Law of Christ
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"The law of Christ" (ὁ νόμος τοῦ Χριστοῦ) is a New Testament phrase. The related Bible verses are in the Pauline epistles at Galatians 6:2 and parenthetically (ἔννομος Χριστῷ "being under the law to Christ") at 1 Corinthians 9:21.
Some Christians hold the belief that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the inauguration of the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31:31–37 and Ezekiel 37:22–28 "replaces" or "completes" or "fulfills" the Law of Moses found in the Hebrew Bible. Dual-covenant theologians, the Hebrew Roots Movement, and Messianic Judaism are all examples of groups that reject this belief.
Closely related are the subjects of
In the Pauline epistles
In the
Possibly related, in a letter to the early Christians of
It is not clear exactly what Paul means by the phrase, "the law of Christ". Although Paul mentions Biblical law several times (e.g., Romans 2:12–16, 3:31, 7:12, 8:7–8, Galatians 5:3, Acts 24:14, 25:8) and preached about Ten Commandment topics such as idolatry (e.g., 1 Corinthians 5:11, 6:9–10, 10:7, 10:14, Galatians 5:19–21, Ephesians 5:5, Colossians 3:5, Acts 17:16–21, 19:23–41), he consistently denies that salvation, or justification before God, is based on "works of the law" (e.g., Galatians 3:6–14), though the meaning of this phrase is also disputed by scholars, see for example the New Perspective on Paul#Works of the Law.
In the gospels
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Many Christians believe that the
While the New Testament records several unique sayings of Jesus that may be described as "commandments," it only records one that he explicitly identified as such. This is the New Commandment of John 13:34–35 that the disciples should love one another as he himself had loved them.
At times, Jesus referred to commandments of God from Old Testament scripture. In Matthew 22:36–40, a Pharisee lawyer asked Jesus "which is the great commandment in the Law?" Jesus responded, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
Such commandments, as discussed by or relating to Christ, are commonly seen as a basis of Christian ethics.
In the Epistle of James
James 2:8–13 uses the phrases of "royal law" and "law of liberty" in reference to the
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Theological interpretations
In his
The Catholic theologian Bernhard Häring presents the Law of Christ as Christ himself in his person because Jesus was able to fulfill the law and provide us with the effect of this fulfillment.[5]
The Evangelical theologian
George R. Law argues that the New Covenant is the Law of Christ, and that the details are expressed in the Sermon on the Mount.[7]
See also
- Antinomianism
- Biblical law in Christianity
- Canon law
- Council of Jerusalem
- Cafeteria Christianity
- Evangelical counsels
- Law and Gospel
- Pauline Christianity
- Red-Letter Christian
References
Notes
- ^ Such as Hebrews 8:6 etc. See also Fonck 1910
Citations
- ^ Cross & Livingstone 2005, p. 1497.
- ^ "G4137 - plēroō - Strong's Greek Lexicon (kjv)". Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
- ^ Ante-Nicene Fathers: Tertullian: Against Marcion: Dr. Holmes' Note: "In [Luke 23:2], after the words "perverting the nation," Marcion added, "and destroying the law and the prophets; Gospel of Marcion: Jesus Before Pilate and Herod
- ^ "SUMMA THEOLOGIAE: The law of the Gospel, called the New Law, considered in itself (Prima Secundae Partis, Q. 106)".
- ^ Häring 1963, Introduction.
- ^ Five views on Law and Gospel, Gundry ed., an online copy at DJMOO.COM Archived 2010-08-27 at the Wayback Machine, p. 368: ‘Love is central to this law, and there is strong continuity with the law of Moses, for many specifically Mosaic commandments are taken up and included within this "law of Christ".’ P. 370: ’Indeed, we can confidently expect that everything within the Mosaic law that reflected God's "eternal moral will" for his people is caught up into and repeated in the "law of Christ." Having recognized the place within "the law of Christ" of specific commandments, however, I want to insist that they must not be given too much prominence.’ P. 376: ‘The content of all but one of the Ten Commandments is taken up into "the law of Christ", for which we are responsible. (The exception is the Sabbath commandment, one that Heb. 3–4 suggests is fulfilled in the new age as a whole.)’
- ^ Law 2012.
Sources
- Cross, Frank Leslie; Livingstone, Elizabeth A. (2005). The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford: University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3.
- Fonck, Leopold (1910). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- Häring, Bernard (1963). The Law of Christ. Vol. I. Translated by Edwin G. Kaiser. Cork.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Law, George R. (2012). "The Form of the New Covenant in Matthew". American Theological Inquiry. 5 (2).
- Sundkvist, Mikael (2008). The Christian laws in Paul: reading the Apostle with Early Greek interpreters. Joensuu, Finland: University of Joensuu. ISBN 978-952-219-104-5.