Works

Now we can understand why religious people do not want to hear about works. They live in the spirit of the old covenant, and they see Jesus’ sacrifice as no more than liberation from the guilt of sin. In other words, they live in the shadow. They do not have a body; and since they have no body, they can do no works.

“For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.” Heb. 10:1.

The shadow shows us the form of the body, and the law shows us the form of Jesus. Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets. He came with the body that cast the shadow. Col. 2:17.

“Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, “Behold, I have come—in the volume of the book it is written of Me—to do Your will, O God.”’ Previously saying, ‘Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them’ (which are offered according to the law), then He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.’ He takes away the first that He may establish the second.” Heb. 10:1-9.

This verse shows us that Jesus did away with the offerings, and with His body He established the doing of God’s will. This is what God desired. A body that had done all God’s will had never lived on earth before. Never before had sin been condemned in the flesh; on the contrary, sin had gained control of people’s bodies so that they had to make sacrifices for their sins. This was not so with Jesus. He never sinned, for sin was condemned in the flesh. Rom. 8:3. He established the doing of God’s will not only for His own sake but for us all.

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit . . . . Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” 1 Cor. 12:13-27.

Now we no longer live in the shadow, but in the very body that casts the shadow. Now the requirements of the law can also be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Rom. 8:4. This is why we can speak so much about works, because now we have a body with which to do them. And because we have received the Spirit of Christ, sin is also put to death in our flesh. Then we become one flesh with Him (Eph. 5:30-32), and the life of Jesus is revealed through our mortal flesh. 2 Cor. 4:11. Now the parable of Jesus as the Vine and we as the branches can be fulfilled. How could we possibly be branches in Jesus if He had had the flesh of an angel, or some other kind of flesh that was unlike ours? It is indeed the same flesh, but it is a crucified flesh—a flesh in which sin is condemned, so that we can bear much fruit for God.

This is a great mystery, and if you cannot comprehend it, you must just be content to let it be. 1 Cor. 14:38. But thanks be to God who has taken the veil from our eyes so that we have been able to see Jesus manifested in the flesh. And you can rest assured that flesh and blood has not revealed this to us, but the Spirit of Christ.