The New Commandment
Posted by: biblenotes <biblenotes@...>
From: Martin Overfield
Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000
The New Commandment
"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have
loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that
ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:34, 35)
This is the special commandment that Jesus gave to His disciples which
includes Christians of all time. It is the icing on the cake of the
greatest
of God's commandments. Remember that Jesus said the first great
commandment is to Love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
He then said that the second great commandment is to love our neighbor
as ourselves. I believe that this is the third great commandment, because
it added a new dimension to the life of love that the Christian is to live.
Yes, it is quite different than the command to love our enemies, though
some people seem to think that other Christians ARE their enemies. But,
the command to love our enemies is part of the love we are to have for our
neighbors, because our enemies -- if we truly love them -- are not enemies
as far as we are concerned.
Here are more Scriptures relating to this all important subject:
"I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that
the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast
loved me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that
the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them."
(John 17:24, 26)
"But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected:
hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought
himself also so to walk, even as he walked. ... He that loveth his brother
abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him."
(I John 2:5, 6, 10)
"Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man
hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and
his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in
us, because he hath given us of his Spirit." (I John 4:11-13)
I believe that Jesus is here giving us a new commandment in the sense
that we are to love the brethren with a greater and/or a different kind of
love than that love with which we love our neighbor as our self -- or over,
above, and beyond this command that applies to every human being about us.
Yes, we are to love everyone, all of whom are our neighbors, with the same
love that we have for ourselves. The story of the "Good Samaritan"
certainly clarified this!
But, this love for the brethren goes deeper and higher in the realm of
grace. We could liken the difference between this love and the love we are
to have for our neighbor by comparing the love that socially healthy family
members have for one another and that love that they may have for good
neighbors. If God is "Our Father", as "the Lord's Prayer" indicates, then
everyone included in the "Our" is FAMILY.
Also, He states specifically that we are to love one another AS HE HAS
LOVED US! That indicates a degree of love far beyond any other love that
mankind has known.
"Behold how they love one another" (not a quote from the Bible, but from
history) was the way in which the unbelievers were to recognize the
Christians as true Christians. Jesus said that by loving one another as He
has loved us the world would know that we are His disciples. In light of
this, how much true Christianity do THEY see today?
This love for one another in the same quality as the love which Jesus
has for us cannot be acquired on our own. This requires a divine work of
grace in the heart in which "the love of God is perfected in us." Also, we
see that it comes about through the presence of God -- the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit -- and the impartation and saturation of HIS love in our own
hearts.
Certainly, when Jesus prayed that the love of God the Father that He has
for His Son, and for us as adopted sons, would be in us, He was NOT praying
amiss. Why, He said that He knew that the Father always heard Him and that
the Father always gave Him the things for which He asked, because He, the
Son, did always those things which pleased the Father. Therefore, I say
that the love that put Jesus on the cross to save us is the same love that
will cause us to sacrifice ourselves for -- to truly love -- the brethren.
We are SO very familiar with John 3:16! Oh that we would become better
acquainted with I John 3:16: "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he
laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the
brethren."
I have recently told two prominent men in the Bible Missionary Church
(of which church I am a part, and which I love very much) that I believe we
need a revival of perfect love, and that such a revival would take care of
most problems. This is true of many -- if not all -- churches I am sure.
Oh, dear people, THIS IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR! I pray that
God will indeed give us such a revival.
"Dear Father in Heaven, please give us a mighty baptism of perfect love
once again. Melt every one of our hearts and fill them full and running
over with your perfect, self-sacrificing, longsuffering, reconciling,
peacemaking, forgiving, and understanding LOVE! AMEN."
Yours In Christ,
Martin Overfield
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