Thursday-August 21, 2025
The law as God's Promise for Us - The Law as a Promise
1 Corinthians 10:11; 2 Tim. 1:6-7; John 14:6 ; Rom. 12:1-2; John 4:7-15; John 6:31-51.
And he declared to you his covenant which he commanded you to do, THE TEN WORDS, and wrote them on two tablets of stone” (Deuteronomy 4:13, original Hebrew )
The Law as Covenant and Promise
Deuteronomy 4:13 reveals the foundation of God’s everlasting covenant: “And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even Ten Words; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.”
The Hebrew expression aseret hadevarim (Ten Words) emphasizes not merely prohibitions but covenantal promises. These are not arbitrary commands but living assurances of what God will accomplish in His people through His Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26–27).
Sister White confirms this covenantal nature:
“The Ten Commandments… are ten promises, assured to us if we render obedience to the law governing the universe.” (7BC 932.9)
Ten Commandments--Ten Promises.--The ten commandments, Thou shalt, and Thou shalt not, are ten promises, assured to us if we render obedience to the law governing the universe. "If ye love me, keep my commandments." Here is the sum and substance of the law of God. The terms of salvation for every son and daughter of Adam are here outlined (MS 41, 1896). {1BC 1105.1}
The Ten Commandments, Thou shalt, and Thou shalt not, are ten promises, assured to us if we render obedience to the law governing the universe. "If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15. {FLB 86.6}
Thus, the law is not a burden but a charter of liberty (James 1:25), a divine guarantee that through Christ’s indwelling life, His righteousness will be fulfilled in us (Romans 8:4).
Christ, the Living Law
Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). In Him the law takes flesh, for He is the embodiment of the covenant promises. He is the “true bread from heaven” (John 6:31–51) and the “living water” (John 4:7–15). The written law, engraved in stone, pointed forward to Christ, the Living Law engraved in human nature (Hebrews 10:16).
Ellen White magnifies this truth:
“Christ was the embodiment of the law. He was the living law.” (ST, June 20, 1895)
Manifestation of the Father.--What speech is to thought, so is Christ to the invisible Father. He is the manifestation of the Father, and is called the Word of God. God sent His Son into the world, His divinity clothed with humanity, that man might bear the image of the invisible God. He made known in His words, His character, His power and majesty, the nature and attributes of God. Divinity flashed through humanity in softening, subduing light. He was the embodiment of the law of God, which is the transcript of His character (MS 77, 1899). {5BC 1131.6}
This means the law is more than a code; it is a revelation of the divine character reproduced in us through Christ’s life within.
The Law as Promise of Transformation
Romans 12:1–2 shows that the law, far from being external regulation, is an inward renewal: “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Through the Spirit of power, love, and sound mind (2 Timothy 1:6–7), the “living sacrifice” of obedience becomes a natural expression of a Spirit-led life.
The law, then, functions prophetically—it points to what God will accomplish in His covenant people. As Paul notes, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). The wilderness lessons of Israel—manna, water from the rock, covenant obedience—were not merely history but prophecy of the last-day church.
SOP affirms:
“All God’s biddings are enablings.” The heavenly intelligences will work with the human agent who seeks with determined faith that perfection of character which will reach out to perfection in action. To everyone engaged in this work Christ says, I am at your right hand to help you. {COL 332.4}
As the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be done at His command may be accomplished in His strength. All His biddings are enablings. {COL 333.1}
Every commandment is a pledge of divine help. The very word “Thou shalt not” is God’s covenant promise, “I will keep you from falling.”
The End-Time Prophetic Fulfillment
In the last days, the law of God becomes the great issue in the sealing work (Revelation 7:1–3; Revelation 14:12). The Ten Words, written first in stone, then in Christ, must now be written in living hearts. The “new covenant” experience is not the abolition of the law, but its realization in the remnant.
Ellen White foresaw this prophetic application:
“God’s law is the transcript of His character. It is the embodiment of the principle of love, and the promise of what His grace can accomplish in the human heart.”
The conditions of eternal life, under grace, are just what they were in Eden--perfect righteousness, harmony with God, perfect conformity to the principles of His law. The standard of character presented in the Old Testament is the same that is presented in the New Testament. This standard is not one to which we cannot attain. In every command or injunction that God gives there is a promise, the most positive, underlying the command. God has made provision that we may become like unto Him, and He will accomplish this for all who do not interpose a perverse will and thus frustrate His grace. {MB 76.2}
Thus, obedience in the final crisis is not legalism but faith in God’s promises. The remnant will stand, not in their own strength, but in the assurance that the covenant Word inscribed upon their hearts will not fail.
Consider the Following
❖ The Law as a promise.
— “And he declared to you his covenant which he commanded you to do, THE TEN WORDS, and wrote them on two tablets of stone” (Deuteronomy 4:13, original Hebrew)
— In Hebrew, the three times the Ten Commandments are mentioned, they are called “the ten words” (Ex. 34:28; Deut. 4:13; Deut. 10:4).
— Let's think about this. What do we mean when we say to someone, “I give you my word”?
— In reality, we're not giving you anything; we're making you a promise. We're reassuring you that we're going to do something concrete.
— Thus, the Hebrew root “dabar” can be translated as “word” or “promise.”
Example: “There has not failed one word [dabar] of all His good promise [dabar], which He promised through His servant Moses” (1 Kings 8:56).
— The Ten Commandments are ten promises God makes to us, intended to guide us on the right path.
Conclusion
The law of God is therefore:
A Covenant: binding heaven and earth in eternal love.
A Promise: of transformation through Christ’s indwelling life.
A Prophecy: of the last generation who will fully reflect His image.
The Ten Words written in stone were but a shadow; the reality is Christ in us, the hope of glory. The Sabbath commandment, the seal of the law, is the pledge of this covenant relationship. As the end approaches, the prophetic role of the law as promise becomes the dividing line between those who trust in God’s Word and those who follow human tradition.
🔑 Key Prophetic Insight: The law is not merely an obligation but God’s covenantal assurance—fulfilled in Christ, applied through the Spirit, and manifested in the remnant. In the closing scenes of earth’s history, the Ten Words stand not only as a standard of judgment but as divine promises of what God will complete in His faithful ones, preparing them for the kingdom bound reality.
The Law as an End
Scriptural Basis:
Romans 10:4 – “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13 – “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”
Revelation 14:12 – “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
The Twofold Meaning of “End”
The word “end” (Greek: telos) means goal, purpose, or fulfillment, not termination. Paul did not abolish the law in Romans 10:4, but pointed to its true aim in Christ.
Christ is the end in the sense that the law finds its full meaning in Him (John 14:6).
The ceremonial shadows ended at the cross (Colossians 2:17), but the moral law abides forever as the transcript of God’s character (Psalm 111:7-8).
🔹 SOP Insight:
“The law of God, from its very nature, is unchangeable. It is a revelation of the will and character of its Author. God is love, and His law is love. Its two great principles are love to God and love to man.
Through Jesus, God's mercy was manifested to men; but mercy does not set aside justice. The law reveals the attributes of God's character, and not a jot or tittle of it could be changed to meet man in his fallen condition. God did not change His law, but He sacrificed Himself, in Christ, for man's redemption. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself." 2 Corinthians 5:19. {DA 762.1}
Thus, Christ did not end the law as an obligation, but as the law’s living embodiment, He brought it to its purpose—transforming sinners into holy children of God.
The Law as a Schoolmaster to Christ
Paul likens the law to a schoolmaster leading us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). Its “end” is not endless condemnation, but to point the sinner to the Savior. Once faith embraces Christ, the believer finds in Him both pardon and power to obey.
🔹 SOP Insight:
It is the work of conversion and sanctification to reconcile men to God by bringing them into accord with the principles of His law.
The law of God, from its very nature, is unchangeable. It is a revelation of the will and the character of its Author. God is love, and His law is love. Its two great principles are love to God and love to man. "Love is the fulfilling of the law." Romans 13:10. The character of God is righteousness and truth; such is the nature of His law. Says the psalmist: "Thy law is the truth:" "all Thy commandments are righteousness." Psalm 119:142, 172. And the apostle Paul declares: "The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." Romans 7:12. Such a law, being an expression of the mind and will of God, must be as enduring as its Author. {GC 467.1}
Thus, the law ends in Christ-centered righteousness, not in self-righteous striving.
The End of the Law in Prophetic Perspective
The final controversy centers on the Ten Commandments, especially the Sabbath (Revelation 14:9–12; 13:15–17).
The “end” of the law in the last generation is its full demonstration in a people sealed with God’s character (Revelation 7:3; 14:1-5).
🔹 SOP Insight:
In the last great conflict of the controversy with Satan those who are loyal to God will see every earthly support cut off. Because they refuse to break His law in obedience to earthly powers, they will be forbidden to buy or sell. It will finally be decreed that they shall be put to death. See Revelation 13:11-17. But to the obedient is given the promise, "He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure." Isaiah 33:16. By this promise the children of God will live. When the earth shall be wasted with famine, they shall be fed. "They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied." Psalm 37:19. To that time of distress the prophet Habakkuk looked forward, and his words express the faith of the church: "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Habakkuk 3:17, 18. {DA 121.3}
Thus, the law reaches its prophetic end when it becomes the final test and the seal of God’s faithful ones.
The Law as Eternal Covenant
Deuteronomy 4:13 declares that God’s covenant is the Ten Words written on stone. This covenant did not end at Sinai or Calvary—it finds its culmination in the New Covenant promise: “I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts” (Hebrews 8:10).
🔹 SOP Insight:
“The same law that was engraved upon the tables of stone is written by the Holy Spirit upon the tables of the heart.” The terms of the "old covenant" were, Obey and live: "If a man do, he shall even live in them" (Ezekiel 20:11; Leviticus 18:5); but "cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them." Deuteronomy 27:26. The "new covenant" was established upon "better promises"--the promise of forgiveness of sins and of the grace of God to renew the heart and bring it into harmony with the principles of God's law. "This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts. . . . I will forgive their iniquity, and will remember their sin no more." Jeremiah 31:33, 34. {PP 372.1}
Therefore, the end of the law is not abolition, but internalization—God’s people embodying His will.
Christ as the End: The Law Made Living
The law without Christ is powerless to save; Christ without the law is a false gospel. Together, they present the full plan of redemption:
🔹 SOP Insight:
In His life, Christ gave a perfect demonstration of the unselfishness of the law of God. In His death, He gave an evidence of its changeless character. And in His resurrection, He provides the power to keep it.
Because the law of the Lord is perfect, and therefore changeless, it is impossible for sinful men, in themselves, to meet the standard of its requirement. This was why Jesus came as our Redeemer. It was His mission, by making men partakers of the divine nature, to bring them into harmony with the principles of the law of heaven. When we forsake our sins and receive Christ as our Saviour, the law is exalted. The apostle Paul asks, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." Romans 3:31. {MB 50.1}
The new-covenant promise is, "I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them." Hebrews 10:16.
Thus, Christ is the end of the law—not by nullifying it, but by living it out in His people until His character is perfectly reproduced in them (COL 69).
Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own. {COL 69.1}
Consider the Following
❖ The Law as an end.
— The word “end” applied to the law by Paul in Romans 10:4 is “telos.” What is the meaning of this word?
— The primary meaning is: the point indicated as a limit or purpose. By implication (secondary meanings): the conclusion, the termination, the result, the purpose. Its specific meaning must be determined by the sentence in which it is used.
— If we translate this as “Chirst is the termination of the law,” there is no longer any law since Jesus' death. Therefore, there is no sin. Paul would be contradicting himself (Rom. 7:7).
— If we translate “Christ is the point to which the law points,” Paul is consistent, because the law is still in force, and leads us to Christ (Rom. 3:31; Gal. 3:24).
The “end of the law” is not destruction but consummation. In prophecy, the law will stand at the very center of the great controversy. Its eternal permanence and Christ’s embodiment of its principles are the final testimony before the universe.
The end of the law is Christlikeness in His people—the living fulfillment of God’s covenant, sealed for eternity.
