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Q 4: Of what does the Law of God consist?
A 4: The Law of God consists of commandments, statutes, precepts, rules, and testimonies revealed by God through His servant, Moses. (Deut. 4.44-5.21; Matt. 5.17-19)
The Ten Commandments are to the Law of God like the United States Constitution is to all the other statutes on all the law books of the various states and communities. The commandments mark out the divinely-appointed parameters of love for God and neighobrs, while the various statutes precepts, rules, and testimonies “put flesh on the bones” of God’s Law.
It is not clear, nor does it appear to be of great significance, what the difference between these terms might be. These various subordinate laws can be clustered around the Ten Commandments to provide illustrations of how God intends His people to apply His Law unto love for Him and their neighbors.
The Law of God – His commandments and statutes – are to the rest of Scripture as the acorn is to the oak. All of Scripture looks back to the Law and builds on it; all the Law points the direction and trajectory for the rest of divine revelation.
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