The Command to Love (Part 1)

It is often rightly quoted by many believers that we are not under the law… though we are not under the law, there is a commandment that Jesus gave to the New Testament (NT) church, it is the command to love as he has loved us.

John 13:34 - A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another

Many attempt to fulfill this command by just telling others that they love them with the love of the Lord. However, love is not just about saying that we love, it is an action; the command to Love is a command to act. The scriptures say that for God so loved the world that he gave, an action. It is possible to have the love of God and not act on it; it requires purposely yielding to it. it is also possible to do the acts that portray love, but not love (1 Corinthians 13:1). Though love is an action, the purpose behind the action most be rooted in the love of God. Some give for the wrong reasons: to be seen, tax reduction, publicity… the list goes on; the love of God acts for only one reason: for the benefit of the object of his love.

1 Corinthians 13: 1 - If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

This scripture helps us realize that we can see manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit in someone’s life, but the love command might not be fulfilled. Another scripture explains what will happen to believers that do the works of God without the love of God:

Matthew 7: 22 – 23: Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Not walking in love is a direct disobedience to the command of Jesus to the NT church.  As Galatian 5:14 teaches us: For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." i.e. all the law is fulfilled in walking in love. So when Jesus said, … “I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness”, he was also saying these people were not walking in love. It is therefore very important for the church to understand the love walk from the scriptures, not what the world has defined to be love. Jesus in John 13:34 gives this command, and brother Paul reminds husbands of this same love in Ephesians 5:25:

Ephesians 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

We are commanded to love one another the way Christ has loved us; the love of Christ is so deep that he died for the very ones that nailed him to the Christ. Not only that, he prayed for their forgiveness while dying there on the cross. This is the same love Stephen showed when he prayed for those who stoned him to death. As we can see, this love does not sound like what is called love today. 

1 John 4:8 - Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love

God is love; this is simply the definition of the love being discussed here; this is the only unconditional love there is. It is nothing like romantic love that fluctuates, fades, and dies. This love never fluctuates, never fades, and never fails. This love is not based on feeling good about someone; it has everything to do with what is done regardless of how we are feeling. This love is not butterflies, but it soars in every situation; this love is God himself. 

John 13:35 - By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

This love is the indicator of true disciples of Jesus. When we express this love, the world will know without us announcing to them that we are children of God. This love cannot be hidden when we act on it; the Spirit of God has shed it abroad in our hearts (Romans 5:5). We do not need to pray for it, we need to act on it.
 

Brother Paul reminds husbands to love their wives with this kind of love, why? Because this is really the love that can keep a marriage, not the romantic love. If Christian husbands walk in this love, the divorce rate in the church will definitely not be what it is today. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8), so in the presence of this love marriages would survive any storm because the never failing love is present to see the marriage through no matter what... more to come on this in the next post.

In the next post, the characteristic of this love will be discussed in detail.