Don't Confuse the Law Jesus Came to Abolish with the Law He Came to Fulfill

There is an apparent contradiction in the New Testament that confuses many readers — and even theologians.

On one side, Jesus says he did not come to abolish the Law:

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"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matthew 5:17)

On the other side, Paul says Christ did abolish the Law:

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"...by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances..." (Ephesians 2:15)

And Hebrews declares that the Law is now obsolete:

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"In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." (Hebrews 8:13)

So which is it? Did Jesus abolish the Law, or fulfill it?

The answer is: both.

The Bible uses the word Law in two distinct senses. Confusing the two is the source of most of the theological confusion that exists today about the place of the Law in the Christian life.

Sense 1 — Law as Scripture

The first sense of Law is the written, inspired, revelatory Word of God. Here, "Law" designates Scripture itself. Sometimes it points specifically to the Torah; other times to the entire Old Testament.

The strongest proof of this broader usage comes from passages where the New Testament calls texts outside the Pentateuch "the Law":

• John 10:34 — "Is it not written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods'?" The citation is from Psalm 82:6 — not the Torah. Jesus calls a Psalm "the Law."
• John 15:25 — "The word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: 'They hated me without a cause.'" The citation is from Psalm 35:19 (or 69:4). Another Psalm called "Law."
• 1 Corinthians 14:21 — "In the Law it is written: 'By people of strange tongues...'" Paul quotes Isaiah 28:11–12 — a prophet — and calls it "Law."
• Romans 3:19 — "Whatever the Law says..." The chain of citations Paul has just made (vv. 10–18) is from Psalms and Isaiah. He calls all of it "Law."
• Matthew 5:17–18 — Jesus says "the Law and the Prophets" in v. 17, then shortens it to just "the Law" in v. 18, referring to the same whole.

This Law — inspired Scripture — is the Law that Jesus came to fulfill. It remains true, prophetic, and revelatory of God's character. Not one jot or tittle will pass from it.

Sense 2 — Law as the Mosaic Covenant

The second sense of Law is the Sinai covenant with its commandments, priesthood, sacrifices, festivals, and national ordinances. Here, "Law" refers to the covenantal regime established at a specific historical moment.

Scripture itself identifies this body as a covenant — with a beginning in history, a temporary pedagogical function, and an end in history:

• Exodus 24:7–8 — Moses takes "the Book of the Covenant" and sprinkles the blood saying, "Behold the blood of the covenant." The Sinai legislation is declared a covenant from its very inception.
• Deuteronomy 4:13 — "He declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments." The very heart of the Law is named "covenant."
• Galatians 3:17 — "The Law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God." The Law has a date of arrival. It is not the eternal Word — it is a historical arrangement.
• Galatians 3:23–25 — "Before faith came, we were held captive under the Law... The Law was our guardian until Christ came... But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian." Delimited duration. Pedagogical function now ended.
• Hebrews 7:12 — "When there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the Law as well." The Law here is the entire sacerdotal-covenantal system.
• Hebrews 8:13 — "He makes the first one obsolete... ready to vanish away." The first covenant is declared expired.
• Ephesians 2:15 — Christ "abolished in his flesh the law of commandments expressed in ordinances."
• Colossians 2:14 — "Having canceled the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands..."
• 2 Corinthians 3:7–11 — The "ministry of death, carved in letters on stone" was surpassed by a greater glory.
• Romans 7:6 — "We have been released from the Law, having died to that which held us captive."

This Law — the Mosaic covenant as an operative regime — is the Law that Jesus came to abolish. Not in part. Entirely.

The Synthesis

As Scripture, the Law is fulfilled by Christ. As the Mosaic Covenant, the Law is abolished by Christ.

And here is the deep point: the very abolition of the Law (as covenant) is itself part of the fulfillment of the Law (as Scripture).

Why? Because Scripture itself announced that a new covenant would come — and that it would not be like the first:

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"Behold, the days are coming... when I will make a new covenant... not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt." (Jeremiah 31:31–32)

When Christ renders the old covenant obsolete, he is not betraying the Old Testament. He is accomplishing exactly what the Old Testament had promised.

The Law as Scripture declared that the Law as covenant would be surpassed.

This is why there is no contradiction between "I have not come to abolish the Law" (Matthew 5:17) and "he abolished the law of commandments" (Ephesians 2:15). Jesus did not destroy Scripture — he abolished the Mosaic covenantal regime precisely because Scripture said he would.

One word. Two senses. Two different destinies in the hands of Christ. Don't confuse the Law Jesus came to abolish with the Law he came to fulfill.

I'm not saying there are two laws. This post is about showing that the same word carries two distinct senses in the New Testament. It's not about two different laws — it's about one word doing two different kinds of work. When Jesus says he came to fulfill the Law, and when Paul says Christ abolished the Law, they are using the same term to refer to different realities: in the first case, the inspired Word of God revealed in Scripture; in the second, the operative covenantal regime established at Sinai. Recognizing this distinction is not a theological invention — it is what the New Testament itself does, repeatedly and consistently. And missing it is what produces most of the confusion that surrounds the Christian's relationship to the Law today.