Does Magnify Mean "Nullify"?

[Phoneman777]

"The Lord is well pleased for His (Jesus') righteousness sake. He (Jesus) will magnify the law and make it honorable." - Isaiah 42:21 KJV.

"But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." - Matthew 5:28 KJV

My twin brother Kelvin called me a while back and wished me a happy birthday. "You gettin' old, Kev."
To which I replied, "As long as you still breathing, you got zero room to talk" (he's four minutes older). We talked about how time has a cruel way of slowing us down and how eyesight is one of the first things to start going. What's not slowing down is the speed of light, which is the fastest means of data transfer available. As a fiber tech for AT&T, making sure all those high tech tiny little colored fiber optic fibers are arranged and aligned properly for splicing is done using a pretty low tech device: a plain old magnifying glass. What's amazing is that when you hold it over the fibers, they don't disappear, they don't get replaced with something else: magnification makes them more evident.

When Jesus magnified the law, He didn't "do away with it". He didn't "replace it". He didn't "abolish it" - the Ten Commandments are just as binding today as they've always been, but magnified by Him and honorable by us through His indwelling power in us. We can honor what He has magnified by simply asking for His help to do it. Isn't that the job of a "good and faithful servant"?

 

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"The Lord is well pleased for His (Jesus') righteousness sake. He (Jesus) will magnify the law and make it honorable." - Isaiah 42:21 KJV.

"But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." - Matthew 5:28 KJV

My twin brother Kelvin called me a while back and wished me a happy birthday. "You gettin' old, Kev."
To which I replied, "As long as you still breathing, you got zero room to talk" (he's four minutes older). We talked about how time has a cruel way of slowing us down and how eyesight is one of the first things to start going. What's not slowing down is the speed of light, which is the fastest means of data transfer available. As a fiber tech for AT&T, making sure all those high tech tiny little colored fiber optic fibers are arranged and aligned properly for splicing is done using a pretty low tech device: a plain old magnifying glass. What's amazing is that when you hold it over the fibers, they don't disappear, they don't get replaced with something else: magnification makes them more evident.

When Jesus magnified the law, He didn't "do away with it". He didn't "replace it". He didn't "abolish it" - the Ten Commandments are just as binding today as they've always been, but magnified by Him and honorable by us through His indwelling power in us. We can honor what He has magnified by simply asking for His help to do it. Isn't that the job of a "good and faithful servant"?

Hi Phoneman777,

Now I know why, you actually are a phoneman! Cool!

Question . . . can you "unbreak" what has been broken? Unring the bell?

That's how I understand the 10 commandments. These are God's Laws, and we've broken them all. We can't "unbreak them", can we? The remain broken. And we are guilty.

But we've been forgiven for breaking them. Or, more to the point, as I understand the Mosaic Covenant to be between God and Israel (not the gentiles), we've been forgiven for falling short of God's glory.

We are called to conformity to God. We are being conformed to the likeness of Christ. Our standard of righteousness is God Himself, the Lawgiver.

For myself, rather than asking God for help to keep the Law, I ask God to make me like Jesus. And I read the Bible to show me what that means, so I can know if I'm on the right track.

For me, it's not a matter of not having gods before the true God, and not making graven images to worship them, and not taking His Name meaninglessly, its a matter of Loving God. When I love God, all the commandments are met, and more besides, in the way God desires.

And it's not a matter of not having sex with someone I'm not married to, or enjoying the idea of it, or of not taking what belongs to someone else, it's a matter of Loving Others. Again, when I love others, all the commandments are met, and more besides. I think this is actually what God wants.

Much love!
Mark

 

[Phoneman777]

Hi Phoneman777,

Now I know why, you actually are a phoneman! Cool!

Question . . . can you "unbreak" what has been broken? Unring the bell?

That's how I understand the 10 commandments. These are God's Laws, and we've broken them all. We can't "unbreak them", can we? The remain broken. And we are guilty.

But we've been forgiven for breaking them. Or, more to the point, as I understand the Mosaic Covenant to be between God and Israel (not the gentiles), we've been forgiven for falling short of God's glory.

We are called to conformity to God. We are being conformed to the likeness of Christ. Our standard of righteousness is God Himself, the Lawgiver.

For myself, rather than asking God for help to keep the Law, I ask God to make me like Jesus. And I read the Bible to show me what that means, so I can know if I'm on the right track.

For me, it's not a matter of not having gods before the true God, and not making graven images to worship them, and not taking His Name meaninglessly, its a matter of Loving God. When I love God, all the commandments are met, and more besides, in the way God desires.

And it's not a matter of not having sex with someone I'm not married to, or enjoying the idea of it, or of not taking what belongs to someone else, it's a matter of Loving Others. Again, when I love others, all the commandments are met, and more besides. I think this is actually what God wants.

Much love!
Mark

That's why Paul said "love is the fulfilling of the law" because if we love God, we'll keep the first four and if our neighbor, the last six - without even thinking about them. I ask God to make me like Jesus everyday, too, because if I'm like Him, I'm exactly what God want's me to be. :)