When we come to the Bible, we should not think that we are coming to an ordinary book. We should not read it as we would a magazine or a newspaper. We have to realize that the Bible is God's Word, and the Word is God's embodiment, Christ. Christ is the Word of God. Also, whatever He as the Word of God utters, whatever is spoken out of His mouth, is the Spirit. Psalm 1 is the Word of God. Paul told us that all Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16a). If we take this position when we read Psalm 1, we will receive the Spirit, we will see the secret, and we will also see the spirit of the Bible.

Does the spirit of the Bible reveal to us the law of Moses, exalting the law given at Mount Sinai? On the mount of transfiguration, Peter put Moses and Elijah on the same level as Christ (Matt. 17:1-13). When Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ, Peter became excited. He said, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You are willing, I will make three tents here, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah" (v. 4). Then God said, "This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight. Hear Him!" (v. 5). In God's New Testament economy, we should no longer hear Moses (the law) or Elijah (the prophets). The Bible does not exalt the law or the prophets. The spirit of the Bible exalts only one person—Christ.

We must understand why Psalms 1 and 2 were sovereignly arranged in this way. Psalm 1 is concerning the keeping of the law. Immediately after Psalm 1, Christ is in Psalm 2 as the exalted One. The spirit of the Bible, from Genesis 1 through Revelation 22, reveals only Christ as the prominent One, as the first One, as God's centrality and universality. Eventually, the Bible concludes with a new city. The new city, the New Jerusalem, will be a complement of Christ and a complement to Christ. The spirit of the Bible does not exalt anything or anyone other than Christ.

Paul, in his fourteen Epistles, fought a battle to put down everything other than Christ. In his Epistle to the Galatians, Paul put down the law, circumcision, tradition, and religion. To him all things other than Christ were refuse (Phil. 3:8). He exalted only Christ.

In Paul's last visit to Jerusalem, he went to the elders, and the leading elder at that time was James. James told him, "You observe, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews who have believed; and all are zealous for the law" (Acts 21:20). James exalted the law. I believe that he exalted the law higher than David did in Psalm 1. James declared that there were thousands of Jewish Christians who were enthusiastic for the law. The Greek word for thousands means myriads or tens of thousands. Tens of thousands of Jewish brothers were all burning for the law. James was concerned that these ones would dispute with Paul, since they had heard that Paul put down the law. History tells us that James was a man of prayer, a pious, godly, and devoted man. In his Epistle he taught the practical virtues of Christian perfection. But we need to see that James, the elders in Jerusalem, and many thousands of Jewish believers were still in a mixture of the Christian faith and the Mosaic law.