In order to better understand what Ellen White meant by Christ the Impersonation of the Law and the thought of putting Christ in the law, we must study the law and the glory of the law in Second Corinthians, Chapter 3 and her explanation of it. How often we have missed the great blessings which God put in this chapter in Corinthians by insisting that the law here was only the ceremonial law. Let us read this scripture to help our memory.
Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart... But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away ... But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:3, 7-15, 16, 18.
We must first recognize that the only law "written and engraven in stones" was the ten commandment law. Paul here describes it as a ministration of death and condemnation.
We Adventists have always believed that the moral law condemns us because of our sins and that death is the result; so we are in agreement with this teaching. But there is a contradiction here because Paul describes this law of death and condemnation as "glorious." He finds no fault with it but speaks of its glory. He does say that its "glory was to be done away" (verse 7). How and Why? Its glory is done away because something which is rather or more glorious, which exceeds in glory and a glory that excelleth comes along. So the law is not done away, only its glory, and that is because a greater glory has come. So something more glorious would happen to the law. This speaks of improvement, of something better. Certainly nothing that lessens its importance and function is presented here.
WHY WAS THE GLORY DONE AWAY? Let us examine next the meaning of this glory from the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy.
In Exodus 33:18, Moses beseeched God to "shew me thy glory." In Exodus 34:5-7, the Lord passes before Moses and proclaims His glory. What did Moses see? He saw God's character described in these verses, also presented as God's "goodness." Exodus 33:19. The Spirit of Prophecy confirms this interpretation in Christ's Object Lessons, p. 414: "The light of His glory--His character..." And as we have already learned, "His (God's) law is a transcript of His own character," Ibid., p. 315. Therefore the glory of God is His character and since the law is God's character written down, the glory of the law is the character of God.
In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul tells us that something of greater glory than that seen in the law on stone will come. What is this? Of Jesus, John said "we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father..." John 1:14. And John continues by saying, "the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him..." John 1:18. In other words Jesus came to show us the Father. He has displayed or manifested Him. As Jesus said to Philip, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." Paul describes it like this: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6.
Therefore, "Jesus was the outshining of His (the Father's) glory."[1] "Let us remember that God is love." I John 4:8. This change or improvement in the law was predicted by Isaiah; "... He will magnify the law and make it honorable." Isaiah 42:21.
Isaiah 42:21 RSV translates it, "and make it glorious," and the NAS says "to make the law great and glorious." Certainly this is good. Nothing happens to depreciate the law or to lessen its importance and obligation. Jesus so perfectly lived out the law and therefore totally demonstrated His Father's character (or glory) that He exceeds the glory of God's character as described in the ten commandments. God was more perfectly and completely revealed in the life of Christ than had been understood by those who knew the law.
Now let us return to 2 Corinthians 3: "For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth." 2 Corinthians 3:10.
Jesus is the "glory that excelleth" and the law on stone is "that which was made glorious." Paul is stating that the law on stone had no glory of itself but was glorious because of the glory of Christ. Ellen White explains it like this:
The glory that shone on the face of Moses was a reflection of the righteousness of Christ in the law. The law itself would have no glory, only that in it Christ is embodied. It has no power to save. It is lusterless only as in it Christ is represented as full of righteousness and truth.[2]
The glory of the law on stone is the righteousness of Christ. Christ is embodied in the law on stone and it's His righteousness that makes it glorious. Moses saw this in the law and therefore his face reflected that glory. This is what Paul meant in 2 Corinthians 3:10.
Ellen White uses still stronger language to describe Christ in the law:
... And if the ministration of the dispensation to be done away was glorious, how much more must the reality be glorious, when Christ was revealed, giving His life-giving, sanctifying Spirit to all who believe?[3]
She used the same word again in Signs of the Times, August 25, 1887.
... But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away; how shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? When the reality, the full blaze of midday light, should come, the dim glory which was but an earnest of the latter, should be done away, swallowed up in the greater glory.[4]
Christ is described as "the reality" of the glory or character of God as described in the ten commandments. The glory of the law or God's character is not the reality but a description. Jesus living that beautiful righteous life is the reality of the glory or character of His Father. Notice that she never describes the law as typical, but as "an earnest" or promise of that which was to come. Nor does she say the law on stone is destroyed but she uses the term that the glory of the law is "swallowed up in the greater glory."
It is only when we put Christ and His righteousness into the law that we discover "the reality" of the law and its glory. This is what Ellen White meant when she wrote "We must put Christ in the law" and when she said "Christ, the Impersonation of the Law." Jesus is the glory, the righteousness, the character of God which the law on stone describes. This is why Ellen White described the message of 1888 as "the matchless charms of Christ." It is really the splendor, the radiance, the beaming brilliance of His Father's beautiful character of love. When we put Christ in the law we see this splendor of God and are drawn to Him by such beauty.
Paul then discusses the vail over Moses face: "And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ." 2 Corinthians 3:13, 14.
"The vail is done away in Christ," verse 14. When we put Christ and His righteousness in the law, and see the greater glory which the law promises, then we without a vail but with open face behold the glory of the Lord, then we are changed from glory to glory (II Corinthians 3:18). But even we Adventists who proclaim the law so strongly, still fail to put Christ in the law. Then we wonder why our performance is so feeble. Today there is still the same fear that we are destroying the law by teaching that the schoolmaster is the moral law. (We shall answer this question more thoroughly in a later chapter.) Still others, basing their interpretation on their deficient behavior, believe that one never becomes righteous but is only pronounced or counted righteous.
But 2 Corinthians 3:18 promises that when we behold the glory of the Lord, we too are changed into the same image from glory to glory. And this is accomplished by "the Spirit of the Lord." The success and the blessing are realized when we see Christ as the glory, the righteousness, the character of God in the law on stone. When the beauty of holiness in Christ which is the reality of the law grabs my interest and mind so that I am charmed by it; then the "beholding" Paul describes takes place. As a result of such beholding there is a change.
But what is it that most of us spend so much time beholding? Too many persist in looking at themselves and they only become like themselves. Others spend their time looking at other people and enjoying or criticizing them. Then we only become like them. Too many are continuously staring at the world in its various aspects and they become like that. Oh, to be charmed by the exceeding glory of Christ! How different will be the results.
2 Corinthians 3 arouses many perplexing questions, and a more careful reading of Selected Messages, Vol. 1, p. 236 (the chapter "The Righteousness of Christ in the Law") helps to explain some of these questions. One quotation will suffice for now:
It was seeing the object of that which was to be done away, seeing Christ as revealed in the law, that illumined the face of Moses. The ministration of the law, written and engraved in stone, was a ministration of death. Without Christ, the transgressor was left under its curse, with no hope of pardon. The ministration had of itself no glory, but the promised Saviour, revealed in the types and shadows of the ceremonial law, made the moral law glorious.[5]
It is when both the moral and ceremonial law are joined together that we receive a more complete picture of God's character. Since Jesus is both laws in one person, the true picture of God without distortion is visible and most glorious.
Notes: