As we contrast the situation of the loving seekers of God with that of the letter-keepers of the law, we see that in this matter the principle is the same both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. If we love the Lord, seek Him with our whole heart, dwell with Him, and enjoy His riches, His substance will be infused into us. Spontaneously He Himself will become our living. Thus, what is lived out of us will be the expression of God. This kind of living corresponds to the law of God. As a result, we become true worshippers of God. True worshippers of God are those who are according to what God is, who correspond to what God is, and who reflect what God is. To keep the law cannot make anyone a true worshipper; a true worshipper is one who is infused with God and lives out God, who thereby becomes a person according to what God is and corresponding to what He is. The living of such a person corresponds to God’s living and reflects what He is. This is the living testimony of Jesus.
We have pointed out repeatedly that, in principle, the enjoyment of the Old Testament saints was the same as that of the New Testament saints. We have seen that if we abide with God and are infused with Him, we shall automatically live Him out. Our living will then correspond to God’s law, for we shall be one with Him and shall live Him. Therefore, in our experience the law, God, and Christ will be one.
If we read Exodus 20 in this light, this chapter will be altogether new. We shall see that the Ten Commandments, given to God’s people on the mountain when they were communing with God, are words received in fellowship with God. These words bring the transfusion of God’s element, which enables His people to have a living that corresponds to what He is.
A crucial difference between the psalmists and the Judaizers was that the psalmists sought the law with God, whereas the Judaizers pursued the law utterly apart from God. The situation is the same today in the way different Christians use the Bible. If we are today’s psalmists, we shall seek the Bible, the Word of God, out of love for the Lord and for His word. However, it is possible for students of the Word to read the Bible without truly having a heart for the Lord. Their intention may be to gain knowledge with which to formulate a systematic theology. Therefore, students of the Scriptures may become today’s Judaizers.
When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, the Judaizers were not willing to contact Him in a positive way. They wanted to know the Bible, but they were seeking the knowledge of the Scriptures apart from Christ. For this reason, the Lord Jesus said to them, “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is these that testify concerning Me; and you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40). We also may be those who seek the knowledge of the Bible apart from the Lord Himself. It is definitely possible to read the Bible apart from Christ. But if we pray-read the Word, we shall be in contact with the Lord as we read the Word. This is the reason we treasure pray-reading.
If we see that the law is God’s word and if we realize that the word of God is His breath, then we shall see that the law is God’s expression of Himself. The law typifies Christ, for He is the One who truly expresses God. Some students of the Word have not seen that the law is the word of God and that the word is the breath of God. Actually, the law, the word, the breath, and God are one. Christ Himself is God’s living law. To us, Christ is the real law, word of God, expression of God, and breath of God. We may be regulated by Him and live according to Him. In the heart of God the law is actually Christ Himself. God does not give us a law that is separate from Christ. The law He gives is Christ as His expression and His very breath. Therefore, Christ is our law, the very Christ who is the Word of God, the breath of God, and the expression of God.
It is a dreadful mistake to pursue the study of systematic theology in such a way as to separate the Bible or the revelation of God from God Himself! Today we must heed the warning not to separate the Word of God from Christ. God’s word is His breath, and His word is something out of Himself which not only expresses Himself, but also imparts Himself to us so that we may receive Him. If we take God’s word only as dead letters, we shall become today’s Judaizers, those who are zealous for the knowledge of the law, but who are not truly seeking God out of a loving heart. But if we take the Word as God’s breath and are thereby infused with His substance, we shall become today’s psalmists, His loving seekers.
As we read 20:1-17, we should pay attention to the fact that the last five commandments are given in a way different from that of the first five. In the case of the last five, we are simply told not to murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, or covet. The first five commandments, however, are given in an atmosphere full of love, even of intimacy. In verses 2 and 3 the Lord does not say, “The first commandment is that you must not have any god besides Me.” On the contrary, the Lord presents Himself to His people in a very special way: “I am Jehovah thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Heb.). This is a word of love. In reminding the people that He saved them and delivered them from bondage, God speaks to them as if He were a young man courting a maiden. His words are words of love.
The word love in verse 6 is very important. In verses 5 and 6 the Lord speaks of love and hate. If we hate the Lord, He will visit our iniquities until the third and fourth generation. But if we love the Lord, He will extend mercy for a thousand generations. Such a word was spoken in an atmosphere of love and intimacy. The Lord wanted to know whether His people would love Him or hate Him. Even the commandments regarding not taking the Lord’s name in vain and keeping the Sabbath day were uttered in an atmosphere of love.
Many Christians neglect this aspect of the giving of the Ten Commandments. They have not seen the fact that the first five commandments, which refer to God Himself, were given in an atmosphere of love and intimacy. Instead, in speaking of the law, most students of the Word pay their full attention to the letter of the law and altogether ignore the loving atmosphere in which the law was decreed. They do not realize that the law itself is God’s expression.
We have seen that the word of the Lord Jesus in John 14:21 and 23 is similar to that uttered by the Lord in 20:4-6. In 20:4-6 the Lord said that if we love Him, He will show mercy unto a thousand generations. In John 14 the Lord Jesus said that if we love Him and keep His word, He and the Father will love us and make Their abode with us. In both cases the words uttered are words of love. It is not too much to say that the whole Bible was written in an atmosphere of love and intimacy. The Bible may even be regarded as the story of God’s courtship of man. Song of Songs is a superb illustration of this. This book, written in an atmosphere full of intimacy, is a book of love. If we love the Lord, we shall surely treasure His word and want to keep it. Then the Lord will show mercy unto a thousand generations.
The law is the word of God, and the word of God is God’s breath. Through His words, God breathes Himself into us, infusing us with His substance to make us His expression. With the divine substance infused into us, we automatically live a life that corresponds to what God is. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament speak of this.
We have seen that Christ Himself is the real law, word, breath, and expression of God. Today we should regard the Bible as God’s breath. By pray-reading the Word, we breathe God’s element into us. In this way we are infused with what God is, and spontaneously we begin to live Christ. Our living will then correspond to what God is. In this way we become the living expression of God, His living law.
If we pray-read 20:1-17 adequately, these verses will bring us into God and will transfuse the substance of God into us. The more we contact God in this way, the more we shall be saturated with Him. Consequently, we shall spontaneously live in a way that corresponds to the law of God. Instead of trying to keep the law, we shall live out the law. Far from being Judaizers, we shall become today’s psalmists, those who seek the Lord lovingly. The key here is our love for the Lord and for His word. If we love Him and keep His word, He will come to us and make His abode with us. How wonderful! The Bible truly is a book of love.
In conclusion, let me repeat, the law as the word of God is God’s breath for us to breathe in God, that we may have the strength of life to live out the law, which corresponds to God’s nature and expression.