Divine Pattern - Key to the Law

The Bible defines for us through the persons of Father and Son the Divine Pattern of life

1 Cor 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

As I have shared previously, this pattern occurs in many places within our lives.

The more we look at the relationship between God and His Son, the more these patterns begin to be understood as to how they should operate. Notice what Jesus says

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 14:24  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

Therefore, the Son of God is not only the “Way” to the Father, but the “Word” from the Father.

From this we learn that when a word comes from the source, it comes through the channel. For example:

1. As children, our mother will take the commands of our father and break them down in ways that we will understand. The word of our father comes to us through our mother.
2. Christ seeks to reach the world through his church. He sends His word through those who have accepted him by faith. Rom 10:14
3. The word of the prophet was often taken by the priest and shared with the congregation. Aaron as priest operated as a mouthpiece for Moses. Ex 4:16
4. Kings and leaders have ambassadors to take their message to other countries and they have spokespersons to share with their own people what they wish to share.

We also learn that gaining access to the source comes through the channel. For example:

1. The submissive spirit of our mother sets an example for us of how to approach our father. We approach our father in the attitude and submissive spirit learnt from our mother.
2. If we wish to get a message to a public or business leader, we usually approach one of their representatives or secretaries to get an appointment.

Here is another principle we learn from the Father and Son relationship that is significant for us.

Col 1:13-15  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:  (14)  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:  (15)  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Jesus is a visible image of the invisible God. So this establishes the principle of invisible source and visible channel. Do we see this pattern found elsewhere in Scripture?

There are many lessons we can draw from the simple facts of the Father and Son relationship. The whole visible Sanctuary service of Israel was a visible channel for the invisible source Sanctuary in heaven. The heavenly Sanctuary was always the original and nothing took place in the earthly Sanctuary that did not find its source in the heavenly. Aaron the Priest was simply a visible image of the invisible ministry of Christ in heaven. None of the prayers of Aaron or Moses would ever reach the ear of the Father were it not for the intercession of Christ on their behalf. Every slain animal was a visible image of the invisible lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. With this knowledge we can see that truly the gospel was preached unto Israel as well as to us. Heb 4:2.

Since the whole visible earthly system spoke of Christ, when Christ came, the entire earthly Sanctuary system found its complete expression in Him. He did not come to destroy the Law but to magnify the law and make it honourable. Isa 42:21, Matt 5:17.  

Previously (due to my Trinitarian conception of co-equality) I had understood that Christ replaces (the law of) Moses as a completely separate entity, but in light of the Divine Pattern, Christ expresses the principles given to Moses fully and completely. In regard to the sacrificial system, this was nailed to the cross in the person of Christ as an expression of what was written in the law. It was not nailed alongside Christ as a separate entity, as something Christ was seeking to destroy. Not one jot or title of the law was destroyed, but every bit of it faithfully expressed and followed by Christ. Sacrifice and Oblation ceased because the work was completed and now formed the visible cornerstone of the gospel message to the world.

The ceremonial system was made up of symbols pointing to Christ, to His sacrifice and His priesthood. This ritual law, with its sacrifices and ordinances, was to be performed by the Hebrews until type met antitype in the death of Christ, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Then all the sacrificial offerings were to cease. PP 365

We note also that Moses and the Prophets from beginning to end spoke of Christ. When Jesus instructed the disciples about Himself, he “began at Moses” and explained to them about Himself and His mission. (Luke 24:27, John 5:39.) The book of the law finds its source in the Ten Commandments which is a transcript of the Character of God. Christ revealed in the book of the law was an image of this transcript. As the book of the law sat in the side of the ark, so Christ sits at the side of His Father. Have you ever wondered why the book of the Law resided in the Most Holy Place and was placed right in the side of the ark; the symbol of God’s eternal throne? If the book of the law was only temporary then it should have been placed in an old wooden box near the door to the court of the Sanctuary. The Holy and Most Place symbolised the work in heaven and the court represented the earth. The forward movement of the sinner towards the Most Holy place revealed a moving towards the Law of God as summarised in the Ten Commandments and expressed in the statutes and the judgements.

Understanding the true relationship between the Father and Son is vital to understanding the relationship between the Ten Commandments and the statutes and judgements found in the book of the Law. The framework of source and channel and invisible and visible found in Father and Son speak directly to the relation between these Two Laws. Notice how Ellen White expressed this.

But He did not stop with giving them the precepts of the Decalogue. The people had shown themselves so easily led astray that He would leave no door of temptation unguarded. Moses was commanded to write, as God should bid him, judgments and laws giving minute instruction as to what was required. These directions relating to the duty of the people to God, to one another, and to the stranger were only the principles of the Ten Commandments amplified and given in a specific manner, that none need err. They were designed to guard the sacredness of the ten precepts engraved on the tables of stone.  {PP 364.1} 

  In consequence of continual transgression, the moral law was repeated in awful grandeur from Sinai. Christ gave to Moses religious precepts which were to govern the everyday life. These statutes were explicitly given to guard the ten commandments. They were not shadowy types to pass away with the death of Christ. They were to be binding upon man in every age as long as time should last. These commands were enforced by the power of the moral law, and they clearly and definitely explained that law.  {RH, May 6, 1875} 

We notice the divine pattern principles in operation where the source of all law is amplified and explained in detail through the law of Moses even as a mother explains in detail to her children the commands of their father. The book of the law revealing the person and work of Christ and the meaning of God’s Ten Commandments is the channel or way to the source. Deut 6:6-9, Deut 30:10,11.

If we perceive the relationship between Father and Son as two co-equal beings each being a source in themselves, then there automatically arises a tension between these two sources. The world simply calls this paradox or Yin/Yang tension, but such tension reflected in the Godhead naturally creates an underlying tension in all the other patterns reflecting Father and Son as I mentioned in the first table above. It is my conviction that the tension most Christians find between the Law of God and the Law of Moses stems from an underlying tension created by misconceptions of co-equality, but in the true relation of Father and Son, this tension vanishes and the whole law becomes something in which we can mediate day and night and find great delight. Ps 1:1-2

The other tension that stems from co-equality is that the Sonship of the Trinity is an act of works not of faith. The true Son holds His Sonship by Faith in the Father’s Word. This Son can hold the trembling sinner and bring Him to the righteousness manifested in all the commandments and statutes of God by His faith – the very faith of Jesus! The Trinitarian Son of God who holds His position by His own work can hold no comfort for the (protestant) sinner and will cause Him to flee from the Law as an enemy that is indeed destroyed by the cross in his mind. Conversely those who seek to run towards the book of the Law without a true Father and Son relationship will indeed begin to fall into a program of righteousness by personal works because the Trinitarian Son is not of faith but of works – He rests in His own power rather than by faith in His Father’s word.

What about the question concerning the timing of when the book of the Law was revealed? Does not the revelation of the statutes and judgements in the book of the Law at the time of Moses suggest its principles are temporary? I want you to notice something interesting and it relates to the creation week. We note that light was created on the first day but the Sun and the Moon were not created until the 4^th day. The world was bathed in light before the Sun and Moon came, but when they came they amplified the principle of light and revealed more about how light comes to us. Knowing that the Sun and Moon came on the fourth day, look at these parallels

So if we follow the pattern of creation week, the timing of the law in the time of Moses is consistent with the timing of the Sun and Moon as symbols of the Father and Son and when they were revealed. See the article Divine Pattern, Sun and Moon Sabbath and the Law.

In conclusion we see that in knowing surely that Jesus came out of the Father and is the image of the invisible God, we can begin to find a blessed harmony in the Law of God and the Book of the Law that could not previously exist. When the divine pattern of Father and Son penetrates our thinking we can begin to exclaim with David “O how I love thy law.” (Psalms 119:97)