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Christ Exemplified God’s Law, February 1
Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of
me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my
heart.
Psalm 40:7, 8
.
In the councils of heaven it was determined that there must be given
to mankind a living exemplification of the law. Having decided to make
this great sacrifice, God left nothing obscure, nothing indefinite, in regard
to the salvation of the human race. He gave to mankind a standard by
which to form character. With an audible voice and in awful grandeur He
spoke His law from Mount Sinai. Distinctly He stated what we must do
in order to render acceptable obedience to Him and ... remain loyal to His
law. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And
the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On
these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (
Matthew
22:37-40
).
So deep was the Lord’s interest in the beings He had created, so
great His love for the world, that He “gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”
(
John 3:16
). Christ came to bring moral power to man, to elevate, ennoble,
and strengthen him, enabling him to be a partaker of the divine nature,
having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. He proved
to the inhabitants of the unfallen worlds and to human beings that the law
can be kept. While possessing the nature of man, He obeyed the law of
God, vindicating God’s justice in demanding that it be obeyed. In the
judgment His life will be an unanswerable argument in favor of God’s
law.
All who possess the faculty of reason may learn the measure of their
duty. Christ is our pattern. In humanity He lived a spotless life. He was
merciful, compassionate, obedient—full of goodness and truth. By His
life of obedience He gave a true representation of the law. By uniting with
Christ, fallen, sinful human beings may conform the life to the divine
precepts. By keeping the commandments of God, they become laborers
together with Him who came to the world to represent the Father by
keeping all His commandments.
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