So, When We Say “Law”… – The Law of God: Question and Answers

So, When We Say “Law”…
The Law of God: Question and Answers

The Law is whatever the Spirit teaches.

Question: What do you mean by “Law”?

“And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” Ezekiel 36:27

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things.…” John 14:26

To be concise, whatever the Spirit of God teaches us as the truth of God is the Law of God.

The Spirit is our primary teacher, and the commandments and rules of God are His core curriculum. The Spirit is the Giver of divine revelation (2 Pet. 1:21); therefore, He roams freely throughout Scripture in order to teach us all the Law of God (1 Cor. 2:13). The Spirit uses the Law of God to convict us of sin, direct us in the way of righteousness, and warn us of God’s judgment should we refuse to obey (John 16:8-11).

Whatever we learn from the Spirit of God is the result of God bringing us into His glory and transforming us into the image of His own Son, Who, as we have seen, embodied and fulfilled all the Law of God (2 Cor. 3:12-18).

So whatever we learn from the Spirit, including the fruit of godly character, the gifts we require for ministry, and the power to bear witness to Jesus Christ (Gal. 5:22, 23; 1 Cor. 12:7-11; Acts 1:8) are but aspects of the Law of God.

Turned around, we cannot say that we have learned the Law of God until we have been taught the commandments and rules of God and are obeying them in the “all things” of our lives. And, to the extent that we are found to be faithful stewards of God’s Word, we will be embodying and proclaim the Law of God, as taught and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Got a question about the Law of God? Write to T. M. at tmmoore@ailbe.org, and your answer might appear in this series of In the Gates columns.

Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and study the question for yourself.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T. M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.