God’s Standard Uplifted in Christ

God has not abolished His commands, but uplifted them, carrying them in us by the life of Jesus.

Devotional Credit: eManna by Witness Lee
Photo Credit: Unsplash

Witness Lee reminds us that God’s acceptance of us today is not based on the law, but on faith in Jesus. In Old Testament times, acceptance before God meant living up to the standard of the law, but no one could fully meet that measure. Now, through Jesus, we are justified not by works but by faith. This truth frees us from striving to earn God’s favor and brings us into the security of His acceptance in Christ.

Yet Lee also shows that while the principle of the law has been set aside, the commandments themselves have not been abolished. In fact, they are uplifted and deepened in the New Testament. The prohibition against idolatry, once limited to physical images, is expanded to include covetousness and greed. The call to honor father and mother is not diminished but reinforced. Far from lowering the bar, Jesus raises it by showing that the law points beyond external conduct to the inward condition of the heart.

This perspective helps us see that grace does not mean laxity. Instead, grace empowers us to live in the reality of God’s holiness. What was once impossible in the flesh becomes possible in union with Jesus, because His indwelling life fulfills in us what the law could only demand. The commandments are uplifted, not as burdens placed on us, but as the natural outflow of the life of Jesus within.

Lee’s insight steers us away from misunderstanding grace as license. Instead, grace draws us deeper into God’s heart, where His commands are not abolished but strengthened, transformed, and fulfilled in us by His Spirit. The abiding life in Jesus frees us from the weight of trying to justify ourselves and brings us into the joy of living out God’s truth from a place of union with Him.

Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture

My beloved, do not think that My grace sets aside the holiness of My commands. I have not abolished what I once spoke, but I have fulfilled it in My Son. The law revealed what you could not do in your own strength, but in Jesus you are justified by faith and not by works. You are accepted, not because of your performance, but because of His finished work.

The commandments are not a prison for you, but a window into My heart. In Him you will find that greed and covetousness have no place, for I have given you every spiritual blessing. In Him you will find that honoring your parents is not a duty to be strained after, but the overflow of love formed in you by My Spirit. What once condemned you now becomes the testimony of the life of Jesus expressed through you.

Rest in this. Yield to Me. The very holiness I require is the holiness I have placed within you through union with My Son. What the law could not accomplish because of the weakness of the flesh, I now accomplish by My Spirit. The commands are uplifted, and you are lifted with them, not by your striving, but by My indwelling life.

Scripture References: Galatians 2:16, Romans 8:3-4, Ephesians 6:1-2, Colossians 3:5, Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:14, Romans 10:4, 2 Corinthians 3:6, John 15:5, Ephesians 1:3.

Real-Life Analogy

Imagine a child trying to carry a heavy bucket of water that is too much for his strength. He struggles, spills, and soon gives up. Then his father comes beside him, lifts the bucket with one hand, and walks with ease. The task is not abolished, but carried in a new way. In the same way, God has not abolished His commands, but has lifted them into the life of Jesus in us. They no longer crush us, because they are carried out through His strength and presence within.

Today, when I encounter a demand that seems too great, I can whisper, “Lord, I trust You to live Your life through me in this moment.” Instead of straining, I rest, knowing that the very One who gave the command also lives in me to fulfill it.

Prayer of Confidence

Lord, I thank You that I am justified in You and not by my works. I rejoice that the commands of God are not abolished, but uplifted in You, and fulfilled in me by Your indwelling life. What once condemned me now becomes a testimony of Your power at work within me. I rest in the truth that I am fully accepted, fully equipped, and fully complete in You.