John 14:15, John 15:10, and 1 John 2:3 speak of keeping the commandments. Is this referring to Torah or the 10 commandments, or observing the things Messiah observed?
ANSWER FROM JOHN WHITTAKER:
It’s important to look at the context of specific passages to identify which commands are being referred to. In John 14:15 and 15:10 Jesus is speaking to his apostles on the night before his crucifixion. And he’s speaking about “My” commands, that is, what Jesus taught them and us to do. First John 2:3 refers to “His” commands, and in context the “his” refers back to Jesus in the preceding verses. So all three of these passages are speaking specifically about the things that Jesus taught us to do.
Special note on the Torah: Why don’t we have to keep the Torah as Christians? The commands of the Torah are part of God’s covenant with Old Testament Israel. The apostle Paul says those commands are holy, righteous, and good (Rom. 7:12), but he also says that those commands led to death because they couldn’t solve our sin problem as fallen humans (Rom 7:13-25). And they weren’t supposed to. They had a different purpose. In Galatians 3 Paul explains that the Torah was like a “super nanny” (tutor, guardian, or school master depending on your translation) that was intended to keep God’s people in line until the Messiah should come. But now that Messiah has come, we are no longer under the Torah (Gal 3:19-25). As a covenant it is no longer in effect. In Christ, a new covenant has been established (Hebrews 8).
Does that mean what is written in the Torah is useless to us? No. It is still Scripture and useful (2 Tim 3:16-17), but it’s no longer our covenant. So the Torah is God’s word for us but not God’s covenant with us. It teaches about God and his ways, but we don’t worship that way any longer. Jesus inaugurated a new covenant and we keep the commands of that covenant, the commands Jesus and His apostles taught us.
John Whittaker serves on the teaching team at Calvary Boise, and is the author and host of The Listener's Commentary, which provides clear, accessible teaching through each book of the New Testament in audio format so you can learn and live the Bible.
