Christ — the Word, the Truth, and the Life, slain from the foundation of the world.
Before speaking about the law, we must understand: the foundation of everything is God Himself. The Apostle John writes: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Christ is not a part of creation. He is the One begotten of the Father, through whom all things were made.
Moreover, Scripture reveals an astonishing mystery. Revelation speaks of the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). For God, the sacrifice of Christ was not a “backup plan” after the fall. It was conceived before the first man even existed. Christ Himself says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The law was given through Moses, but truth and eternal life came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17).
If Christ is the very reality, then the Law of Moses was merely its image and shadow.
The Law — only a shadow of the good things to come.
The author of Hebrews directly calls the Old Testament law a shadow: “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” (Hebrews 10:1). A shadow is not reality itself — it is merely a silhouette pointing to a real object. The law, as a shadow, pointed to Jesus Christ.
This is confirmed by God’s command to Moses: “Make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain” (Exodus 25:40). The tabernacle itself and its rituals are a copy and shadow of what exists in the spiritual realm, not the original (Hebrews 8:5). The priests served “a copy and shadow of the heavenly things.” Heavenly, meaning spiritual.
Just as the sacrifices and feasts, which were images and shadows, became substance in Christ.
Here are several vivid examples:
Law of Moses (shadow) Fulfillment in Christ (truth)
The Passover lamb (Exodus 12) “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) became the substance in Jesus Christ.
The bronze serpent (Numbers 21) “So must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14) — victory over sin and death through faith in Christ.
Manna from heaven (Exodus 16) “I am the bread of life” (John 6:48) — revelation from God or the Word of God; Jesus Christ is the true bread that came down from heaven and grants eternal life.
The High Priest (Leviticus 16) “Christ, the High Priest of the good things to come” (Hebrews 9:11) — He intercedes for us in the true heavenly tabernacle before God the Father.
Every image in the law pointed to the Person and work of Jesus.
The Sabbath as an image: from a day of the week to eternal rest.
This is one of the most important transitions from shadow to substance. The fourth commandment prescribed: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy… you shall not do any work” (Exodus 20:8-10). But already the prophet Isaiah says: “If you call the Sabbath a delight… then you shall delight yourself in the Lord” (Isaiah 58:13-14). This is not about mechanical rest, but about the state of the heart.
The New Testament reveals that the Sabbath was only a shadow. Paul writes: “Let no one judge you regarding a Sabbath… which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17). And the author of Hebrews explains: “There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9). That is, believers are to enter into true rest, of which the weekly Sabbath was an image.
This is a spiritual rest in God and in His kingdom. This rest is granted by God Himself. God Himself brings you into His rest, and in His kingdom there will be no enemies attacking you, and all your needs will be met by God so that you have nothing to worry about. Just as God promised the Israelites to bring them into the promised land flowing with milk and honey — the promised land being an image of the heavenly kingdom — where there would be no enemies and no lack of provision, and God Himself would take care of it. God Himself brings us into the rest that He Himself provides.
Christ is the “Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8). Christ will reign in the millennial kingdom on earth and in the heavenly kingdom for all eternity. Therefore, He is the Lord of rest or the Sabbath. He Himself is our true rest. If we have entered into Him, united with Him, and entered His kingdom, then we have received God’s rest in Christ.
Clean and unclean food: an image of spiritual purity.
The Law of Moses strictly divided animals into clean and unclean (Leviticus 11). The pig, camel, hare, and certain fish were “detestable.”
Today, many teach that unclean food simply means meat that is unhealthy to eat.
But why then did God not also forbid the consumption of harmful and poisonous plants, fruits, berries, and mushrooms?
Why would rabbit meat be unhealthy, when according to nutritionists it is suitable for dietary purposes?
This was a shadow pointing to a spiritual reality: the separation of holy and sinful.
But when the truth came, the shadow departed. In Peter’s vision, God said: “What God has cleansed, do not call common” (Acts 10:15). Paul explains: “All things indeed are pure” (Romans 14:20). However, the essence of this image remains — but no longer regarding food:
“Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth… For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts” (Matthew 15:11, 19).
A “clean” person is not one who observes dietary restrictions, but one whose heart is purified by faith. The image (dietary law) pointed to the substance (purity of heart).
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness.
Paul speaks a key phrase: “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4). What does this mean? Not destruction, but completion — the fulfillment of its purpose. The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). It showed the ideal that man could not achieve on his own, by his own flesh and wisdom.
Now righteousness is not from keeping rules, images, and shadows, but from faith in Him who is the Truth. Christ did not merely explain the law — He fulfilled it as the coming substance, the end of the law (Matthew 5:17).
The law condemned and killed, but did not change the heart.
Paul honestly describes the powerlessness of the shadow: “I do not understand what I do… the will to do good is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find” (Romans 7:15, 18). The law, being holy, could not give power. It only “killed” (2 Corinthians 3:6), because it produced wrath and condemnation (Romans 4:15). Just as a shadow cannot feed or warm you, so the law could not change the inner nature of man. It was a mirror, showing the dirt but unable to wash it away.
Main conclusion: the images of the law have become substance in Christ.
Today, the believer does not bring sacrificial lambs — because the Lamb of God has already come. He does not keep the Sabbath as a day of the week — because he has entered into eternal rest in Christ. He does not divide food into clean and unclean — because God has cleansed all things, and true uncleanness is in the heart.
Christ is not one of the images. He is the Truth, the Word, and eternal life. And the Law of Moses was only a shadow of the good things to come. And when the substance of things — Christ — has come, there is no longer any need to hold on to the shadow. The end of the law is Christ, and in Him is perfect freedom and life.
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