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Scripture Reading: Psa. 1:1-6; Rom. 5:20; Gal. 4:24-25; Rom. 7:12, 14a; Psa. 119:103, 105, 130; 2 Tim. 3:16a; Exo. 20:3-17; Psa. 78:5; 119:88b; Rom. 3:20; 4:15; 5:20; 7:7b; Gal. 3:23-24; Rom. 3:19; Gal. 3:21b; Rom. 8:3; 3:20a; Gal. 3:11-12b; Psa. 36:8; 1 Cor. 3:6; John 4:10, 14; Rev. 21:6; 22:1, 17b; John 7:38-39; Psa. 73:1-7, 13-17, 23-26; Matt. 5:10; Psa. 1:5-6; Rom. 2:12; Rom. 10:4; 6:14b
In the previous message, we gave an introductory word concerning the Psalms. In this message we want to see the truth concerning Christ in God's economy versus the law in man's appreciation.
Psalm 1 is concerning the law in man's appreciation (v. 2). I hope that we will receive a clear view to see this Psalm. We need to see the truth concerning the law in its position, its nature, its content, its function, and its weakness. We need to fight the battle against the wrong teachings concerning the law which are not in the light of God's New Testament economy. Among Christians there are two schools concerning the law. One school is positive and the other school is very negative. The top person in the negative school related to the law is the apostle Paul. Concerning the law, he was negative to the uttermost. I want to point out some of the points he stressed in his teaching concerning the law.
In Romans and in Galatians, Paul stressed that no flesh, no fallen human being, can be justified before God by the works of the law (Rom. 3:20a; Gal. 2:16; 3:11a). To work to be justified by the law is to labor in vain. In Romans 7 Paul told us that the law, instead of giving us life, becomes the killing instrument by which sin deceives and kills us (v. 11). Do we like something that kills us? David was wrong to exalt and appreciate something by which we can be killed. This shows us how negative Paul was in his view concerning the law.
I want to raise up Paul's argument as my argument against the law. Some may say that Paul told us in Romans 7 that the law is holy, righteous, good (v. 12), and even spiritual (v. 14a). But this is only in its nature. In nature the law is holy, righteous, good, and spiritual, but we also need to see what Paul says concerning its position, its function, and its weakness.
We need to consider what the position of the law is. In order to see the law's position, we have to take Paul's teaching.
The first thing we need to see concerning the position of the law is that the law entered in alongside the main line of God's economy (Rom. 5:20a). Because of this, the law does not have an orthodox position. It was not orthodox because it entered in alongside the main line of God's economy.
Many today do not see this main line. Instead, they teach the Bible according to the natural way, without any governing principles. Over sixty years ago, I first heard that we have to interpret the Bible with the proper principles. When I heard that, I was asking myself, "What are the principles for us to understand the Bible?" At that time, I did not understand, but gradually I came into the proper realization of the governing principles of understanding and interpreting the Bible. In this message I am interpreting the Word according to these principles.
The principle we need to see concerning the law is this — Paul in Romans 5:20a told us that the law entered in alongside. The Greek word here also means to "come in alongside." The law did not come in by itself. It came in alongside of something. This means that the main line of God's economy was there already.
After the creation of man, however, something happened. Satan came in, sin followed Satan, and man became fallen. Thus, man became a fallen man constituted with sin to be a sinner. God created man in His own image and after His own likeness (Gen. 1:26) with the intention that man could take in God, live God, and express God. The main line of God's economy began with man and was on the way when something happened. A "car accident" occurred. Therefore, the law needed to come in alongside the main line of God's economy. This should help us to understand Paul's word in Romans 5:20a.
The law was not originally ordained and arranged by God. In God's original economy, there was not such a thing. God in His economy planned to create and to have a man in His image and after His likeness that man one day could receive Him as life to live Him and to manifest Him so that He might have an organism to express His Divine Trinity. But Satan came in to deceive man, and Satan and man became one. The man created by God in His own image was constituted by Satan with Satan's nature to be a sinful man. Now God had to fix the situation. Would God keep man out of His plan, forgetting about man? Of course, God would never do that because He is the Alpha and also the Omega (Rev. 22:13). He cannot start anything without completing it.
In order to continue His purpose with man after man's fall, God added something to the main line of His economy. The Chinese version of the Bible says in Romans 5:20 that the law was added. It was something in addition to grace. The law was in addition to the orthodox line of grace in God's economy.
Second, the position of the law is that of a concubine, symbolized by Hagar (Gal. 4:24-25). Paul told us in Galatians 4 that Abraham had two wives. One was the orthodox wife, Sarah, and the other was the concubine, Hagar (vv. 22-31). We all know that a man's concubine does not have an orthodox position. Paul indicated that Sarah signifies the new covenant of grace, and he pointed out that Hagar symbolizes the old covenant of the law. Thus, the law's position is that of a concubine.
In God's creation, He did not ordain man to have a concubine. He ordained that man should have one wife (Matt. 19:3-9). Anyone that has more than one wife enters into corruption. We should not try to bring a concubine into God's economy. If we are appreciating and uplifting the law, we are bringing a concubine into God's economy. This is absolutely against God's ordination.
The law as a concubine entered in alongside the main line of God's economy. Whoever is of the law, is a child of the concubine, not a son of the free woman. The law does not have an orthodox position. The followers of the law are not the children of the orthodox wife. Ishmael, the son of the concubine, Hagar, was looked down on and was chased away. He was chased away from the main line of God's economy, the line of grace. We must remember this point in our interpretation of Psalm 1. The writer of Psalm 1 uplifted the law according to the human concept, which is contradicting to the main line of God's economy.
Now we need to see the nature of the law. In its nature, the law is holy, righteous, and good (Rom. 7:12).
The law is also spiritual (7:14a). This is because the law was God's speaking. Since the Ten Commandments are God's speaking, they are God's breathing. All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16a). The entire Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible considered as the law, is God's breathing. God's breathing, of course, is altogether spiritual. Thus, in this sense, the law is spiritual.
Although the position of the law is not right, the nature of the law is good. This is the point where troubles can arise in our understanding. The positive school stands on the nature of the law. They point out that Paul said that the law is holy, righteous, good, and even spiritual. Then they ask, "How could you say the law is negative?" It is true that the nature of the law is good and spiritual, but its position is wrong. A lady may be good and spiritual in her nature, yet still be a concubine. This lady may be a "golden" lady, a spiritual lady, but she does not have an orthodox position.
The nature of the law is good because the law is spiritual, being the word of God (Psa. 119:103, 105, 130) and the breath of God (2 Tim. 3:16a). This is why we may have a problem in our understanding of the law when we come to Psalm 119. We need to realize that Psalm 119 refers to the word again and again. No other psalm refers to the law as God's word so much. In verses 147-148, the psalmist said that he anticipated the morning dawn that he might meditate in the Lord's word. The psalmist said here that he meditated, not in the law but in the word. Psalm 119:103 does not say that the law is so sweet. Instead, the psalmist declares here how sweet the Lord's word is to his taste. Because the law is the word of God, it is good and spiritual in its nature.
Now we need to see the content of the law. The content of the law mainly is the Ten Commandments. We need to analyze the Ten Commandments in a proper way. The first three commandments require man to have only God and not have any idols (Exo. 20:3-7). The first commandment says that we should not have another god, the second is that we should not make idols, and the third is that we should not worship idols.
The fourth commandment is concerning keeping the Sabbath (vv. 8-11). To keep the Sabbath is to take God and all He has created for us as our satisfaction and rest. The fourth commandment requires man to have satisfaction and rest only in God and all that God has accomplished for man. God created the heavens and the earth with billions of items for us. On the sixth day, the last day of God's creating work, God created man. Man came out of the creating hand of God with everything ready. The universe was just like a wedding room. Before the bride comes, the wedding room is fully prepared. Man came out of God's creating hand, and everything was ready for man. God worked for six days, and the seventh day was the day of rest, the Sabbath, for man to enjoy God and God's work as his rest and satisfaction.
The fifth commandment requires man to honor his parents that man might trace back to man's source — God who created man (v. 12). If we trace our genealogy back to the beginning of creation, we come to the first pair of parents, Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve came from God. When we honor our parents, we trace back to God.
We should have a heart to honor our parents, but quite often, we fallen people do not honor our parents as we should. Today in this evil age many people want to put away their parents when their parents become old. To lose our parents, though, is a big loss. If we honor our parents, we realize something of God as our source. The fifth commandment concerning honoring our parents goes with the foregoing commandments. The Ten Commandments were written on two tablets. The first tablet covers the first five commandments, from having only God to honoring our parents.
The last five commandments were on another tablet as a group. These commandments are concerning the prohibition of murder, fornication, stealing, lying, and covetousness (vv. 13-17). These five commandments may not seem so sweet, but they are very good for mankind. The sixth through the tenth commandments require man to live out the virtues that express God according to God's attributes.
The law of most major countries today is based on Roman law, and Roman law was based upon and written according to the Mosaic law, the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are so brief, yet they are so complete and all-embracing. They cover our relationship with God, our relationship with our parents, and our relationship with others. If a man did not kill people, did not commit fornication, did not steal and rob, did not tell lies, and did not covet, he would be the top ethical person.
However, we need to ask ourselves whether or not we have been successful in keeping these commandments. Actually, according to the Lord's word in Matthew, we have broken these commandments. The Lord said that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to the judgment (5:21-22). Eventually, the Lord Jesus, in interpreting the Ten Commandments, did not deal merely with the act of murder, but with anger, the motive of murder. To be angry and to hate others is equal to killing in the Lord's higher law of the kingdom of the heavens. This is logical. If you are not angry and do not hate, you could never kill anyone. Killing comes out of anger and hating. The Lord Jesus also went deeper in His teaching concerning the outward act of adultery. Again, He dealt with the inward motive of the heart (Matt. 5:27-28). When Paul was in the Jewish religion, he endeavored to keep every item of the Ten Commandments, but later he testified that he had no way to keep the last commandment — "You shall not covet" (Rom. 7:7-8). This commandment is not related to outward conduct, but rather to the sin within man.
In order to illustrate this, I would like to relate a story about a missionary speaking to his cook about man's sinfulness. This Chinese cook was a proud, ethical person. He had the attitude that the foreigners who came to China did many things wrong, but he did not do anything wrong. The missionary knew this. One day he asked the cook if he was sinful. Then the missionary said, "Of course, I know you would say that you are not sinful. But, let me know what you are thinking about right now. Right now, tell me the truth. What are you thinking within?" This cook then confessed to the missionary that he was jealous of the missionary's having a big horse and that he was thinking about how he could get this horse. Then the missionary replied, "This is coveting. Are you not sinful?" The cook had to admit that he was sinful.
Even as you are reading this message, perhaps there is something in your heart right now which is violating the law. If a certain sister were to tell me right now what is in her heart, she might say, "This morning a sister offended me, and I cannot forgive her. I am still thinking about how she offended me!" This is evil. The law exposes our sinful nature and evil deeds. The law is holy, righteous, good, and spiritual in its nature, but the function of the law is another matter.
In its content the law is also a portrait of God, hence, the testimony of God (Psa. 78:5; 119:88b). The law, the Ten Commandments, is a photo of God. Because it is a photo of God, it is a testimony. This is like saying that our picture is a testimony of ourselves. The psalmists referred to the law as the testimony of God.
The function of the law is to expose men in their sinful nature and evil deeds (Rom. 3:20b; 4:15b; 5:20b; 7:7b). In this sense, the law works as a mirror. If we do not look in a mirror, we cannot see how dirty our face is. But when we look at the mirror, the dirty condition of our face is exposed. The law works like a mirror to expose our sinful nature and evil deeds.
Furthermore, in its function the law was used by God to guard His chosen people and escort them to Christ (Gal. 3:23-24). Paul told us in Galatians that before Christ came, God gave His chosen people the law as a guardian to guard them. Then when Christ came, this guardian was used by God to escort and bring them to Christ. By being exposed by the law, subdued by the law, and convinced by the law, God's chosen people would go through the law to Christ.
The law also functions to subdue men as sinners under God's judgment (Rom. 3:19). We need to see the law in this light. God's purpose in giving the law was to expose man, to subdue man, and to guard or keep God's chosen ones for Christ that they may be led to Christ. If we stayed only in the book of Psalms, we could not receive this kind of light. This light comes altogether from Paul's teaching.
The law is good and spiritual, but it is weak. In its weakness, it is not able to give life (Gal. 3:21b). Regardless of how good, how holy, how righteous, and how spiritual the law is, the law cannot impart life to us. We sinners were not only evil but also dead (Eph. 2:1). The basic thing we need is life. The good law, the righteous law, the holy law, the spiritual law, is good, but it cannot impart life into us.
Furthermore, the law is not able to do that which God wants because it is weak through the flesh (Rom. 8:3a). The law itself may not be that weak, but the law is given to the flesh, and the flesh is the law's companion. The law is not that weak, but its companion, the flesh, is weak to the uttermost. We need to consider how weak we are. Many of the sisters are easily offended. If you offend them, they will not forget it. To remember another person's faults is not good. The Bible tells us that forgiving means forgetting (Heb. 8:12). As long as we still remember another's fault, this indicates that we have not forgiven him. The proper forgiving is to forget. Forgiving and forgetting seem to be a small thing, but we cannot fully overcome in this matter. This shows that we are weak. Because we are weak, we are the instrument to the law, so the law becomes weak.
Out of the works of the law no flesh will be justified before God (Rom. 3:20a; Gal. 3:11a). This is repeated by Paul in both Romans and Galatians.
The law was the center and requirement of the old covenant. The law was for the old covenant in God's economy.
The law, as the requirement of the old covenant, is to be performed by men's work (Gal. 3:12b). The law has to be performed. Without man's performance, the law means nothing.
Psalm 1, which is concerning the law in man's appreciation, is for the personal benefit of the saints, such as being blessed in prosperity (vv. 1-3). We need to compare this to Christ's attainments concerning the accomplishment of the economy of God in Psalm 2. Psalm 1 is for the personal benefit of the saints, and Psalm 2 is for the accomplishment of the economy of God. The concept in Psalm 1 is very low compared with the revelation in Psalm 2.
In Psalm 1 the law was appreciated and uplifted by godly men according to their human, ethical concept (vv. 2-3). Psalm 1 and a number of other psalms show the human, ethical concept of these godly men in uplifting the law. Psalm 1:2-3 says, "His delight is in the law of Jehovah, / And in His law he meditates by day and by night. / And he will be like a tree / Transplanted beside streams of water, / Which yields its fruit in its season, / And whose foliage does not wither; / And everything he does prospers." The human concept in Psalm 1 is one of appreciating and uplifting the law.
One concept in Psalm 1:2-3 is that of a tree absorbing the nearby water, and the other concept in Psalm 36:8 is that of drinking of the river of God's pleasures in God's house. The concept of drinking is the highest. All of the one hundred fifty psalms, composed in five books, were arranged in a good sequence. They go progressively up and up, step by step, to the highest level of revelation. Also, the end of each book is higher than its beginning. Book 1 contains forty-one psalms. Psalm 36 is much higher than Psalm 1. In Psalm 36 the psalmist says, "Now I can enjoy the abundance of Your house, Your temple, and I can drink in Your temple the river of Your pleasures" (v. 8). The psalmist here does not talk about the law. He has come up from the first floor to the thirty-sixth floor. When we compare Psalm 1 with Psalm 36, we can see the difference.
The New Testament has both the concept of plants absorbing water and the concept of drinking the living water of the divine river to flow rivers of living water (1 Cor. 3:6; John 4:10, 14; Rev. 21:6; 22:1, 17b; John 7:38-39). In 1 Corinthians 3:6 Paul said that he planted and Apollos watered. There we can see the concept of plants absorbing water. In John and Revelation, we see that when we drink the river of living water, we flow rivers from within us.
Do we want to absorb a little bit of water from a nearby stream, or will we be "crazy" to drink of the living water and flow rivers out from within us? Are we satisfied to stay in Psalm 1? Where should we go? We should go to Revelation 22! Revelation 22 is the last "psalm." In Psalm 1 we absorb a little water bit by bit. Sometimes a river may be dry, with no water for the tree to absorb. But in the last "psalm," in the last chapter of Revelation, a river of water of life is flowing for us to drink. This is much higher than absorbing water as a tree.
Moreover, the concept of likening the saints to a tree is not as high as the concept of unveiling the New Testament believers as branches of the true vine — Christ — in John 15. Today are we merely trees or are we branches? If we are trees, we stand by ourselves. That is poor because Christ is separated from us, and, in a sense, we are competing with Him, since He is a tree and we also are a tree. But the New Testament revelation eventually shows us that we are not actually God's plants by ourselves. We are God's plants by being grafted into Christ to be made branches of Christ as the great true vine. It is higher to be the branches of the true vine than it is to be an individual tree.
The local churches are not many trees. The churches are actually one tree with millions of branches. This one tree is Christ, the great vine tree, and we are the branches of this tree. We are the members of Christ (1 Cor. 6:15a; Rom. 12:5). All the churches are one Body, one tree. All the believers are members of this Body and the branches of this unique tree.
The human concept in Psalm 1 is that the man who delights in the law of God prospers in everything. But the experience of the psalmist in Psalm 73:1-7, 13-17, and 23-26 is the opposite. He was godly and, no doubt, he delighted in the law of God; yet he suffered a lot and the ungodly prospered. Eventually, he was instructed, in the sanctuary of God, to take only God Himself as his portion, not anything other than God.
The godly psalmist in Psalm 73 was bothered. He was delighting in the law, but he suffered greatly while the evil ones prospered. He was bothered until he entered into the sanctuary of God, that is, into God's house. Then he became clear. There under God's revelation, he was instructed just to have God Himself as his portion. Eventually he declared that he had no one in the heavens nor anyone on this earth except God, his eternal portion (vv. 25-26).
If the Lord wills, we will study the minor prophets in this upcoming summer training of 1992. Then in the winter we hope to study Job. In the book of Job, there is a big controversy. Job suffered greatly. His family, his property, and his health were destroyed (Job 1:13—2:8). Then Job's three friends came to speak with him. What they spoke was nonsense. They told Job that he must have been wrong in something. Otherwise, God would not punish him in this way. Job contended with them by saying that he was wrong in nothing. These three friends spoke to Job one by one again and again throughout the book of Job. Job, however, would not be subdued by them. Eventually, God came in and stopped everyone's mouth. God's speaking to Job opened his eyes. Job said, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee" (Job 42:5). Job heard about God, but he never saw God. After passing through his sufferings, he saw God. If someone who loves the Lord is suffering, his suffering is not basically a matter of his being right or wrong. What God is concerned with is our having more of God in our inward being.
About three or four years ago, I went to see my eye doctor for a check-up. He has been taking care of me since 1975, and he performed surgery on my eyes to remove cataracts. I told him that my eyes were bothering me, and I asked him why. He responded by saying, "These are Job's sufferings." By this he indicated to me that my suffering was without any reason and that he could not help me any more. Job's sufferings always come from God's assignment. Every parent expects to have good children, and they may wonder why their children are bad. A brother may wonder why his wife is not as nice as other wives, and a sister may wonder why her husband is so incapable. These are Job's sufferings. Today I am still experiencing Job's sufferings.
The Lord's teaching in the New Testament says, "Blessed are those who are persecuted [not prosperous] for the sake of righteousness" (Matt. 5:10). A brother may be one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness (v. 6), yet he is persecuted. I would not say that this persecution is Job's sufferings, but I would say that it is according to God's economy.
People to whom the law was given will be judged according to the law (Psa. 1:5-6; Rom. 2:12). Paul tells us in Romans 2:12 that all human beings will stand before God to be judged one day. But those who have received the law will be judged by God according to the law. Those who never received the law will be judged by God according to their conscience (vv. 15-16).
The law has been ended by Christ (Rom. 10:4a). Christ is the end of the law, the close of the law, the replacement of the law. Christ came to fulfill the law (Matt. 5:17) that He might terminate the law and replace it (Rom. 8:3-4). Thus, everyone who believes in Him receives God's righteousness, which is Christ Himself.
The New Testament believers are not under the law (Rom. 6:14b). Hallelujah! We are no longer under the law, but we are now under grace.
