Chapter 2.
A New Commandment.
John 13:34 KJV
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Jesus spoke to his disciples, A New Commandment.... which is LOVE ONE ANOTHER, AS I HAVE LOVED YOU. The word '' New '' in the Greek is the word ''kainos'' which means New. It's used in respect to age and season
Jesus said earlier, in verses 30 to 33. He spoke about his Redemptive assignment, his Resurrection. Upon his Resurrection(The Age) , Love the Nature of the Father will be in any man that receives him ( John 7:37-39, Romans 5:5 ) hence He receive A New Commandment because he is a New Creation.
Apostle Paul said in his letter to the Church at Galatia.
Galatians 5:13 KJV
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
We have been Called unto Liberty, wow. The Calling of God is not to bondage. It is unto Liberty. In other words, The Believer is already made free from the yoke of bondage(Specifically those that were under the law). He is not under any Law except the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ which gives him LIBERTY. This Law is the Law of Love.
(Galatians 5:1,Romans 8:2)
Are you now saying I Should not keep the Ten Commandments? , I should go on and steal, ?
No I haven't said that but hear Jesus! Jesus even said more than the Ten commandment,
Matthew 5:20 KJV
For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Except your Righteousness exceeds the Righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of heaven, you see that? Thanks be unto God, we have believed the Law of Love. We have entered the Kingdom of Heaven , we're Born again (John 3:16, Romans 8:9-10, John 3:3-5, Colossians 1: 13) we have been translated into the Kingdom of God by the workings of Love, Law of Love. The implication of this is; you now operate above the Righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees , above the Ten commandment as the case may be.
Hence, Instead of '' thou shalt not Kill ''
Matthew 5:21 KJV
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Our Nature can now deal with the Root of murdering '' Anger '
Matthew 5:22 KJV
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Anger precedes killing.
Ephesians 4:26,29 KJV
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
[29] Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Ephesians 4:31 KJV
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
Colossians 3:8 KJV
But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
So the commandment didn't say you should not get Angry, but you don't get to the point of uttering evil words and filthy statement( Compare Matthew 5:22) for we are now Love-Kind and God's species. We Go beyond the stretch of The Ten commandment, we strike the cord, we Love. We put away anger
Furthermore,
Matthew 5:27 KJV
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Our Nature now exceeds and dealt with the Root.
Matthew 5:28 KJV
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Romans 6:11-12 KJV
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. [12] Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. We reckon Ourselves Alive unto God hence, we do not let sin reign in our body to obey it in the Lusts ....
So you see that you are not doing Ten commandments in Actions Rather, obeying Jesus from the heart. Anyways Jesus concluded his Teaching and said '' LOVE ''
Matthew 5:43-44 KJV
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
[44] But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Paul said,
He that Loveth has fulfilled the Law, has obeyed perfectly the Commandments.
Galatians 5:14 KJV
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Romans 13:8-10 KJV
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. [9] For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. [10] Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Anyways , Love Fulfilled the law. Jesus is the fulfillment. he perfectly fulfilled the Law and the Prophets
Romans 10:4 KJV
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
Hence Love bounded/enslaved us.
This is how we shine in the world. This is how the world will know we are his disciples. Not by observing some do' and don't. But by walking in the Spirit I.e Love.
John 13:35 KJV
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
We Love because we are perfect as our Father.
We Love because we want men to see Jesus our Saviour.
For he that Loveth has no fault in his dealings and activities for in the spirit he operates and walks. Walking in the spirit is the reality of Obeying the New Commandment, for he that walks in the spirit obeys the Commandment of Love. Walk in the spirit and beat the Flesh to death everyday
Walk in the Spirit and wipe hatred off the road. Walk in Love and see the Spirit of Joy, peace and hope believing all things, Appreciating Good and things that are pure. Walk in the Power supplied to you by the spirit, This power is Love, This Love is Power. It kills Fear in the Mind of him who is held in the midst of doubt. It gives hope to the wavering soul. Love is above all and in him you're already established and energized to walk therein
To be cont.
Study Galatians 5
To be cont.
(This Series on LOVE is in Chapters, this article is meant to give us an Understanding of what is ours in Christ, what am I to do as I follow this series? Pray Ephesians 3:16-19 for few mins or hours, Say to yourself I have all capacity to take all of God's truth and word into my mind, Then re-read again, Share with your friends and Keep spreading Jesus Everywhere. )