Law, Sin, and Image of God

Does the Law represent the image of God? In other words, is the Law fully aligned to the holy nature, moral character, and eternal will of God?

Phrasing it in another way, if God is the Law-giver, would He enact a law that is contrary to His own identity?

Matthew 19:7-8 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.”

Malachi 2:16 “For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the LORD of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

Matthew 19:6 “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

God hates divorce, and He disallows man to separate whom He has joined together; yet, He gave provisions for it in the Law of Moses. Think about it: God was going against Himself when He allowed Moses to permit divorce. So, since Moses did not act independently outside the jurisdiction of God, why did God provide instructions for divorce in the Torah when it is against His holy nature, moral character, and eternal will? While the Law did reflect the image of God in general, it was not required to do so in complete alignment, as this was not the primary intent of the Law.

Galatians 3:19 Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made.

To understand the primary intent of the Law, we must first understand what sin, or transgression, is. Sin is transgression against God’s image and instructions; that is, sin is an act of disobedience against what God defines as the right thing to do within a context according to His sovereign will.

James 4:17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Sin is knowing the right thing to do and yet not doing it. So, if everyone knows and does the right things in obedience to God, there will be no sin as a consequence; just as it was in the pre-Fall Adam, and in Jesus during the days of His flesh. Therefore, sin is a result, not an entity. In other words, sin is not a thing or being with distinct identity and independent existence; for without a cause called disobedience towards God, there will be no consequence called sin. As sin is not an entity, sin does not have intrinsic life and motive power, unless an agent gives it life and power. Ironically, when quickened and empowered, its life and power are death, because it is devoid of God’s life on account of its rebellion against God – an act of tearing away from all that God is, all that God has, and all that God wills. This agent that quickens and empowers sin is the lusts of the flesh, especially of the flesh in its fallen, corrupted nature. While Satan can tempt and instigate, only the lusts of the flesh can quicken and empower sin onto fruition.

James 1:14-15 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

Because fallen flesh is always in enmity with God, and will always seek an opportunity to violate God’s specific instructions, the purpose of the Law was to curb such wilful transgressions against God’s commandments, by subjecting the lusts and works of the flesh under a set of statutes enforced through positive or negative reinforcements (or recompense).

Romans 7:7-8 What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.

Specifically, the purpose of the Law was to define and expose sin as disobedience towards God and His instructions; to control sin by conditioning human behaviour through works of obedience so that it will not give birth to sin; to introduce the concept of justice and mediation between men and God; and to inspire faith and reverence towards God. The purpose of the Law was not necessarily to conform men to God’s image of holiness and righteousness, which could only be done after the Messiah (the perfect mirror of God) has arrived. Thus, in His forbearance, even if God gave a commandment that was in contrary to His nature, character, and will, so as to accommodate the hardness of the people’s hearts, He would still achieve His primary purpose for the Law if the people explicitly obeyed His specific instructions, whether by faith in Him, faithfulness towards His institution, or by fear of His punishment. So, if the Law was not perfectly align to God’s holy nature, moral character, and eternal will, then is the Law still holy and righteous?

Romans 7:12 So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

The Law is still holy and righteous because it is the holy and righteous God who gave it in accordance to His divine sovereignty. In other words, whether the Law is aligned fully with His own nature and character or not, it is still holy and righteous because it is defined and given according to His sovereign, absolute, and inalienable right as transcendent God and Creator. As Potter to clay, He is free to adjust His temporal will to achieve His eternal will at will without a need to give an account to men as to why His temporal will departed from His eternal nature, character, and will. He is free to define and redefine in the temporal what constitutes sin if disobeyed, and He is free to exact it on one differently from another. Thus, in the final analysis, whatever God says or does, His words and works are holy, righteous, and good.

Psalms 119:142, 151-152, 160 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth. You are near, O LORD, and all Your commandments are truth. Of old I have known from Your testimonies that You have founded them forever... The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.

John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”

Now, having said that the primary intent of the Law was not to mirror the image of the holy nature, moral character, and eternal will of God, it must be said that the Law, in general, was founded on spiritual or eternal truths that fully represent and express the image of God to which we are to conform. Just as sacrificial offerings and Feasts has spiritual, eternal, and prophetic truths underpinning them, every “work” of the Law has truths underpinning them that cannot be broken. Thus, while we can make obsolete the “works” of the Law, we cannot break or make obsolete the truths that underpinned the “works” of the Law. We must remain faithful to the right things to do in the Spirit and in the truths that underpinned all scriptures, even those of the days of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Isaiah, for this is the true worship, true sanctification, and the true image that the Father seeks since the foundation of the world.

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