Laws For Divine Relationships

Are you getting the feel now of how counterpart learning works? And its power to illustrate truths? In the next three chapters we will be doing something I felt very uncomfortable with at first– looking at the joints. There are so many and so many kinds! How can anyone make sense of all these? But I believe God prodded me with a “Go ahead anyway. I will be with you.” So here we go!

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When you hear of a new law being passed, which thought first goes through your mind:

1. Great! I wonder what new benefits we are going to enjoy!

2. Oh, no! What can’t we do now?!

My guess is that you have chosen #2. It’s just human nature to think of laws as rigid, inflexible, cold, immovable, hard, insensitive, lifeless and mechanical. If we break them they hurt us or cause us to be punished! In fact, we have such an aversion to laws that it is usually our first effort to minimize, reduce, or do away with them… unless we are the Pharisee type.

The Creator has quite a job on His hands to change our thinking about His laws. And He has given us joints to help us do just that! These three chapters on joints hopefully will help you better understand the purpose and action of law in the Gospel of Christ… as they did for me.

Joints describe relationships. When we take anatomy in school we have to know how to connect the bones. Of course the size and shape helps a lot, but studying the joints at the ends of the bones really simplifies the process. Bones with sutures are obviously cranial. Those with ball and socket are either shoulder or thigh bones. The bones of the wrist are a real puzzle, however. We have to depend almost entirely on joint formations to know how to place them in proper position. How these bones relate to one another is a valuable lesson in gospel law.

THE VALLEY OF BONES

Remember Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones?¹ At the time God’s people did not consider it a very high honor to be an Israelite. The nation was now in exile and heathens occupied the Promised Land. While Israel was still a nation they had lived in her and for her; all the best part of their life, religion, duty, liberty, and loyalty had been bound up with the awareness of belonging to a nation with a proud history behind them and a brilliant future for their posterity. Now that Israel had been disbursed into heathen nations all spirit and significance had gone out of their lives; there remained but a selfish and sordid struggle for existence, and this they felt was not life, but death in life. Hope had long been extinguished. God’s laws no more had life, value, or purpose (the bones were “very dry”). Ezekiel thought the situation with God’s nation was pretty hopeless too, until God gave him the vision of the bones.

Ezekiel 37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

One of the very first evidences in Ezekiel’s vision of God’s Spirit working was the coming together of the bones. Each bone had its place and function in the body, and when God’s Spirit came into them that place was immediately made apparent. It is an early evidence of the presence of God in the life when one begins to understand the relevance of divine law in his or her life.

DESIGNED FOR ACTION

The joints help us understand the appropriate action of different laws in the spiritual body. Out of the 206 bones in our body 205 have some adaptation to connect to another bone. Joints are not some accessory to bones, something God added as an afterthought. Joints are part of the very design of the bone. Without joints we would be as inflexible as a tree, as immovable as a stone. If we want to know what kind of motion or action a bone will have in the body, we simple study its joint design. And where are these “action centers”? At the ends or edges of the bones.

Just as bone has a design for movement in the body, so God’s law is fashioned for action. Using a law in a way for which it wasn’t intended has the same result as throwing a bone out of joint: pain, weakness, impairment, and perhaps even paralysis to other areas!

LAW’S TWO FACETS

Since we look for joints at the ends or edges of the bones, we would expect (as students of counterpart learning) laws to also have their ends, and these would show us how the law is to be used. When we look at the “end of the law” in Scriptures, what do we see?

Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

What does this mean? In verse 2 Paul is talking about having a zeal that is not according to knowledge. There are many people who call themselves religious or even Christians and use the law like a billy club or tool of torture –you either submit or feel the consequences of your ”rebellion”– a far cry from that which the law was intended! Then in verse 3 he explains that these folk are unaware of God’s standard of right and wrong, so are trying to do right deeds and actions on their own. Paul then sums up in verse 4 that we are to look to the example of Christ to understand how to fulfill the demands of righteousness, how the law was intended to be used or applied. Jesus put it this way:

Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

In this verse and the ones that follow, Jesus tried to point us to the two aspects of law:

1. its unchangeable, immutable nature (verses 18-19);

2. and its interpretive aspect–how the law is to be applied to the life (5:20-7:27).

Christ is not only the eternal Author of the law but also its Interpreter! To say we don’t need the law now that we have its Interpreter makes as much sense as saying we don’t need the bone as long as we have the joints! To see what kind of action the law should have in our life, Paul says we are to look to the righteous acts and teachings of Jesus. This will keep us from misusing God’s laws and help us to use them as they were designed to be used. Christ’s example does for us what the joints do in the body, define the type of movable action. To try using the law in a way contrary to the design only hinders our service to God, dishonors His name, and brings pain and hardship to His body of believers. Below are a couple examples of the law needing a divine Interpreter.

Mark 7:7-13 discusses the “Corban” concept. The Pharisees taught that to be free from the responsibilities of the 5th commandment, all one had to do is say a few words. Jesus, the great Interpreter, said that the law had no such provision or connection.

Matthew 18:21-22 addresses the “forgiveness” factor. Peter was uncertain just how to apply the law of forgiveness. The Pharisees taught “up to three times”; Peter thought “perhaps seven times?”; Jesus said, “seventy times seven!”. It was the Saviour’s interpretation that mattered to Peter.

JOINT CLASSIFICATIONS

The joints (articulations) of the body are usually classified according to the degrees and type of movement they permit: immovable (synarthroses), slightly movable (amphiarthroses), and freely movable (diarthroses). The law’s actions on the body has (we shall discover) similar classifications–

1. laws concerning God/man relationships,

2. laws concerning intimate relationships,

3. laws concerning casual relationships.

IMMOVABLE JOINTS: OUR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD

The first set of joints we will study concern our relationship to God. What part are the God-to-man laws to have in our lives? What kind of action can we expect of God, and must He expect of us? What is His position in the plan of redemption? The immovable joints teach us a lot about these questions.

Our union with God has the least amount of flexibility, and, consequently, the greatest degree of predictability. The two parts always move in concert. If God goes this way, we go this way. If God goes that way, we go that way. Always. So it shouldn’t surprise us that one of the first characteristics of synarthrodial joints is very little flexibility, the restriction of noticeable movement. There are certain laws in a government on which the citizens have very little effect. In fact, when these laws are in action they are usually performed in restricted areas, by highly selected individuals. And the influence of these laws on the citizens is great. This fundamental action of law we call JUDGMENT, and the synarthrodial joint is its counterpart.

JUDGMENT– NO ACTION?

In Psalm 19 we have a list of various applications of God’s word and its action on the soul. Look at the peculiar nature of JUDGMENT.

LAW: converts the soul

TESTIMONY: makes wise the simple

STATUTES: rejoices the heart

COMMANDMENTS: enlightens the eyes

FEAR: endures for ever

JUDGMENTS: are true and righteous

Did you notice anything different in this list? Anything out of “sync”? Each of the first five have an action. JUDGMENT doesn’t appear to! Though judgment definitely is an action, it is one that is not apparent to man. Even in courts of law, when the jury goes into counsel to determine whether a person is guilty or not, they do it out of sight. And the same is true in God’s legal system. Judgment is done in the courts of heaven, in the sanctuary above. Eventually man will be made aware of the judgment, but only after the fact.

The judgment is now passing in the sanctuary above. For many years this work has been in progress. Soon – none know how soon – it will pass to the cases of the living. In the awful presence of God our lives are to come up in review. At this time above all others it behooves every soul to heed the Saviour’s admonition: ‘Watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.’ Mark 13:33. GC 490

In the kingdom of God judgment is always associated with love. Love’s counterpart in our body, you may recall, is connective tissue. We would expect, then, to have connective tissues the primary bonding agent in synarthroses. And this is truly the case. This type of joint is also characterized by the close proximity of adjoining bones and tissues (only a thin membrane separates them).

On Mark 15:33-34: During that terrible judgment hour when Christ was hanging on the cross, we are told a dark cloud enveloped Him. His Father wanted to be close to His Son so enshrouded Himself in darkness. Christ, in His humanity, could not perceive His Father’s nearness and knew not what judgment was being passed on His sacrifice. He had to wait until the day of His resurrection to find out.

The more we understand of God’s love for us, the less we shall fear the judgment. David knew God as a friend and did not fear judgment. In fact, he invited it (but not because he felt “worthy”)!

Psalm 26:1 Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide. Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. for thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.

David was a great sinner, but he also was a great repenter, and he knew God was an equally great forgiver. What David desired more than anything was to be right with God, and the only way he knew was to have God show him where he needed to be changed (judged) so he could cast his helpless soul on his Redeemer. Sins of ignorance were no comfort to him.

I heard a preacher quote this verse and then explained it.

Pro 24:16 A just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

The just (justified) man falls and keeps getting up (because he has hope of overcoming). The wicked man falls once and never gets up again, so he falls into mischief. As long as we get up every time we fall (knowing that we are forgiven and willing to face the problem again with God’s help), we are considered “justified”. This, I imagine, is David’s thought. Judge me now, O Lord! Let’s get beyond whatever separates me from You!

THE THREE STAGES OF JUDGMENT

Immovable joints are divided into three groups, which we shall study below. It ever amazes me the depth of understanding about the gospel we can glean from a study of our bodies! Just as there are three types of immovable joints, there are three aspects to judgment: discernment, nurturing, execution.

DISCERNMENT (SUTURES)

Discernment is the acuteness of judgment; the power of seeing or perceiving differences of things or ideas, and their relations; the ability to observe closely, to discriminate. Most of our discrimination is done through two of our senses, our eyes and ears. And can you guess what kind of joints are in those areas? Suture-type immovable joints!

A suture is formed by an interlocking of processes and indentations, resembling the patterns in a jig-saw puzzle. This results in a very secure bond, yet allows for minute movements between the bony plates.

Discernment is vital in proper judgment. How we perceive something to be is what we make our judgment on. God, of course, can see everything clearly, so His judgment is always truthful. Our judgment, because of sin, is always clouded to some degree. To accurately discern between good and evil is a divine attribute.² The primeval temptation on which we fell was to assume to ourselves that supernatural power. God was ever to be our dependency when it came to knowing good or evil. Part of His counsel to His people in the last days is:

Revelation 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me… eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Note where we are to get the eyesalve (from Christ, the One talking).

…the eyesalve is that spiritual discernment which will enable you to see the wiles of Satan and shun them, to detect sin and abhor it, to see truth and obey it. 5T 233

The cranial cavity, which houses the brain and provides sockets for the eyes and auditory cavities for the ears, is the only location for sutures in the body. Discernment, then can equate with sutures, as far as joints are concerned. And discernment is figuratively represented by eyes and ears. God promises to help us with our seeing and hearing so we can have good discernment.

Psalm 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

Matthew 13:15-16 All of them have stubborn minds! Their ears are stopped up, and their eyes are covered. They cannot see or hear or understand. If they could, they would turn to me, and I would heal them. But God has blessed you, because your eyes can see and your ears can hear!

NURTURING (SYNCHRONDROSIS)

Synchrondrosis is considered a temporary joint in which cartilage, either fibrous or hyaline, forms a union. This suggests that there is an aspect of judgment that is brief, short-lived, fleeting.

When a child is born the cranial bones are not fully formed, leaving “soft spots”, fontenells, in the skull. Figuratively, then, the child’s discernment ability is not mature. It must depend on that of another. In reality this is so. God has designed the mother for this purpose.

The children are to be taught to regard their mother, not as a slave whose work it is to wait on them, but as a queen who is to guide and direct them, teaching line upon line, precept upon precept. AH 232

The king upon his throne has no higher work than has the mother. The mother is queen of her household. She has in her power the molding of her children’s characters that they may be fitted for the higher, immortal life. An angel could not ask for a higher mission… AH 231 T

This responsibility is termed nurturing, the training, educating, feeding, supporting of another. The portion of the body that symbolizes nurturing has always been the bosom, breasts, paps.

Solomon’s song 8:1-2 O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised. I would lead thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me.

John 21:20 (John, the disciple who responded most to the nurturing of Jesus, is pictured as the only one leaning on Jesus’ breast during that memorable last supper together.)

Isaiah 60:10,16 And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee…. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

But this dependency is not forever; eventually we are weaned.

Isaiah 28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

Hebrews 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

For Samuel nurturing lasted about three years.

During the first three years of the life of Samuel the prophet, his mother carefully taught him to distinguish between good and evil. By every familiar object surrounding him, she sought to lead his thoughts up to the Creator. 2BC 1008

The breastbone is called the sternum. Though it is spoken of as a single bone, the sternum starts off in three parts, an upper manubrium, a middle body or gladiolus, and a lower ziphoid process, which projects downward. It is between these bones that we find another location for immovable joints. This time, however, they are of the temporary variety! Usually after 40 years of age, the ziphoid process fuses with the middle body portion of the sternum, suggesting at least a partial independence from parental nurturing.³

During the nurturing years of Israel as a nation, God designed His people to have the benefit of the breastplate of judgment⁴ which contained the Urim and Thummim.⁵ This was a temporary provision God gave for certain cases of judgment. The last we hear about the Urim and Thummim is in Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s day.⁶

A CHALLENGE

For those readers who enjoy a good challenge for study:

Please explain the difference in Daniel’s and John’s description of Christ (Daniel 10:5; Revelation 1:13). Daniel described Him as having a golden girdle around the loins, whereas John sees the girdle around the paps. Are they describing the same Christ, or a different ministry of Christ? If a different ministry, what is that ministry? And why do the angels in Revelation 15:6 also have golden girdles around their breasts? This detail is not given without significance for us today. *(answer at end of chapter)

EXECUTION (GOMPHOSIS)

Once a person is able to discern right from wrong, and is nurtured in the ways of God, then the final phase of judgment is entered into. In our culture this is where we start to shiver, even if we are innocent. “Is there something I didn’t know about I will suffer for? What if the accusing attorney makes the evidence look like I am guilty? What if the judge has been bribed?” All these are question we can justifiably ask when going into human run courts, but not heaven run ones, as we shall now see.

These types of immovable joints are formed when a conical process fits into a socket. This is the way teeth are joined to the bones of the mouth. Because teeth are thus associated with immovable joints, we must consider them in some way related to judgment.

We have a unique situation here. Though composed of much of the same materials teeth aren’t classified as bones in the strictest sense. Their function and makeup are different. Yet teeth are a product of bone and associated with it through synarthroses, the closest and most intimate of articulations. So in this study we consider teeth an extension of bone as hair is of skin.

As such, teeth are the only immovably jointed “bony accessory” of the body that are exposed. Besides the teeth and vomer (the nose bone), every other bone associated with synarthrodial joints has something connected to it on both ends. Besides this, teeth are coated with enamel, the body’s hardest substance, containing only 4% organic factor.

So what do we make of this? To this physical information we must add the Scriptural data.

Psalm 57:4 My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

Proverbs 30:14 There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among them.

What are swords, knives, spears, and arrows used for? To execute judgment upon another! The one who has been judged unworthy of life will with these instruments receive execution. This part of law must ever be kept visible, unencumbered, and ready for action.

If we were to break one’s spears and arrows, what would be the effect of his judgment against us? Would it not render the execution powerless? David says it this way:

Psalm 3:7 Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.

What better place could God put the executors of judgment than in the mouth? Here they are associated with the head (the ruler of the body), with the face (the communication center), and with the mouth (to temper the judgment with mercy and truth). In this position, this aspect of judgment is ever kept in view and also can add beauty to the face.

Beauty? Judgment? Yes! God wants us to think positively of judgment, as something to enjoy and wish for ourselves. Who would not like a set of well-formed, pearly white teeth… even in old age? Would it not be a wonderful testimony, a cause for admiration to the beholder? In fact, many consider the expense of time, money, and discomfort of orthodonture work worth it. The Bible pictures our judge as none other as the Son of Man, who is also the Son of God. He is our Friend and Attorney in the heavens working in our behalf. If ever there was a chance of our being judged fairly it is here. Well… no, it isn’t even being fair. It is being gracious! We don’t deserve even one ounce of all the good the Father and Son offer us.

In the description of Christ’s church in Solomon’s Song, mention is made of her teeth. Are they ugly and fearsome, with flesh between them and dripping with blood?

Solomon’s Song 6:6 Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins.⁷

If we truly understood this feature of judgment we would be saying with David, “Judge me, O God!”.

God’s judgments are true and righteous altogether.⁸ Scripturally, fearsome earthy executors of judgment are represented by the teeth of horrible beasts, not by the beautiful face of a woman. In the end of time it will be the counterfeit, the imitator of Christ’s church, who will think that to execute the judgments of God means to fill the streets with blood again.

Daniel 7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it.

A DOUBLE STANDARD [Here was an unexpected fact counterpart learning had waiting for me.]

The Creator had something else in mind, also, for the teeth to teach us about execution of judgment. He gave us two sets of teeth!

When we are born we have no teeth. The first set of 20 milk teeth, or deciduous teeth, begins to appear in the first year after birth, and generally is completed by the end of the second year. From about 5-7 years of age these teeth begin to fall out and are replaced by a set of permanent teeth. This replacement continues until usually about 12 years of age when the child has his or her first 28 permanent teeth. The last 4 wisdom teeth usually erupt at about 18 years of age.

As we consider this phenomenon in the light of judgment, we cannot help but conclude that God takes into account our age. The judgment of the older is more complete, permanent, severe; whereas the child’s lack of experience and knowledge is considered. Our earth, in its youthfulness, was judged by water; but in its older age it will be judged by fire.⁹ Even in the courts of man the child’s age is considered in the execution of judgment. As we deal with young Christians, let us remember this when we are tempted to judge harshly.

But we don’t remain children forever. By the time we reach the age of 12, we have lost all our first set of teeth and gained nearly all our new permanent set. It is this same age, 12, that we say a child is now accountable for his or her actions and can start taking on some of the responsibilities, duties, and benefits of adulthood.

Jesus knew about the age of accountability and what was expected of Him. When He was 12 years old He said, “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?”.¹⁰ There comes a time in our life when we must take on greater responsibilities and leave behind the ways of childhood.

I Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

SUMMARY

The law has two aspects, its enduring nature and its need for interpretation. We have seen that Jesus is the law’s best Interpreter. He knows what the law means but He also understands us. He experienced babyhood, childhood, youth, and adulthood. He also experienced our feelings and frustrations at all these levels and endured their pains, embarrassments, and trials. To know how the law applies to different areas of life we must look to the examples Jesus left us while on this earth. We cannot go wrong if we do what He did and what He said.

We also learned that judgment has three parts: discernment, nurturing, and execution. Before God pronounces execution on Judgment Day,¹¹ He gives us discernment of His laws and then is by our side to nurture us through the difficulties. That is what I call a fair judgment! And if there ever was anyone who could judge and direct us fairly and favorably it is Jesus Christ!

Now that’s Good News!

Laws For Intimate Relationships!

^*Answer to challenge on page 45.

Gold is the mineral of earth used as a standard for exchange. Its presence indicates value. Daniel and John were in different perspectives to the cross, had different concerns, and were treated accordingly.

Daniel’s vision was for the church in general, and concerns the great conflict between good and evil. John’s vision was primarily for the final church and focuses on the perfecting of the saints and the victory enjoyed by the faithful.

Daniel was concerned about Israel’s condition, about her apostasy and humiliation. The future did not look good for God’s church, and that reflected directly on God Himself. Would He ever be exonerated? When Daniel saw Christ’s loins wrapped in gold he knew God was trying to convey a message to him, that something of value was important here. Daniel also knew that the vision was highly symbolic, so he considered his own body. What bodily functions go on in the loins? Excretion of body wastes and reproduction! The vision was about the great controversy between good and evil. Daniel got the point; the Messiah was coming to cleanse His church and multiply her offspring. Israel would again enjoy the high position promised her! God’s name would be honored!

John had a different concern. He intimately knew the Messiah. He knew good would triumph for he saw it happen many times during Christ’s ministry. His concern was not about the power of God, but about the weakness of man. John knew the infant church needed nurturing. How could this be when her leaders (like himself) were suffering harassment, isolation, and untimely deaths?

God quickly calmed His worried servant by a view of the triumphant Christ (Rev. 1:13-16). One of the first things John noticed was the paps (breasts) wrapped in gold. [Breast milk is the food best suited for the infant. It not only has the perfect balance of nutrients for the period of fastest growth, but it also contains substances to protect the baby from future infections and diseases. Breast-fed babies are reported to be more contented, healthier, and more likely to succeed than bottle-fed babies.] God told John that Christ (and the heavenly angels) would personally nurture His people through the remaining critical years, that He (and they) would comfort, educate, and strengthen the infant church. And John, like Daniel centuries before, was comforted.