Letter to Laodicea - The Ten Words

THE TEN WORDS

One of the most catastrophic errors that false Christianity has foisted upon this world is the teaching that Jesus Christ abolished the centrepiece of God's law given to man, i.e. the Ten Commandments.

As discussed on the page "TEN BROKEN COMMANDMENTS", even the Churches of God struggle to understand the spiritual depth of these laws, and how God actually intends them to be kept.

When Christ stated "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill" (Matt 5:17), many theologians take this to mean that Christ kept God's law, including the Ten Commandments, on man's behalf, then died on the cross to pay the penalty for man's transgressions of God's law, thus abolishing the need for man to keep any of God's laws.

These people contend that the Ten Commandments, recorded in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, were temporarily instituted alongside a whole host of other laws, as part of the Old Covenant made between God and the nation of Israel at Mt Sinai. They reason that from the time of Christ, and the making of the New Covenant, all these laws were superseded by the notion that only faith in Christ is required in obedience to our Creator.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

In the Scriptural account, the Ten Commandments are given an exceptional status. On Mt Sinai God thundered out these laws, and these laws only, to all Israel. He then proceeded to write them with His own finger on two tablets of stone.

Subsequently, these "tables of testimony" (Ex 31:18) were placed, at God's direction, in the Ark of the Covenant, which was kept in the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle, and later in the Temple (Heb 9:3-4).

No other laws ever received such special treatment from God throughout His dealings with man.

Whatever is written in stone is considered permanent. The Scriptures make it clear that the Ten Commandments were meant to be man's perpetual guide in life.

Prior to Mt Sinai

The Word of God shows that the Ten Commandments did not originate at Sinai. Rather, they were already in place from Creation week. Near the very beginning of the Biblical narrative we read that the first humans, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God and sinned. In I Tim 2:14 we are informed: "the woman being deceived, fell into transgression". In I John 3:4 we learn that "sin is the transgression of the law", or simply "sin is lawlessness". Therefore laws must have been given to Adam and Eve for there to be transgression on their part, because "where there is no law there is no transgression" (Rom 4:15).

When God made a covenant with Israel at Mt Sinai, He added to the code of law that man had already been given up to that time. We read in Gal 3:19 "What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come". This refers to an entire legal administration that was added to regulate the nation of Israel, including animal sacrifices, but this was, as stated, "because of transgressions". Therefore, Sinai can't have been the origin of the fundamental laws God gave to man. Otherwise, what law had been transgressed prior to Sinai?

Let's briefly look at some examples showing that the Ten Commandments were given to man from the beginning of his existence.

Genesis 2:2-3 states "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it". To sanctify something means to set it aside as holy. So we see here that on the seventh day of Creation God made the Sabbath. Therefore, when the fourth commandment states "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy", it is referring to something that already existed. We also see this in Exodus 16, where we read of God testing Israel on their obedience to this commandment before He spoke the Ten Commandments from Mt Sinai, which is recorded four chapters later.

In Gen 3:2-4 we find Satan calling God's truthfulness into question by saying to Eve "Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?" and "You will not surely die". Here, Satan broke the third commandment, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain", and the ninth commandment, "You shall not bear false witness".

In Gen 3:6 we read of Adam and Eve's first sin, i.e. the taking of the fruit that had been forbidden by God. In doing so they transgressed the eighth commandment, "you shall not steal", and the tenth commandment, "you shall not covet".

In Gen 4:8-9 we read about the murder of Abel at the hands of his brother Cain. In doing this Cain transgressed the sixth commandment, "you shall not murder".

In Gen 9:20-24 we read an account about the sons of Noah, with one transgressing and the other two obeying the fifth commandment, "you shall honour your father and your mother".

In Genesis 13:13 we read that "the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful", and chapter 19 relates the grave sexual sin that was common among them, which clearly ran counter to God's design for marriage between a male and a female.

On the same topic, in Gen 20:3-9 we see that God prevented Abimelech from sleeping with Abraham's wife, Sarah, which would have been "a great sin" (v9). These two cases show that the seventh commandment, "you shall not commit adultery", which confines sexual intercourse to a man and a woman within marriage, was already in place well before Sinai.

Genesis 31:30-35 gives us the account of Jacob's wife, Rachel, hiding "household idols" in her tent. From Gen 35:2-3 we understand that these objects were forbidden by the second commandment, "You shall not make unto you any graven image".

In Josh 24:2 we read concerning the ancestors of Israel, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods". This was exactly what God had called Abraham away from, it being a violation of the first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before me".

Many more examples could be given to show that all of the Ten Commandments that God gave to Israel at Mt Sinai were already in effect prior to that time.

God's purpose at Sinai was to remind Israel of the code of conduct He had made for man from Creation.

From Mt Sinai to the Time of Christ

At Sinai, as part of the covenant God was making with Israel, He loudly proclaimed to them the Ten Commandments (literally "ten words" - Ex 34:28, Deut 4:13 and 10:4), here listed in an abbreviated form:

1) I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before Me

2) You shall not make for yourself a carved image; you shall not bow down to them

3) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain

4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy; six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God

5) Honour your father and your mother

6) You shall not murder

7) You shall not commit adultery

8) You shall not steal

9) You shall not bear false witness

10) You shall not covet

These commandments were the foundational laws that God gave to Israel to govern their nation, and, as we have seen, they were laws that were already in existence. In regard to these laws, Deut 4:6 says "Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people'" and "what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?" (v8). God's purpose was to bless the nation of Israel with His law, but also to use them as an example for other nations to follow.

In Deut 5:10 God equates loving Him with keeping His commandments: "showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments". In Deut 7:9 Moses reiterates this by declaring "Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments".

And again, in Deut 10:12-13, "And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?". Note that God gives His law "for your good".

After making His covenant with Israel at Sinai, God, through His prophets, conveyed the same consistent attitude towards the commandments that the covenant was based on. Time and again God sent prophets to rebuke Israel when they transgressed His law, to exhort them to repent.

Ultimately, both the House of Israel and the House of Judah were driven from the land that God had given them and went into captivity because of their failure to keep these commandments.

At the same time, we consistently see that people who found favour in God's eyes in Old Testament times were those who obeyed His commandments.

In Psalm 1 we find its author praising God's law: "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord ...... and in His law he meditates day and night" (Ps 1:1-2). This indicates a greater level of understanding of God's law that requires deep contemplation.

Psalm 119 contains 176 verses that from beginning to end praise God and His law.

There can be no doubt that from Mt Sinai until the time of Christ, the Ten Commandments were the foundational law that God intended His people to live by.

Christ's Teachings

Throughout His ministry, Christ magnified the Ten Commandments, as predicted by the prophet Isaiah: "He will exalt the law and make it honorable" (Isa 42:21). Christ consistently taught the need to look beyond the letter of the law and strive to also keep the spirit of the law.

Look at Christ's teaching about murder in Matt 5:21-22: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment".

Likewise His teachings on adultery in Matt 5:27-28: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart".

These are not the words of someone who intends to abolish the Ten Commandments. Quite the contrary.

Consider also Christ's obedience to the Sabbath commandment. He kept the Sabbath as His custom (Lk 4:16), and taught on the Sabbath. But He also went well beyond the letter of this law. Christ knew that the seventh day of the week pictured the seventh millennium, when He will rule the world. Therefore Christ's Sabbaths saw Him healing the sick, driving out demons, restoring sight to the blind, restoring hearing to the deaf, and making the lame walk. These were all a symbolic foretaste of His rule, when Satan and his deceptions will be removed, and all people will be able to see God as He is, hear and understand His truth and walk in His ways.

In Matt 19:16-19 a rich young man asks Christ, "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?". Christ answers him, "if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments". When the man asks "Which ones?", Christ responds by listing five of the Ten Commandments: "‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother’" and quoting Lev 19:18, "‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’".

It would be foolish to argue that only five of the Ten Commandments now need to be kept. In that case we would be free to worship other gods and bow down to idols! Christ Himself had loudly proclaimed the Ten Commandments from Mt Sinai and had written all ten with His own finger on stone tablets. Clearly He knew they were one body of ten laws. Mark 10:19 adds the fact that Christ, before listing the five commandments, states "You know the commandments". The man undoubtedly knew that they were ten in total and claimed that he had kept them all from his youth.

Christ's reference to Lev 19:18 shows His practice of emphasising the spirit of the law and not merely the letter.

The necessity for Christ to die for man's transgression of these commandments speaks louder than any words ever could. God does not compromise with His law, but requires the penalty for all sin to be paid. Christ, who was the Creator of all mankind, never broke God's law, so His innocent death was accepted by God the Father as payment for the transgressions of all mankind (II Cor 5:21, I Jn 2:2).

The Apostles' Teachings

The keeping of the Ten Commandments is taught throughout the apostolic writings. Here is one example for each of the ten, but many more instances could be given:

1) In Acts 14:8-15 we find the apostles Paul and Barnabas preaching to some Greeks who, upon witnessing a miracle, attempt to worship Paul and Barnabas as if they were gods. The two apostles immediately put a stop to this, making it very clear to these people that they should instead worship "the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them".

2) In Acts 17:16 Paul encounters many idols in the city of Athens: "Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols". Therefore he instructs the Gentiles of that city in no uncertain terms, "Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:29-30).

3) In Revelation 13 and 17 the apostle John is shown a "beast", which symbolises the succession of Gentile nations, hostile to God, that conquered God's Holy City and persecuted His people for 2520 years: "So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns". These Gentile nations have in common that they all worship false gods and are therefore guilty of the "blasphemy" of misrepresenting the true God, i.e. taking His name in vain.

4) The author of the book of Hebrews states unequivocally, "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest (His Kingdom) also rests from their works (every Sabbath), just as God did from his (on the first Sabbath) (NIV)".

5) In Ephesians 6:1-2 Paul instructs, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”, which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth".

6) In I John 3:15 John warns, "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him".

7) In I Corinthians 6:9-10 Paul clearly upholds four of the commandments, including the prohibition of adultery, and adds that the keeping of these commandments is required to receive eternal life: "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God".

8) In Ephesians 4:28 Paul teaches about the eighth commandment, "Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need".

9) In Revelation 21:8 John writes in regard to at least five of the commandments, including the prohibition of bearing false witness: "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death".

10) In Ephesians 5:3-5 Paul writes regarding covetousness and other sins: "But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God".

So we see that all the Ten Commandments are taught throughout the New Testament. Also see Rom 13:9 where Paul mentions five of them in one verse. Revelation 14:12 describes God's true "saints" as "those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus".

Paul shows the importance of God's commandments in Rom 7:7-12: "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet”. But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived (sprung up) and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good". Note that the commandments are "to bring life".

Paul also makes clear in Romans 3 that faith in the sacrifice of Christ is required for salvation, but that this does not do away with the need to keep God's commandments: "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law" (Rom 3:31).

Traditional Christianity claims that Christ abolished the need to keep God's commandments, and will point to Scriptures like "But now we have been delivered from the law" (Rom 7:6), "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace" (Rom 6:14), and "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Rom 10:4) to make their point.

However, what they fail to see is that Christ delivered man, not from the law, but from the penalty of the law, i.e. the death penalty. It is for this reason that we are no longer under the law, with the law standing over us and claiming its penalty. They also fail to understand that Christ is not the end of the law, but rather the end of the law for righteousness, i.e. the end of the Old Covenant under which many of the Jews had come to believe they could obtain righteousness by their own keeping of the law.

Paul answers these objections after stating in Rom 6:14 that we are not under law but under grace: "What then? Shall we sin (transgress God's commandments) because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! (Rom 6:15).

Another example where Scripture has been misunderstood as doing away with God's commandments is Eph 2:14-15: "For He Himself is our peace, who has made both (Jews and Gentiles) one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace".

However, this is referring to the enmity, caused by the physical application of certain of God's laws, being abolished, not any law. Verse 12 states that prior to Christ the Gentiles were "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise", because the legal framework of the Old Covenant favoured the physical people of Israel. Now, under the New Covenant, all people, regardless of ethnicity, can be "fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" (Eph 2:19).

An example of legal differentiation between Israelites and Gentiles under the Old Covenant concerns slavery. Exodus 21:2 states "If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free". However, Gentile slaves could be kept for life and even be passed down as an inheritance: "Moreover you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property. And you may take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them as a possession; they shall be your permanent slaves. But regarding your brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with rigor" (Lev 25:45-46).

Another law that displays this differentiation is Deut 14:21: "You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God".

We see that all nations were not equal under the Old Covenant, but rather God showed, through laws such as these, that those called to be in a relationship with Him were viewed differently from those who were not. Under the New Covenant established by Christ, this "wall of separation" between Israelites and Gentiles has been "broken down". This distinction now applies spiritually, between believers and unbelievers (II Cor 6:14).

The Kingdom of God

Although we only "know in part" (I Cor 13:12), we are given some insight into what Christ's rule in His millennial Kingdom will be like. This includes its laws.

Micah 4:2 says of that time "Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem".

The Kingdom of God is called the Kingdom of Heaven in the gospel of Matthew. In Mt 5:19 Christ says "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven". Here Christ is stating that commandment keeping is an essential part of His Kingdom.

The New Covenant that Christ initiated at His first coming will remain the covenant by which people will live and be judged. This is the only means by which a person can "enter into life" which, according to Christ, requires a person to "keep the commandments" (Mt 19:17).

In the final chapter of Isaiah we read that under the New Covenant "from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord" (Isa 66:23).

In the very last chapter of the Scriptures, where God's 7000 year work with mankind is pictured coming to fruition, we are told "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city" (Rev 22:14). The "tree of life" is symbolic of eternal life. The "city" is the New Jerusalem, the dwelling place of God.

So from the very beginning until the very end of God's 7000 year redemptive work with mankind we see the Ten Commandments at the heart of His plan.

The Great Purpose of the Ten Commandments

Why are the Ten Commandments crucial to God's plan? God is composed of two Beings. John 1 refers to them as God and the Word. After the Word's birth by the virgin Mary, they are referred to as the Father and the Son. In Gen 1:26 these two Beings state their plan to create mankind: "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness".

In Rev 1:10-18 John sees a vision of the resurrected Christ as a God being. He describes Christ as having a head, hair, a face, eyes, a mouth, a chest, hands and feet. Other Scriptures also refer to God as having these attributes. Christ, as the God of the Old Testament, wrote the Ten Commandments with His finger (Ex 31:18). Therefore we can conclude that physical man looks like God.

However, our creation as physical human beings is just the first stage of God's work. John 4:24 states that "God is a spirit". Physically we have been made in God's likeness, but God intends us to also acquire His spiritual image. This is why He gives a portion of His holy spirit, to repentant believers upon baptism. By the giving of the holy spirit, God places His spiritual seed in man, begetting the believer as a spiritual child of God (I Pet 1:23, ASV, YLT), i.e. a spiritual embryo in the "womb" of the body of believers, the Church, which Paul refers to as our spiritual "mother" (Gal 4:26, Heb 12:22-23). Through a lifelong process of spiritual growth, we become ready to be born as a spirit being, into the family of God.

Whereas before our conversion we are dismissive, or even hostile towards God, when His spirit begins to work with us we see Him in a different light and grow to love His Word and His law (Ps 119:97). Therefore our values gradually become the same as His values. This change in attitude doesn't come from us, rather it comes from God's spirit.

This is where the importance of the Ten Commandments becomes apparent. Psalm 19:7 says "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul". Other translations say "restoring" or "reviving" the soul. The keeping of God's law, by a person led by God's spirit, converts their carnal human nature into God's nature.

Romans 8:1-14 sums up this entire process of salvation, including the paramount importance of God's law:

1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors - not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God".

These 14 verses in the book of Romans reveal the purpose God is working out with mankind, as well as the method He is employing. Through repentance and faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of our transgressions of God's law is made possible. After baptism and the receipt of the holy spirit, man, now begotten as a son of God, is led to fulfil "the righteous requirement of the law".

This brings us back to what Christ tells the rich young man who asks "what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?", to which Christ replies "if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matt 19:16-18).

The Ten Commandments were given to man in order for him to develop the spiritual image, or nature of God.

This is the major reason why the belief of false Christianity that Christ abolished these laws is so wrong: it takes away the vehicle by which God fulfils His purpose for mankind.

Ten Fingers and Ten Toes

God gave man ten fingers and ten toes. Man was made in God's image, therefore we know that God also has ten fingers and ten toes.

Just like God, we work with our hands, and we walk with our feet. And to work and walk like Him, all ten digits on our hands and our feet must play their part and be coordinated by our minds.

Regarding the commandments, God instructed the Israelites to figuratively "Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads" (Dt 6:8), and in Psalms we read "Your word is a lamp to my feet" (Ps 119:105). The Hebrew word "dabar", translated in this verse as "word", is the same word translated "commandment" in the Ten Commandments.

The ten fingers and toes can therefore be seen as picturing ten spiritual principles of Godly life.

These are eternal principles that define the character of God (Jn 17:24), and constitute the foundation of the Ten Commandments.

The Ten Words

The ten spiritual principles or laws can all be found in the Scriptures. Christ refers to them as "the weightier matters of the law" (Matt 23:23). In this verse in Matthew He mentions "justice and mercy and faith". The parallel account in Luke 11:42 adds "the love of God", meaning the love that God possesses. In I Cor 13:13 hope is included in this category as well: "now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love".

Note that there is an order in these principles; some are said to be greater than others. We see this in Jas 2:13 as well, where it states that "mercy triumphs over judgement". The Greek word translated here as "judgement" is the same word found in Matt 23:23, commonly translated as "justice".

These Scriptures therefore give us five major spiritual laws, the order of which is: love, faith, mercy, justice and hope. We will see that these are the principles at the foundation of the last five commandments, numbers six to ten. One could think of them as the left hand, or left foot, principles.

The first five spiritual principles are indicated by key words used in the first five commandments: God, image, name, work and honour. They are the right hand, or right foot, principles.

So how are we to understand these ten spiritual principles in relation to the literal wording of the Ten Commandments? Let's look at them one by one in Exodus 20:

1) "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me".

This commandment instructs us to acknowledge the true Creator God as supreme. Consequently we accept the underlying principle that the display of godly authority, by first and foremost taking charge of our own personal lives, and acquiring moral strength, is crucial to all righteous living. If we abide by this law, we will seek to develop in ourselves this paramount godly quality.

2) "You shall not make for yourself a carved image - any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments".

This commandment not only prohibits having a false image of God, but it instructs man to love His true image. This requires continually growing in knowledge about God and love of His righteous nature.

3) "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain".

This commandment not only prohibits the misuse of God's name, but requires us to properly represent God. As we, who are called Christians, take Christ's name, we must think, speak and act as He does. This is a logical progression from the second commandment, because if we love God's nature, or image, we will seek to imitate it.

4) "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it".

The Sabbath day was made for man (Mk 2:27) as a day of physical rest (Ex 23:12) and spiritual rejuvenation (Lev 23:3). After six days of the work of Creation, God rested on the seventh day, making the observance of the Sabbath a sign between Himself as the Creator, and man, His creation (Ex 31:16-17). The fourth commandment also regulates the balance between work and rest. In Scripture God reveals Himself as Creator and Sustainer, and by this commandment instructs man to emulate His work ethic and creative accomplishments, in accordance with the framework of time laid down by Him.

5) "Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you".

This commandment on the surface applies to man's responsibilities towards his physical parents. On a spiritual level it refers to bringing honour to the Family of God.

The Word, who later became Christ, was the Creator of all things (Jn 1:1-3). His Creation was perfect, bestowing great honour on the heavens (Ps 19:1), mankind (Ps 8:5), the animal kingdom, plant life and all the wonders of nature. All these were of the highest standards, as stated in Gen 1:31 "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good". He was also the author of the Bible, the greatest literary work known to man.

During Christ's time on Earth He greatly honoured His Father in word and deed (Jn 8:49), and was obedient to Him unto death (Phil 2:8). Through His teachings and sacrifice, He made tremendous honour possible for those who would constitute the Church, the spiritual mother of the children of God.

The fifth commandment follows on logically from the fourth in that it speaks of the degree of quality and splendour that our achievements should aim for. As Ecclesiastes 9:10 states, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might".

6) "You shall not murder".

This commandment forbids the unlawful taking of human life. However, Christ made it clear that even unjustified anger transgresses this commandment (Matt 5:21-24), and He adds that we should actually love our enemies (v44). In doing so Christ identifies the spiritual law at the foundation of this commandment as love. In Jn 13:34 Christ instructs his disciples, and therefore all Christians, to "love one another; as I have loved you". Note that this law is about God's love (Lk 11:42), not man's idea of love.

7) "You shall not commit adultery".

This commandment prohibits all sexual relationships outside of marriage. Therefore the seventh spiritual law of God is faith, i.e. being faithful as God is faithful. Revelation 14:12 states that obedient people "keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus", or in other words, keep the commandments in both a physical and spiritual sense. Romans 3:22 and Galatians 2:16,20 say, when correctly translated, as in the KJV, that people begotten of God have the faith of Jesus. Hebrews 11 is full of the faithful acts of those who were led by the faith of God.

8) "You shall not steal".

The eighth commandment forbids us to take what is not rightfully ours. The spiritual principle here involves giving, motivated by mercy. We read concerning God that "the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy" (Ps 103:8). The "good Samaritan" is commended by Christ as "he that showed mercy" (Lk 10:37), i.e. the desire to be benevolent and to help those in need.

9) "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour".

The ninth commandment uses legal terminology. It speaks not only of being truthful, but also teaches the spiritual principle of justice. Matthew 12:18 speaks thus of Christ: "Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles". All who are led by God's spirit likewise "declare justice". Acts 8:33 also says of Christ: "In His humiliation His justice was taken away". How was His justice taken away? By bearing false witness against Him.

10) "You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s".

The tenth commandment speaks against one of our most carnal desires, i.e. to want the physical things that belong to others. The spiritual mind, however, desires what is spiritual, which in Scripture is termed hope. Paul expresses this spiritual desire in Romans 8:23-24: "Not only that, but we also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves while eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For we are saved through hope" (MEV). Paul also describes this as "the hope and resurrection of the dead" in Acts 23:6, and "Christ in you, the hope of glory" in Col 1:27. God's own hope is mentioned in Rom 8:21-22: "the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope" (NIV).

To summarise, we are to acknowledge the supreme God, worship His Image, take His Name in righteousness, emulate His Work, and bestow Honour as He does, while exhibiting His Love, His Faith, His Mercy, His Justice and His Hope.

To some degree we can detect the ten spiritual principles in the ten major heavenly bodies in our solar system: the Sun and the nine planets. The Sun represents God, the first principle, as seen in Ps 84:11: "the Lord God is a sun", and Christ's description as "the Sun of Righteousness” in Mal 4:2. Christ is represented by the "great light" made in Creation week, as explained on the page "THE SEVEN DAY BLUEPRINT".

The planets all revolve around the Sun and are kept in their orbits by the law of gravity, just as all life revolves around its Creator and is subject to His law. After Mercury and Venus, our planet Earth is the fourth major heavenly body. The fourth spiritual principle is work, and it is on Earth that God is conducting His amazing work of reproducing Himself through mankind.

In the solar system, the Sun is the biggest body, while Jupiter, the sixth heavenly body, is the second biggest of the ten. These symbolise the first and sixth spiritual principles, God and love, also pictured by our two thumbs and two big toes.

Additionally, the ten heavenly bodies are separated into two groups of five by an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This division mirrors the two groups of five spiritual principles as pictured in our two hands and two feet, and also in the two tablets of stone that the Ten Commandments were originally written on.

In conclusion, I hope this article has conveyed to the reader how fundamentally important God's Ten Commandments are. God made this abundantly clear by speaking these laws to Israel with His own voice, writing them on stone with His own finger, and subsequently having them placed inside the Ark of the Covenant, which was kept in the Holy of Holies within the Temple, and which symbolised God's throne in Heaven.

These ten laws, derived from ten spiritual principles that can be simply expressed as ten words, are a reflection of God's own character. The keeping of these laws and the adoption of these spiritual principles leads to the development of the nature of God, the very purpose for which man was created.