The Old Testament clearly gave us the Law. But the strange thing is, we were never intended to live by the Law, but by the Spirit.
So why did God give us the Law? Some say it revealed our need for grace, and that sounds true. But here’s the mystery: while revealing our need for grace, it somehow obscured the grace of God that was always there.
The Law could expose sin, but it couldn’t heal the heart. It showed us where we fell short, but not how deeply we were loved. It revealed God’s holiness, but only hinted at His mercy. The Law was a shadow of something greater, waiting to be fulfilled.
Then Christ came, not to erase the Law, but to fulfill it (His words, not mine, Matthew 5:17). After His resurrection, He opened the eyes of His disciples and showed them how every page of the Law and the Prophets had been pointing to Him all along (Luke 24:13–35).
As Paul wrote,
“This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:9–10)
So according to Paul, the grace we receive through Jesus came before the Law. Grace existed before time began. Grace is not just something we receive, it is who God is.
Even though it was always there, we could never truly see it or experience it until Jesus.
God has always been saying, “I love you so much that even if you reject Me and kill Me, that won’t stop Me from loving you.”
Grace, mercy, and the cross aren’t three separate ideas, they are the language of Love itself.
And Jesus speaks that language to us in our native tongue.