Fulfilling The Old Testament
6/23/19
How many of us like to finish a book? The ending of such a story usually has a
definitive conclusion where all answers have been completed with all characters
finalized. Many of us have the tendency
to believe that the Old Testament has such a conclusion and another chapter of
God opens up with the New Testament, but that belief is a lie and needs to be
squelched within our hearts for if we let it grow it shall become a foundation
that will destroy our hearts instead of building the Kingdom of God. Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament and
to end all doubts about what the plan of God has for your life, including the
absolute and complete restoration of our hearts and lives back into His
Holiness. It is this reason alone that
we cannot say that the Old Testament is obsolete or not relevant for today’s
lives and hearts. The opposite is true
because when we understand that Jesus is the completion of the Old Testament
His Life will become more alive than ever, adding fuel to our mission that He
commanded us to complete.
For a while to come, God has given me some titles and
subjects that will not settle well with some people due to the beliefs of the
divisional denominational commodities that mankind has developed in order to
justify their own personal accusations.
God wants nothing more than to see His people worship and live under His
eternal Authority in One name only, Jesus.
It is for this purpose alone that God has chosen us to live out His Word
by going and teaching to those who need His Salvation, but in order for us to
complete this mission, we must be in one accord and know how to defend His Word
when attacked by the world. One of our
most desperate issues today and ever since Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden are
that we struggle how to defend the definition of God and His presence all
around us. Until we dig deep enough into
His Word and understand exactly what it means to be separate from the world so
that we can show the relationship we have with God, our mission is not being
fulfilled adequately enough to even witness to an ant. God loves everyone and it is our
responsibility to stand up and defend the Word of God by proclaiming it loud
and clear to anyone who shall listen.
The Truth needs to be shared with all and it is time we step up and do
what Jesus commanded us to do.
Today’s definition of the word fulfill is as follows:
“bring to completion or reality, achieve or realize (something desired,
promised, or predicted).” Not too bad of
a definition when it comes to what Jesus’ life meant to the world and why God
allowed Him to be present in such a manner.
Often we simply misrepresent this definition to the point that we forget
to use its meaning in the full capacity that it is defined. To complete something through this term means that what is defined cannot be altered, added to, or subtracted from and
through such definition it means that whatever has been said is alive and well
no matter what or who tries to condemn its words. The Greek word that is used in one of our
passages is the word “plerosai” which means to furnish, satisfy, execute,
finish, verify or level up. The second
passage comes from Romans 10:4 and the Greek word for fulfill used here is
“telos” which means: the principal end, aim, purpose, an end. So, it really does not matter which word you
wish to use in this article for the word “fulfill” they all have the identical
meaning, one that represents completion thus giving us another eternal confirmation
that God is a complete God on all levels that our hearts and minds can fathom.
One of the easiest things to forget about the Bible is
that when Jesus was alive the New Testament was not written, it was not part of
the “law” that is mentioned so many times in the Gospels and later works that
we know to be included with the New Testament.
When we recognize this fact about the Bible it places us into a setting
in which refers us back to the lives of Israel and how important it is that
Christians stand by Israel and support her.
Some of us know that the Jews do not need us for anything concerning
their origins or identity but it is necessary for us to understand and know
about Israel (the Jews) where it comes to our identity as Christians. We cannot be called Christians without first
understanding Israel and what she means to our lives.
Therefore, the same goes with the fact concerning the Old
Testament and the New Testament because if we do not understand, obey, and
follow the Old Testament there is NO WAY possible for us to understand, obey,
and follow what the New Testament has to say.
When you study the New Testament you get the Old Testament in a
condensed version for the New Testament says exactly what the Old Testament
says even what occurs when God is not obeyed.
“Living in the post-New Testament world” per se cannot be understood
unless we first understand what the Old Testament authorizes and un-authorized,
simply stating that if you do not know the origins and the reasons why in the
beginning, not much else will be on any directed and secure path. It is this reason that Jesus came into the
picture, the ONLY reason that can be claimed as a fulfillment of the Old
Testament, and provide an eternal covering as the single living price for which
our existence presents. Through these
two passages of Scripture, Matthew 5:17-18 and Romans 10:4 it is repeatedly
proclaimed and defined as Truth that Jesus fulfilled what the Old Testament
proclaimed and therefore nothing can be detracted from what the Definition of
God states concerning Jesus and what He came to do – or anything else for that
matter.
In a day and age where truth and relativity are condemned
as variables at best, this article seems like a farce and a bold-faced
opposition. The previous statement is a
truth in that the world shall never see God as a complete, holy, truthful, or
guiding figure for our lives on any level.
The same come forth through the conception, birth, life, death and most
importantly the resurrection of Jesus.
Because of this completed cycle of Jesus’ life, it is for this Truth
that Jesus was, is, and is to come to the fulfillment of the Old Testament. It is imperative that we have this truth
within our hearts at all times and not waiver from such Divine understanding
for it is the job of the world to destroy this Truth so that we cannot
effectively witness and share to those who need Life in their hearts. The intentions of this proclamation concur
that there is no other Way to the Father except through the Son. The importance of life is being diminished daily
in our world and with this lie comes the reaping of death for death is the
anomaly of life, especially when it comes to the eternal aspect of our
existence.
I heard all my life that Jesus fulfills at least 53
prophecies in the Old Testament through His life here on earth. This type f fulfillment does not mean that
Jesus just represents the end of a great work or setting and it also means that
when we see the Bible as an entire Word, we cannot technically (in our hearts)
separate the Bible into two Testaments either but one complete setting in which
our entire existence is defined, lived out, and our future processed included
in One complete book. So, how can it be
that some of us refuse to believe that the Old Testament is now irrelevant or
from an ancient time that has no meaning in or for our lives today? By believing such a lie, one cannot truly and
righteously proclaim that Jesus is the Savior and Lord because when one
believes such a thing concerning the Old Testament their origin is automatically
cut away from them. Jesus’ life does not
close the Old Testament either but opens it up so that we may understand the
reasons why God tells us to obey Him and not the ways of the world. God could not have opened with a “completed”
message in Genesis and not have the same message in Revelation for if He did
write an incomplete content He would not and could not be considered God. Every aspect of Jesus’ life completes the
fulfillment of God, His Word, and His Definition and through this completed
aspect we have the eternal assurance that God does what He says and completes
His word just the same.
It is this Truth that God adamantly states many times
that we do not add or subtract to His Definition for when we do we become
subject to the lies of the world and its ruler.
Deuteronomy 4:2 reinforces this fact and deems it an important law that
God wants our hearts to keep true and deep.
To those who wish to read over or skip portions of the Bible for
whatever selfish reason you have, beware that you are placing your life in
eternal danger and it proves that no matter what you say about God or Jesus you
have no intention of following His Truth or Law thus exposing your heart as one
that knows not God. Malachi 4:6 may be
the last verse in the “Old Testament” but it is not the end of what God has in
store for our lives and what we need to know in order for us to live in this
world. This verse is, however, the point
where Jesus enters into the world and seals the Old Testament as Truth. All of the Old Testament contains volumes of
information about the one way of separation and salvation, it contains ways to
obey God and live a holy and abundant life before Him no matter what our
physical presence brings to the table. The
Old Testament provides ways for us to guide our immediate and business families
and to bring them together under one blood-covered house. Instead, God initiates the eternal Salvation
plan and gives us the ultimate sacrifice so that all may enter into His
presence with thanksgiving and praise.
Yes, there are so many more portions of these Scriptures
that we can talk about and probably will at some later time but it is the word
“fulfillment” that God wants us to think about, ponder on, and desire to have
in our hearts. See, since Jesus told us
to go into all the world and preach the gospel to everyone we become the focal
point of the Truth about the fulfillment of Jesus and the Old Testament. The people that lived in Old Testament times
did the exact same things that we do today and in order for us to say that we
believe Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, we must obey His command
to witness to those who need Him and are willing to give up the world. God is alive, Jesus is alive, Holy Spirit is
alive, and so should we which means we need to be dead to ourselves and the
world in order for ourselves to fulfill what we say we believe. Church, how do we stand on this issue? Are we living out the fulfillment of Jesus or
are we pretending to do such in superficial meaning only?
So, where do this article’s
topic and truth leave us Church? Even though God has never let anyone off
the hook we somehow believe that He will change course and allow us to believe
whatever we wish because He has called us out to be the leaders of the world.
I am not talking about this nation here, I am talking about you, the Church for
when you stop and think about it we are leaders for it is our responsibility to
lead the world back to God. It has become quite obvious that our
attention and devotion to the Word of God has waned which in turn has allowed
our enemy’s kingdom to flourish throughout the land, with devastating effects
on endless amounts of lives. We have lost our way so much from the Truth
that we no longer look to God as the only source of light and salvation but
first consider the options of the world instead. Our hearts have turned
away from the complete Testament of the Bible thus elevating ourselves as
saviors and leaving Jesus’ body hanging on the cross.
God has once again given us a
piece of information about His Definition that we need to study further and
dedicate our time and hearts to understanding. God has never controlled
our decisions before and He shall not start now either, but I can guarantee if
you and I do not start to seek Him for answers we shall never know the fullness
of His Son’s place in our lives and coverer over our hearts. There is no
way that we can ever say that we are followers of Christ unless we first
surrender our hearts to the ONE who completed the eternal definition of God the
Father. There is no question that God gives His children a multitude of
chances to come back to Him before He must grab our attention. This
important detail about Jesus is huge when it comes to the authority that God
gives us as we witness to those who are lost. In fact, to proclaim that
Jesus is the completion and fulfillment of the Old Testament is a testament of
obedience to God’s Law and a public message sent to Satan and his cronies about
that we know who we are in Christ and what our authority and mission is.
We no longer can ignore God and place our whimsical feelings ahead of the
mission that Jesus gave His Church to complete. It is not our place to
sit idly by and do nothing for God and His message of Salvation to others.
Jesus is not the end of God but
the beginning of eternity and the plan of Salvation that God wants for everyone
but we have turned this eternal Truth into a mockery because we want to divide
up the message of Salvation according to how we feel. How do we do this,
you ask? By bypassing the subject of Christ is the completion and
fulfillment of the Old Testament, by ignoring the only source of our definition
in God under Christ’s blood, and by picking and choosing certain passages of
Scripture to either promote or to ignore because of how we feel at that
particular moment. God is a stable God on all levels and He has given us
the perfect guideline to bring stability into our lives. The world cannot
provide such stability no matter what it tries to tell you, the roses are fake
and cannot turn into live ones. Our only Truth and source of stability
and fulfillment is the entire Word of God and every single word that it
contains should be harbored within our hearts and lived out accordingly.
We cannot even pray for fulfillment in our own lives much less the lives of
others, but there is a Way that we can turn to so that we can once again Light
up the sky in the midst of the darkness.
Because certain and specific
issues were not addressed in the physical times of Jesus does not mean that He
ignored them or did not deem them important. Jesus stated and other New
Testament authors stated that Jesus came to fulfill the Law which means that He
came to fulfill what the Old Testament said. Not just parts of it but ALL
of its content. It is this manner in which we need to study God’s Word
and it is also in like manner that we need to live as well. It is not our
place to yell and scream at those who do not share the entire Bible’s Ways and
Truths, but it is our responsibility to show these beautiful people that God
loves them and that the only way possible for them to know and live for
eternity is by obeying the entire Word of God at all times. This is what
Jesus taught and it is what He lived, died, and rose again for and if we say we
follow Jesus we must acknowledge that He completed the entire Old Testament as
a living testimony to all who will listen. This is what we need to be
teaching and preaching Church, the complete unabridged, holy and pure Word of
God for if we do not we are not teaching Jesus thus cannot understand through
the completion of God and that the end shall continue eternally.
DLB
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