The Teachings of the Lord Jesus | Bible Commentary Forever Ministries

Introduction

The teachings, works, and way of life of the Lord Jesus, found in the Gospels, are essential for the life of a true believer in the Lord Jesus. For a true believer in the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus must be the ultimate Master to follow in our daily lives. The Bible tells us in many places to follow the commandments and teachings of the Lord. Also, His way of life must be an example for us to follow and learn from all that the Lord did while on earth.

Specifically, in John 14:15, the Lord Jesus Himself tells us, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Here, keeping the commandments of the Lord Jesus is associated with loving the Lord, which also is one of the first commandments that the Lord Jesus gives to us in Matthew 22:37-38, saying, “You shall love the Lord Thy God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.”

Furthermore, in Deuteronomy 30:15-20, keeping the commandments of the Lord God Almighty is connected to eternal life and many blessings, as is also stated in Luke 11:28, which says, “Then He said, Indeed, blessed are those hearing the word of God, and obeying.”

Old Law versus the New Law

In Acts chapter 7, a disciple of the Lord Jesus, Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, gave a testimony to the council of the Jews of his time, which nicely summarizes the salvation plan of the Lord God Almighty and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to the human race (all readers should read Acts chapter 7). Specifically, as written in Galatians 4:4, “but when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,” to the human race to save us and show us the way to the Father. Moreover, in Matthew 17:5, God the Father Himself gave us the ultimate commandment, saying, “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!”

So, what does God the Father mean when He commands us to listen to His Beloved Son? Should we just listen to and obey some commandments and teachings of the Bible, or should we listen to and obey all the commandments and teachings? In John 10:30, the Lord Jesus says, “I and the Father are One,” and in John 15:10, the Lord Jesus says, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; according as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.” Then, in James 2:10-13 we read, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not kill. Now, if you do not commit adultery but kill, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak you, and so do, as those that are to be judged by a law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to him that has shown no mercy; mercy glories against judgment.” Therefore, we need to read and meditate on the entire Word of God to learn and follow all the commandments and teachings that the Lord gives. But then, one might ask, “What about the Old Testament Law? Do I need to keep all its requirements, including the sacrificial laws?”

In Acts chapter 13, Paul, speaking through the Holy Spirit in the synagogue of Antioch, shows that the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in the Lord Jesus, and that by faith in Him, not by the Law of Moses, everyone is freed from every sin. Also, in Hebrews chapter 10, we learn that the Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect sacrifice made once for the entire human race. He offered Himself once and forever as the perfect sacrifice for sins and then sat down at the right hand of God the Father. Because of that, God the Father took away the Old Covenant and established a New Covenant in the blood of the Lord Jesus; as Hebrews 10:10 says, “By which will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” So, for a believer in the Lord Jesus, keeping the Old Covenant means keeping the New Covenant in the blood of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by Him (John 14:6).

But then one might ask: how does the Old Law relate to the Lord Jesus, and how are we to keep the New Law? To answer this question, let’s examine some passages from the Gospels where the Lord Jesus teaches about the Old Law.

Matthew 5:17. Do not consider that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to complete.

Here, the Lord Jesus says that He completed the Law, in the sense that He is the end of the Law. Now, we only need to obey His Law.

Luke 16:16. The law and the prophets were until John; from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone forces his way into it.

“The law and the prophets were until John.” John came at that time to start the new generation of believers who will follow the mercy and grace of God through the beloved Son of God; it is the end time of the prophets who talk in the name of the Lord, because the new generation will follow the Word of the beloved Son of God.
“From that time, the gospel of the kingdom of God is proclaimed.” This time refers to the Son of God coming; in the old time people followed by the prophets, and everyone tried to enter into the kingdom of God by following that preaching, but from now on, people must enter into the kingdom of God by the mercy and love of God through the beloved Son of God.
“And everyone forces his way into it.” Now people use the love of God to force their way into the kingdom of God; think this way as well: people say, “I will not follow the old law anymore, but I will follow the law of the beloved Son of God; I have more right than the prophets, because now I am not just a follower, but I have become a child of God; the beloved Son of God is the fulfillment of the law.” Some enter by using the beloved Son of God’s love and mercy and ignore the Father, but they also forget that the beloved Son of God has come to fulfill the Word of the Father. The beloved Son of God has become the complete law for all humans because He became the perfect sacrifice for the Father; people do not need to follow the prophets, but they must follow the teachings of the beloved Son of God completely, which have been written down in the Holy Bible. Whoever thinks that the Holy Bible is the Word of the beloved Son of God only and they do not need to read the Old Testament of the Holy Bible will not completely follow the teachings of the beloved Son of God, because the Old Testament is the story of the Father Himself that leads to Him sending the beloved Son of God for humans. So, if they forget the part of love of the Father shown by sending His Son, they will not follow completely the teachings of the beloved Son of God as well.
“Forces his way.” Forces because they use the Son’s Word against the Father’s Word. The Father used punishment, but the Son uses love, so they feel they have a straighter way to enter, and do not need to follow the old law, but both Father and Son also keep the old law, because the beloved Son of God became the true sacrifice for the Father. The way to be saved is only through the beloved Son of God; the Bible says that the beloved Son of God said, “I am the way” (John 14:6), and they use His Word to go against the Father’s Word. For the reason to ignore the Old Testament, they use the beloved Son of God’s Word that He is the way, and that is the reason they want to ignore the Old Testament, because it has become the way for them to believe—just believe only what the beloved Son of God has said, and that will be enough to enter into the kingdom of Heaven; but doing this is completely wrong because they cannot enter without both the Father and the beloved Son. Therefore, believe in the beloved Son of God, but you also need to have faith in what the Father has proclaimed.

Luke 16:17. But it is easier for the Heaven and the earth to pass away, than for one stroke of a pen of the law to fail.

Give attention to what the verse has said, regardless of whatever teaching people may have; the law of the Lord stays firm forever. The beloved Son of God Himself came on earth to fulfil the law; He did not come to wipe off the law, but He lifted up the law to fullness with His own death and shedding of blood on the cross.
Luke 16:16-17 are the prediction of the completion of the Old Law; the Father has fulfilled His promise to His people. The Old Law cannot be forgotten, but the New Law will be the continuation for making the Old Law be complete by the birth of the beloved Son of God, His death on the cross, and His resurrection to fulfill the promise of the Father.

Matthew 13:52. And He said to them, Because of this, every scribe discipled into the kingdom of the heavens is like a man, a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.

This parable refers to a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is like a scribe who is trained for the kingdom of the heavens. A true disciple of the Lord Jesus is taught by the Bible through the Holy Spirit for a complete understanding of the link between the Old Testament law and the New Testament grace, which is in the Trinity of God (God the Father, God the Son, the Lord Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit). The blind faith of the Old Testament and the free will faith of the New Testament: the old one controlled by the obedience to the law, and the new one controlled by the grace and faith in the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the Lord of the obedience to the point of dying on the cross. He is the last sacrificial lamb for the Father; that is why the old law ended with the Lord Jesus’ death on the cross. At the same time, when the old law ended, the new law started through the blood of the Lord Jesus that He shed for the old law. The old law is wiped clean by the blood of the perfect sacrifice; that is the first step to the new law. Think of the feet of the Lord Jesus; one foot was in the old law, and He made a step into the new law with the other foot, so through Him, we are able to cross from sacrifice to grace (see Acts 15:9-11, Hebrews 8:6-13).

In conclusion, as followers of the Lord Jesus, we need to read and meditate on the entire Bible, both the Old Testament and the New Testament, with the help of the Holy Spirit. We cannot understand the New Testament without knowing the Old Testament. However, by faith in the Lord Jesus and by following the commandments and teachings of the Lord Jesus, we fulfill the requirements of both Laws: the Old and the New. Therefore, in this blog series, we will focus strictly on the Gospels and the teachings of the Lord Jesus found in the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; but we encourage all people to read the entire Bible.

Spiritual Classification of the Teachings of the Lord Jesus

First, we must ask ourselves, what is the difference between commandments and teachings? Commandments are orders that we must follow to fulfill the order of the Father. Teachings help us to fulfill the commandments and become faithful followers of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, the commandments are direct orders from the Father, and the teachings themselves help the follower fulfill the achievement of following the commandments.

Second, we must ask ourselves what we need to do in order to follow the commandments and the teachings of the Lord Jesus and be pleasing to the Lord in our daily lives. To understand this, we look to two Bible passages in Hebrews and Acts.

Hebrews 10:16. This is the covenant that I will make with them; After those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws on their heart, And upon their mind also will I write them.

Acts 2:17-18. And it shall be in the last days, says God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your elders shall dream dreams: and even upon my male servants and upon my handmaidens in those days I will pour out of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

Therefore, in order to achieve the task of following the commandments and teachings of the Lord Jesus, we must do three things. First, we must repent and acknowledge the Lord Jesus as our Lord and Savior by being baptized in water in the name of the Father, the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit (if we haven’t done that yet) and becoming a born-again person (John 3:16-21, Matthew 28:18-20). Second, we need to read and meditate on the Word of God by ourselves with the help of the Holy Spirit, repent of all uncleanness, keep our hearts clean, and continually seek within our hearts to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Third, when we read and meditate on the Word of God by ourselves, we must acknowledge the Trinity of God and ask the Holy Spirit, in the name of the Lord Jesus, to join us and be our true Teacher. Then, the Holy Spirit will speak to our hearts and minds about the Word we read and reveal to our hearts and minds the commandments and teachings that we must follow. For example, we could pray in the following manner when we do any Bible work:

Start with the Lord’s prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13.
Glorify the Trinity of God (God the Father, God the Son Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit) in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Give thanks for our health, life, family, etc.
Next, pray in the following manner: “Holy Father, Holy Son Jesus, Holy Spirit; Holy Trinity, forgive us of all uncleanness and sins in the name of the Lord Jesus; we invite you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to join us for our Bible work; Holy Spirit, come in the name of our Lord Jesus and join us and guide our study and guide our prayers.”
Next, we can do the Bible reading, meditation, and discussions.
Finally, we should have our final prayer, where we thank the Lord for all things and for His guidance in the name of the Lord Jesus.
All things we do and ask must be in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Our Lord Jesus gives us numerous commandments, teachings, and examples to follow throughout the Gospels. Meditating on all the teachings of the Lord Jesus found in the Gospels, we could classify them into six main spiritual categories. Furthermore, we can group the teachings within each category under multiple themes. Below, we present our spiritual categories covering all the writings found within the four Gospels.

In this teaching blog series, we present the teachings of the Lord Jesus found in the Gospels based on this spiritual classification. Within each spiritual category, we highlight the overall teaching category and all the themes, summarizing the essence of each theme and providing all the Bible passage references to the Gospels relevant to each theme within the category, with further hyperlinks to our Bible Commentary Forever (BCF) work where you can find more in-depth spiritual comments related to the referred passages. We would also like to note that many passages of the Gospels that we refer to and classify could be relevant to more than one category; however, we uniquely place each Bible passage only in the most appropriate category. Furthermore, we are challenging every reader to take this study as a starting point for reading and meditating on the teachings of the Lord Jesus and discovering how to apply them to their lives and become a true follower of the Lord Jesus.

Meditation Tasks:

Read one of the Gospels of your choice and try to find teachings related to each of the six categories.