John 13:31-35 “So,
when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified,
and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will
also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. Little
children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek
Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now
I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another;
as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know
that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
This last Sunday, guest
preacher Dr. Willie Nolte continued our sermon series through the gospel of
John. He began by stating that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the second
person for the Trinity, the King of kings and the Lord of all, therefore, the
church of Jesus Christ is a huge and unstoppable force in the power of the Holy
Spirit. In the Bible passage above, Jesus gives us a new commandment … or is it
an improved commandment? Leviticus
19:18 “You shall not take
vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but
you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”
Love is a major focus of the book
of John. But, our thinking about the word “love” is off. In 1828, Noah Webster
defined the word “love” in his first dictionary as, in a general sense to be pleased with; to regard with affection, on
account of some qualities which excite pleasing sensations or desire of
gratification. We love a friend, on account of some qualities which give us
pleasure in his society. We love a man who has done us a favor; in which case,
gratitude enters into the composition of our affection. We love our parents and
our children, on account of their connection with us, and on account of many
qualities which please us. We love to retire to a cool shade in summer. We love
a warm room in winter. It is an affection of the mind excited by beauty and
worth of any kind, or by the qualities of an object which communicate pleasure,
sensual or intellectual. It is opposed to hatred. Love between the sexes, is a
compound affection, consisting of esteem, benevolence, and animal desire. Love
is excited by pleasing qualities of any kind, as by kindness, benevolence,
charity, and by the qualities which render social intercourse agreeable. In the
latter case, love is ardent friendship, or a strong attachment springing from
good will and esteem, and the pleasure derived from the company, civilities and
kindness of others. In short, we love whatever gives us pleasure and delight,
whether animal or intellectual. But, Dr. Nolte states that love is about
more than feelings; it is a choice and a commitment. Cultural love is
conditional.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “Love
suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not
parade itself, is not ]puffed up; does not behave rudely, does
not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice
in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes
all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”
Biblical love is
unconditional. The Christian loves their Bible and Webster explains to us that if our hearts are right, we love God above
all things, as the sum of all excellence and all the attributes which can
communicate happiness to intelligent beings. In other words, the Christian
loves God with the love of complacency in his attributes, the love of
benevolence towards the interest of his kingdom, and the love of gratitude for
favors received. The love of God is the first duty of man, and this springs
from just views of his attributes or excellencies of character, which afford
the highest delight to the sanctified heart. Esteem and reverence constitute
ingredients in this affection, and a fear of offending him is its inseparable
effect. In total trust, we are
under the authority of our Lord and Savior. Matthew 26:39 He (Jesus) went a little farther and
fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let
this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher,
which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like
it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two
commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus gave a new
Commandment, but “love your neighbor” was old. We hear advertisements that
state that a product is “new and improved”, but how can anything be both new
and improved; by definition an improvement is made to something existing. It’s
one or the other. So, what was new about Jesus’ Commandment? The answer is in
the complete command : “as I have
loved you, that you also love one another”.
Let’s continue Dr. Nolte’s
message on Christ’s new Commandment in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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