these things but only a general outline or a dark general image like a shadow. But if people are spiritually perceptive, they will be able to see what these dark shadows or general outlines represent.

The New Testament is a fulfillment of the Old Testament so therefore every name and place and object and occurrence in the Old Testament provides a shadow or general dark image of things that were later to come as their fulfillment under the New Testament.

It is obvious that the Passover Lamb sacrifice under the Old Testament speaks of Jesus under the New Testament who is called the Passover Lamb. This was a shadow of things to come that taught the people about sacrifice and blood atonement and the necessity of Jesus coming to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sins.

The office of high priest also speaks of Christ and was a shadow of Jesus under the New Testament who came to serve as a mediator between God and man to make sacrifice for their sins. There is a great wealth of revelation in the Old Testament because these things were shadows or dark outlines that spoke in general manner of the things that were fulfilled in the New Testament by Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 8:5 (NIV)

⁵ They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

The natural sanctuary that was built after the pattern that Moses received from God is a copy or shadow of that which is in heaven. It is a general dark outline that speaks of spiritual things that are in heaven. Spiritual things in heaven are invisible to natural man so God gave a natural pattern or a shadow or general outline of what exists in heaven. In this manner, natural men can see a model or shadow of heavenly things on earth and gain a limited understanding of spiritual things. The Law of Moses reveals a general shadow of spiritual things in heaven and gives mankind some idea or general understanding of what exists in heaven and what God expects of mankind.

Hebrews 10:1 (NIV)

¹ The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming–not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.

This scripture says that the law is a shadow of good things that are coming. The law speaks in general terms or gives a general idea or dark outline of spiritual things and through the Law of Moses mankind can receive limited understanding of spiritual things in heaven. A shadow is a general outline of a man and those familiar with that person can guess what that man looks like even if they cannot see him clearly as in an image or a photograph. In the same way, the law and the objects of worship under the Old Testament provide a shadow or general outline of spiritual things and those familiar with types and shadows can see revelation in a limited manner about spiritual things in heaven that were fulfilled in Christ under the New Testament.

Romans 5:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

A type is similar to a shadow in that it gives a general understanding of something that is represented by a type. The word type therefore can be used interchangeably with shadow because both provide a general idea or limited understanding of the spiritual things that they represent. In the scripture above it says that Adam was a type of Him who was to come who is Jesus.

Romans 5:18-19 (NKJV)

¹⁸ Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.

¹⁹ For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

Adam is similar to Christ being the first man to be created on earth and Jesus was the first man to be born of a virgin and he was sinless and fresh and new. Adam was like this prior to his fall as he was created perfectly and had no sin prior to eating of the forbidden fruit that his wife gave to him to eat after she had already eaten of it herself.

In the case of Adam, he fell in transgression and original sin spread to all mankind as they all inherited the original sin of Adam because all races of men that ever lived upon the earth are all descendants of Adam and every man that ever lived has received the original sin of Adam and has his tainted blood is in their veins. So, in Adam all men were made sinners but in a similar anti-type, in Jesus all men have the potential to become righteous (for as many as will call upon his Name and be saved).

Every man that has ever lived on the earth has the opportunity to become new born and cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Adam was a general type that spoke of Christ because through him all men become sinners but in opposite manner through Christ many can be made righteous as all men have the potential to accept the free gift of atonement in Christ and be saved and washed of their sins.

In a general type Adam speaks of a man who bought judgment to all mankind by his act of sin but Jesus brought potential righteousness to all mankind by His act of self-sacrifice to pay for the sin of the whole world and purchase eternal life for all mankind. So, by one man’s disobedience many were made unrighteous and by one man’s obedience many were made righteous. Adam is a type that speaks of Christ in general terms.

The types and shadows of the Old Testament speak of things that were to come under the New Testament and these things most often speak of Christ because Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. In order to have a better understanding of the New Testament it is required that people have an understanding of the Old Testament and what the types and shadows represent. These are general patterns that speak of heavenly things and give general principles of understanding for the New Testament.

Type of Christ

1 Corinthians 10:4 (NKJV)

⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.

The rock that yielded water for the people to drink in the desert was a type or shadow of Christ and it spoke of Christ.

John 4:13-14 (NKJV)

¹³ Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,

¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Jesus spoke of satisfying spiritual thirst and told the woman at the well that those who drink natural water will have to come back again and again to draw more because natural water does not satisfy thirst completely as they will thirst again. But the spiritual satisfaction provided for by Jesus is something that is like a spring of water that wells up within a man so that he has a constant source of refreshment that satisfies forever. Jesus compared spiritual satisfaction to a spring of water that wells up within a person. A spring will continue to run at all times so that people can have water to drink even when it is not raining. This speaks of spiritual satisfaction that causes the spiritual thirst of man to be quenched.

All humans are created with a void inside that only God can fill. That is why so many false religions are constantly being invented by people trying to satisfy spiritual hunger but these false religions are all in vain because the only spiritual satisfaction that can be found on earth is in believing in Jesus Christ. Only He is a spring of water welling up continually for eternal life within the heart of man.

Numbers 20:11-12 (NIV)

¹¹ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

¹² But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

Moses got angry with the people who were murmuring about a lack of water to drink and he struck the rock twice with his staff and this spoiled the type that was to speak of Christ. Christ was struck or sacrificed only once and did not have to be sacrificed repeatedly like animal sacrifice that has no power to wash away sins.

Isaiah 53:4-5 (NIV)

⁴ Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

The prophet Isaiah writes that Christ was stricken by God and smitten. This means that Jesus was struck by God upon the cross as Jesus bore all of the punishment for the sins of the whole world. He was offered as a sacrifice only one time and he was struck down by God only once for remission of sins. Therefore, striking the rock twice was spoiling the type that spoke of the rock who was Christ.

Numbers 20:7-8 (NIV)

⁷ The LORD said to Moses,

⁸ “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

The instructions that were given to Moses by God was not that he should strike the rock twice (as Moses did) but rather he was to speak to the rock and then the rock would pour out its water for the community to drink and also for their livestock to drink. This is a type of Christ because those who speak to the rock of Christ will have that rock yield its water to them like a spring that wells up within them to eternal life.

Romans 10:13 (NIV)

¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

The scriptures say that whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved and this is the fulfillment the Old Testament type or shadow of the rock that Moses was commanded to speak to and when he spoke that rock was to yield its waters to the people. In the same way, people are to speak to Christ (or call upon His name) and in doing so they will receive the spring of waters of eternal life welling up on the inside of them and these waters will satisfy their thirst for spiritual things continually.

1 Corinthians 10:4 (NIV)

⁴ and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

Paul spoke clearly of the Old Testament type and shadow of the rock that provided water for the people in the desert and Paul said that this rock was Christ. The rock is an Old Testament type or shadow of Christ who would provide spiritual waters of eternal life for all those who speak to Him or call upon His name to be saved.

1 Corinthians 10:1-6 (NIV)

¹ For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea.

² They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

³ They all ate the same spiritual food

⁴ and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

⁵ Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.

⁶ Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.

The cloud and the Red Sea and the manna and the water from the rock and all of these Old Testament things were all types and shadows of Christ who was to come under the New Testament.

The passing through the Red Sea for example is a type and shadow of baptism. The people were baptized to Moses in the cloud and the Red Sea.

Colossians 2:12 (NIV)

¹² having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

When the children of Israel passed through the Red Sea their Egyptian slave drivers chased after them to pursue them and capture them and take them again as slaves. But the Red Sea closed in over the top of the Egyptians and drown them all. So the children of Israel were all set free from slavery when their Egyptian slave drivers were all drown or killed in the Red Sea.

This is a type or shadow of baptism or spiritual regeneration because when a person is spiritually regenerated their old unregenerate human spirit is killed or crucified in Christ. The reborn person is set free from the slavery of sin because that which was once their slave driver was killed in the spiritual baptism of regeneration. Water baptism is only a symbolic act that represents a person being buried (going under the water) and then rising to new life as a new person in Christ (as they rise out of the water). This speaks of the inner transformation as their old unregenerate human spirit is killed and they are risen again as a new person in Christ with a new human spirit and a new nature that is holy and pure like God. So when a person is reborn spiritually they are no longer slaves to sin because that which once enslaved them has been killed. And so, the Red Sea baptism speaks of salvation as the children of Israel passed through the Red Sea but those who once held them in slavery were all drown or destroyed in the water of the Red Sea. This is a type or shadow that speaks of spiritual regeneration that is found in Christ under the New Testament and Jesus is a fulfillment of this natural illustration of Red Sea baptism.

1 Corinthians 10:2 (NIV)

² They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

The scripture says that the children of Israel were all baptized to Moses in the cloud and in the sea. The cloud speaks of the fact that those who are spiritual reborn are children of God and they are led by the Spirit of God.

Romans 8:14 (NIV)

¹⁴ because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Those who are led by the Spirit of God are those who are sons of God. The cloud speaks of God’s leading his people.

Numbers 9:15-23 (NIV)

¹⁵ On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire.

¹⁶ That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.

¹⁷ Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.

¹⁸ At the LORD’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.

¹⁹ When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD’s order and did not set out.

²⁰ Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out.

²¹ Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out.

²² Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out.

²³ At the LORD’s command they encamped, and at the LORD’s command they set out. They obeyed the LORD’s order, in accordance with his command through Moses.

This cloud of God’s glory is a type and a shadow of the leading of God for his people. The cloud appeared as a pillar of fire at night and it appeared as a cloud of vapor during the day. This speaks of the fact that God never sleeps and He is always there to watch over His people and lead them in the way that they should go. When the cloud would move then the people would pack up their camp and move also and follow the cloud wherever it would lead them. So this is a type and shadow speaking of God’s people learning to follow God’s leading for their lives.

Sometimes this cloud would remain in one place only a single night and they would have to pack up camp again in the morning and follow the cloud when it began to move. Sometimes the cloud would lift in the middle of the night and they would have to wake up and pack up their things in a hurry and follow this cloud. The general principle that can be seen here is that God was the Lord over the people and He did not follow the schedules of humans but they were to follow God’s schedule even if it might not be convenient to them.

Getting up and packing and following God in the middle of the night without complaining about it will show that people are submitted to the Lord and do not expect God to move according to their own convenience. Sometimes the cloud might remain without moving for two days, or a month or maybe even a full year. This gives the general principle that if God does not move then the people are not to pack up and move of their own accord. Even if God did not move for a year or more the people were to control themselves and wait on the Lord and not move in the flesh or out of their own self-effort to make things happen.

This is a type and shadow that gives general principles for New Testament believers to follow. At times they may have to move repeatedly, at times when it may not be convenient to them. But at other times they may be tested by having to wait while it seems God is not going to move for a very long time. Many believers have failed this test as well because they get impatient and say that if God is not going to move then they will just pack up and move themselves. But if they do this they will miss God by going out of God’s time and season and it could end in great disaster because God is not with them and they will become like a sheep gone astray and can be devoured by the wolves because they are out from under the protection of the Great Shepherd who is Jesus.

So, to wait on God and not move until God speaks is a principle that every New Testament believer should learn. If God does not speak to you then this means that the believer should remain where they are at and do not move or change anything until God speaks to them again. This principle or type can be seen in the cloud of God’s glory that led the children of Israel in the desert. They did not move unless God moved and they had two areas to learn obedience in. If the cloud moved suddenly in the middle of the night they had to move immediately without hesitation and without murmuring about it.

There is a wealth of spiritual revelation that can be found in the Old Testament types and shadows and these things all have application to New Testament believers and their walk with Christ. So, the cloud and the Red Sea both speak of baptism unto Moses and these are types and shadows that give general principles for New Testament believers to follow. The Red Sea baptism speaks of setting people free from the slavery of sin and the cloud speaks of those who are now sons of God who are led by the Spirit of God. Jesus is called the Great Shepherd and His sheep are to follow His voice.

John 10:2-4 (NIV)

² The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.

³ The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

The natural illustration of the shepherd and his sheep also speaks of the same thing that the cloud teaches us. Those who belong to Christ are like sheep and Christ is the shepherd. The sheep know the voice of their master and they will follow him when he calls them by name. This means that God has a specific plan for each and every person and He leads them out into the plan for their lives. This is speaking of the leading of the Holy Spirit because those who are sons of God are led by the Spirit of God.

So, the shepherd goes before the sheep and they follow him but in no case does the sheep go before the shepherd to lead the shepherd as that would be perverted and unnatural. In the same way, Christ is to lead the sheep not the sheep lead Christ.

So, in the illustration of the cloud the people were the ones to submit to God and follow the cloud. God did not cater to them or move according to their convenient schedule. These are important principles for all believers to know and understand because they must learn to follow the Lord instantly without hesitation and they also must learn to wait on the Lord if God is not moving and they are not to move from their place unless God speaks specifically to them to do so.

If God is not speaking that means they are in the right place and should not move or change anything until they hear clearly from God again. Leaders in the church must teach believers both principles because instant obedience is just as important as waiting on God and not moving ahead of the Lord. Both principles are needed in order to follow God accurately. If they do not move instantly they will be left behind and miss their window of opportunity and if they get frustrated and pack of and leave of their own accord they will end up being a sheep gone astray without a shepherd and they will have no divine protection or provision or leading of God and will become fodder for the wolves. These are all principles of the Old Testament types and shadows and they have direct application for believers alive in this represent New Testament period.

Sometimes the seemingly most trivial Old Testament scriptures may have spiritual meaning far beyond what they seem to imply. One example of this is the Old Testament scripture about oxen.

Deuteronomy 25:4 (NIV)

⁴ Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.

Many modern-day people do not even know what “treading-out-the-grain” means but in the time of Moses they used the hooves of oxen to tread out the grain to remove the chaff. They would pour the grain on a hard surface and they would have the oxen walk around in a circle on this hard surface (possibly a smooth rock surface). The grain would be placed on the pathway where the oxen were walking. The heavy hooves of the oxen would apply pressure to the kernels of grain and this would cause the chaff to split and break away from the grain. The word tread is presently used to describe the bottom of a car tire that touches the road or for the bottom of the soles of shoes that touch the pavement. In the same way, the bottom of the hooves of oxen that touch the ground are referred to treading out the grain as the oxen treaded or walked on the grain in his pathway. This was not a very efficient method of threshing grain but 2,500 years ago that was about the best method that they had in those days. The treaded-out grain was then tossed in the air and wind would blow the chaff away and the heavier grain would fall down in a pile to be collected. The whole kernels (without the chaff) could then be ground using mill stones to make flour out of it for making bread.

This Old Testament scripture speaks of not muzzling oxen while it is treading out grain. In modern times this scripture may appear to have little relevance because modern farmers do not use oxen anymore to thresh grain but they use modern machinery instead. If a person is reading the Old Testament (and they have no understanding about types and shadows) they might skip over this scripture thinking it no longer has any application to present day society. But the principle of the oxen is not even concerned about the welfare of an ox but instead is has spiritual applications for those who are ministers of the gospel.

1 Corinthians 9:9 (NIV)

⁹ For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned?

Apostle Paul reveals the type and shadow of the oxen principle that speaks of ministry support for those called into the full-time ministry. Paul makes it clear that this Old Testament scripture is not even referring to natural oxen and that God is not concerned about these cows!

1 Corinthians 9:10-11 (NIV)

¹⁰ Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.

¹¹ If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?

Paul clarifies that the purpose of God’s command was to teach people that they are not to muzzle those who feed them spiritually. This scripture was not written for the sake of oxen but rather it is altogether written for those called by God into the full-time ministry. It is the Fivefold minister who is the one who treads out the grain of God’s word so that the people can eat. A Fivefold ministry bible teacher can give revelation of God’s word and provide a clear understanding of what it means and so his teaching is like that of oxen treading out the grain. The grain cannot be eaten until the chaff is removed to expose the edible kernel within (which is ground and turned into flour to make bread). In similar manner, a layman does not have the ability to see the revelation of God’s word unless a bible teacher (who is gifted and called by God) reveals to him what God’s word means and provides a clear understanding of God’s word.

A Fivefold minister treads out the grain of God’s word so people can eat the spiritual revelation that he provides for them. This is a full-time job because it requires much fasting and prayer and study of God’s word and a minister doing a part-time secular job to support himself will not be able to produce good nutritious spiritual food for the people to eat. His teaching will be like watered-down milk because he will be trying look up a few scriptures before he runs to the church to preach but he has not spent time in prayer and fasting and mediation of God’s word in order to produce the revelation that people need to grow spiritually.

This scripture speaks of people supporting a Fivefold minister with natural things like food or money to feed him so that he can continue to tread out the grain of God’s word for them in a distracted manner. Not muzzling the ox refers to not tying a sack over the oxen’s mouth to prevent him from eating while he works. In the same way, those who withhold financial support or food from a Fivefold minister are muzzling him and keeping him from eating while he treads out the grain of God’s word and brings revelation to feed the people spiritually.

The Old Testament principle of the oxen is not even referring to a natural ox but rather it was given by a command of God for the purpose that those who minister spiritually would also have their natural needs met so they can feed their families without being distracted from the ministry by doing sidelines.

1 Corinthians 10:11 (NIV)

¹¹ These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.

All of the things that happened to the Old Testament people were written as examples and serve as a warning to us who live under the New Testament era. These principles are still in effect and they are like a shadow that gives a general idea that was fulfilled under the New Testament. We no longer use oxen for treading out grain but there is still a spiritual principle that is relevant to the New Testament period under which we live. These are the general principles that are still in effect although we no longer follow such things in detail (like caring about oxen). Those who have spiritual perception can see that the principles given under the Old Testament still have direct application under the New Testament and if they are applied, they will provide the same blessing as was described by God to those who obeyed these things under the Old Testament era.

General Biblical Topics

Three Parts of Man

Abraham Bosom

Spiritual Restraints

New Creation Born of God

Led by the Spirit

Origin and Operation of Demons

Doctrines of Demons

Factors that Affect Healing

Atonement Series

Giving and Kingdom Finances

Gift of Businessman “Giver”

Thornbush Leaders and Freeloaders

Salvation’s Race

Escape from Christendom

Overcoming Christian

Fear of the Lord

Christians in Hell

Button Hole Principle

Forsake Not Grace

Temperament Types

Faking-it-in-the-Flesh

Cutting Stones of Fit

Social Work Failure

Sin Nature Crucifixion

Remain in Ordained Place

Principle of Separation