A NEW COMMANDMENT

He explains that love, life, and light belong together. Read these three sections (2:7-11,

3: 10-24, and 4:7-21) without the intervening verses and you will see that love, life, and light must not be separated,

In our present study (2:7-14), we learn how Christian love is affected by light and darkness. A Christian who is walking in the light (which means he is obeying God) is going to love his brother Christian.

In 3: 10-24, we are told that Christian love is a matter of life or death: to live in hatred is to live in spiritual death. In 4:7-21 we see that Christian love is a matter of truth or error (cf. 4:6): because we know God's love toward us, we show God's love toward others.

In these three sections, then, we find three good reasons why Christians should love one another:

1 God has commanded us to love (2:7-11).

2 We have been born of God and God's love lives in us (3:10-24).

3 God first revealed His love to us (4:7-21). "We love ... because He first loved us."

John not only writes about love but also practices it. One of his favorite names for his readers is “Beloved.” He felt love for them. John is known as the

"Apostle of Love" because in his Gospel and his epistles he gives such prominence to this subject.

However, John was not always the "Apostle of Love." At one time Jesus gave John and his brother James, both of whom had hot tempers, the nickname "Boa-nerges" (Mark 3: 17), which means "sons of thunder." On another occasion these two brothers wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy a village (Luke 9:51-56).

Since the New Testament was written in Greek, the writers were often able to use more precise language. It is unfortunate that our English word love has so many shades of meaning (some of them contradictory). When we read in 1 John about "love," the Greek word used is agape (ah-GAH-pay), the word for God's love toward man, a Christian's love for other Christians, and God's love for His Church (Eph. 5:22-33).

Another Greek word for love, philia (fee-LEE-ah), used elsewhere, carries the idea of "friendship love," which is not quite as profound or divine as agape love. (The Greek word for sensual love, eros, from which we get our word erotic, is not used at all in the New Testament.)

The amazing thing is that Christian love is both old and new (1 John 2:7, 8). This seems a contradiction. Love itself, of course, is not new, nor is the commandment that men love God and each other a new thing. Jesus Himself combined two Old Testament commandments, Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, and said (Mark 12:28-34) that these two commandments summarize all the Law and the Prophets. Loving God and loving one's neighbor were old, familiar responsibilities before Jesus ever came to earth.

In what sense, then, is "love one another" a "new"

(1 John 2:8) commandment? Again, a look at the Greek helps to answer the question.

The Greeks had two different words for "new"-one means "new in time," and the other means "new in quality." For example, you would use the first word to describe the latest car, a recent model. But if you purchased a car that was so revolutionary that it was radically different, you would use the second word- new- in quality. (Our English words "recent" and

"fresh" just about make this distinction: "recent" means new in time, "fresh" means new in character.)

The commandment to love one another is not new in time, but it is new in character. Because of Jesus Christ, the old commandment to "love one another" has taken on new meaning. In these five brief verses (vv. 7-11), we learn that the commandment is new in three crucial ways.

1 A New Priority (1 John 2:7)

In the previous paragraph (vv. 3-6), John has been talking about "the commandments" in general, but now he narrows his focus down to one single commandment. In the Old Testament, the command that God's people love one another was only one of many, but now this old commandment is lifted out and given a place of preeminence.

How is it possible for one commandment to stand head and shoulders above all the others? This is explained by the fact that love fulfills God's law (Rom. 13:8-10).

Parents must care for their children according to law. Child neglect is a serious crime. But how many parents converse like this when the alarm clock goes off in the morning?

She: "Honey, you'd better get up and go to work.

We don't want to get arrested."

He: "Yeah, and you'd better get up and get breakfast for the kids, and get their clothes ready. The cops might show up and put us both in jail."

She: "You're right. Boy, it's a good thing they have a law, or we'd stay in bed all day!"

It's doubtful that the fear of the law is often the motive behind earning a living or caring for one's children. Parents fulfill their responsibilities (even if grudgingly occasionally) because they love each other and their children. To them, doing the right thing is not a matter of law-it's a matter of love.

The commandment "Love one another" is the fulfillment of God's law in the same way. When you love people, you do not lie about them or steal from them. You have no desire to kill them. Love for God and love for others motivates a person to obey God's commandments without even thinking about them!

When a person acts out of Christian love he obeys God and serves others-not because of fear, but because of his love.

This is why John says that "Love one another" is a new commandment- it is new in emphasis. It is not simply one of many commandments. No, it stands at the top of the list!

But it is new in emphasis in another way, too. It stands at the very beginning of the Christian life.

"The old commandment is the word which ye had from the beginning" (1 John 2:7). This phrase "from the beginning" is used in two different ways in John's letter, and it is important that you distinguish them.

In 1 John 1:1, describing the eternity of Christ, we read that He existed "from the beginning." In John

1:1-a parallel verse-we read, "In the beginning was the Word."

But in 1 John 2:7, the subject is the beginning of the Christian life. The commandment to love one another is not an appendix to our Christian experience, as though God had an afterthought. No! It is in our hearts from the very / beginning of our faith in Jesus Christ. If this were not so, John could not have written,

"We know that we have passed out

of death into life because we love the brethren" (3:14, NAS). And Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35, NAS).

By nature, an unsaved person may be selfish and even hateful. As much as we love a newborn baby, we must confess that the infant is self-centered and thinks the whole world revolves around his crib. The child is typical of an unsaved

serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another" (Titus 3:3).

This real photo of the unbeliever may not be beautiful, but it is certainly accurate! Some unregenerate persons do not display the traits mentioned here, but the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21) are always potentially present in their dispositions.

When a sinner trusts Christ, he receives a new life and a new nature. The Holy Spirit of God comes to live in him and the love of God is "shed abroad in [his] heart" by the Spirit (Rom. 5:5). God does not have to give a new believer a long lecture about love! "For ye yourselves are taught of God [i.e., by the Holy Spirit within you] to love one another" (1 Thes. 4:9). A new believer discovers that he now hates what he used to love, and that he loves what he used to hate! So the commandment to love one another is new in emphasis: it is one of the most important commandments Christ gave us (John 13:34). In fact, "love one another" is repeated at least a dozen times in the New Testament (John 13:34; 15:9, 12, 17; Rom.

13:8; 1 Thes. 4:9; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11, 12; 2 John 5). And there are many other references to brotherly love.

It is important that we understand the meaning of Christian love. It is not a shallow sentimental emotion that Christians try to "work up" so they can get along with each other. It is a matter of the will rather than an emotion- an affection for and attraction to certain persons. It is a matter of determining and making up your mind that you will allow God’s love to reach others through you and then acting toward them in loving ways. You are not to act "as if you loved them," but because you love them. This is not hypocrisy-it is obedience to God.

Perhaps the best explanation of Christian love is

1 Corinthians 13. You should read a modern translation of this chapter to get the full force of its message: the Christian life without love is NOTHING!

But the commandment "Love one another" is not only new in emphasis. It is new in another way:

2. A genuine pattern

"Love one another," John points out, was first true in Christ, and now it is true in the lives of those who are trusting Christ. Jesus Himself is the greatest Example of this commandment.

Later on we will think about that great statement, "God is love" (4:8), but it is anticipated here. When one dis love Jesus Christ, one sees love embodied and exemplified. In commanding us to love, Jesus does not ask us to do something that He has not already done Himself. The four Gospel records account for a life lived in the spirit of love and lived under conditions far from ideal.

Jesus says to us, in effect, "I lived by this great commandment, and I can enable you to follow My example."

Jesus illustrated love by the very life that He lived.

He never showed hatred or malice. His righteous soul hated all sin and disobedience, but He never hated the people who committed such sins. Even in His righteous announcements of judgment, there was always an undercurrent of love.

It is encouraging to think of Jesus' love for the 12 disciples. They must have repeatedly broken His heart as they argued over who was the greatest, or tried to keep people from seeing their Master. Each of them was different from the others, and Christ's love was broad enough to include each one in a personal, understanding way. He was patient with Peter's impulsiveness, Thomas' unbelief, and even Judas' treachery. When Jesus commanded His disciples to love one another, He was only telling them to do as He had done.

Consider, too, our Lord's love for all kinds of people. The publicans and sinners were attracted (Luke 15:1) by His love, and even the lowest of the low could weep at His feet (Luke 7:36-39). Spiritually hungry rabbi Nicodemus could meet with Him privately at night (John 3:1-21), and 4,000 of the "common people" could listen to His teaching for three days (Mark 8:1-9) and then receive a miraculous meal from Him. He held babies in His arms. He spoke about children at play. He even comforted the women who wept as the soldiers led Him out to Calvary.

The greatest thing about Jesus' love was the way it touched even the lives of His enemies.

He looked with loving pity on the religious leaders who, in their spiritual blindness, accused Him of being in league with Satan (Matt. 12:24). When the mob came to arrest Him, He could have called on the armies of heaven for protection, but He yielded to His enemies. And then He died for them-for His enemies! "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

But Jesus died not only for His friends, but also for His foes! And as they crucified Him, He prayed for them: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

In His life, in His teachings, and in His death, Jesus is the perfect Example of this new commandment,

"Love one another." And this is what helps to make the commandment "new." In Christ we have a new illustration of the old truth that God is love and that the life of love is the life of joy and victory.

What is true in Christ ought to be true in each believer. "As He is, so are we in this world" (1 John

4:17). A believer should live a life of Christian love

"because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining" (2:8, NAS). This reminds us of the emphasis (chap. 1) on walking in the light.

Two ways of life are contrasted: those who walk in the light practice love; those who walk in the darkness practice hatred. The Bible repeatedly emphasizes this

"The darkness is passing away," but the light does not yet shine fully all over the world, nor does it penetrate every area of even a believer's life.

When Christ was born, "the Dayspring from on high" visited the world (Luke 1:78).

"Dayspring"

means sunrise. The birth of Christ was the beginning of a new day for mankind! He spread the light of life and love as He lived before men, taught them, and ministered to them.

saw a great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up" (Matt. 4:16).

But there is a conflict in this world between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. "And the light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness is not able to put it out" (John 1:5, lit.). Satan is the prince of darkness, and he extends his evil kingdom by means of lies and hatred. Christ is the Sun of Righteousness (Mal. 42), and He extends His kingdom by means of truth and love.

The kingdoms of Christ and of Satan are in conflict today, but "the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (Prov. 4:18). The darkness is passing away little by little, and the True Light is shining brighter and brighter in our hearts.

Jesus Christ is the standard of love for Christians.

"A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another," He says;

"as I have loved you, that

ye also love one another" (John 13:34). And He repeats: "This is My commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you" (15:12). We are not to measure our Christian love against the love of some other Christian (and we usually pick somebody whose life is more of an excuse than an example!) but against the love of Jesus Christ our Lord. The old commandment becomes "new" to us as we see it fulfilled in Christ.

So the commandment, "Love one another," is new in emphasis and new in example. It is also new in a third way.

3. A Lasting Power (1 John 2:9-11)

Our passage continues the illustration of light and darkness. If a Christian walks in the light and is in fellowship with God, he will also be in fellowship with others in God's family. Love and light go together, much as hatred and darkness go together.

It is easy to talk about Christian love, but much more difficult to practice it. For one thing, such love is not mere talk (v. 9). For a Christian to say (or sing!) that he loves the brethren, while he actually hates another believer, is for him to lie. In other words (and this is a sobering truth), it is impossible to be in fellowship with the Father and out of fellowship with another Christian simultaneously.

This is one reason why God established the local church, the fellowship of believers. "You can't be a Christian alone"—a person cannot live a complete and developing Christian life unless he is in fellowship with God's people. The Christian life has two relationships: the vertical (Godward) and the horizontal (manward). And what God has joined together, man must not put asunder! And each of these two relationships is to be one of love, one for the other.

Jesus deals with this matter in the Sermon on the Mount (cf. Matt. 5:21-26). A gift on the altar was valueless as long as the worshiper had a dispute to settle with his brother. Note that Jesus does not say that the worshiper had something against his brother, but that the brother had something against the worshiper. But even when we have been offended, we should not wait for the one who has offended us to come to us; we should go to him. If we do not, Jesus warns us that we will end up in a prison of spiritual judgment where we will have to pay the last penny (Matt. 18:21-35). In other words, we harm ourselves most when we harbor an unforgiving, unloving spirit.

The contrast between "saying" and "doing" is one we have met before (1 John 1:6, 8, 10; 2:4 and 6).

It is easy to practice a Christianity of "words" -singing the right songs, using the right vocabulary, praying the right prayers-and, through it all, deceiving ourselves into thinking we are spiritual. This mistake also ties into something Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:33-37). What we say should be the true expression of our character. We should not need extra words ("oaths") to fortify what we say. Our "Yes" should mean "Yes" and our "No" should mean "No." So, if we say we are in the light, we will prove it by loving the brethren. Many Christians urgently need to be accepted, loved, and encouraged.

Contrary to popular opinion, Christian love is not

"blind." When we practice true Christian love, we find life getting brighter and brighter. Hatred is what

darkens life! When true Christian love flows out of our hearts, we will have greater understanding and perception in spiritual things. This is why Paul prays that our love may grow in knowledge and perception,

"that ye may distinguish the things that differ" (cf.

Phil. 1:9, 10). A Christian who loves his brother is a Christian who sees the more clearly.

No book in the Bible illustrates the blinding power of hatred like the Book of Esther. The events recorded there take place in Persia, where many of the Jews were living after the Captivity. Haman, one of the king's chief men, had a burning hatred for the Jews.

The only way he could satisfy this hatred was to see the whole nation destroyed. He plunged ahead in an evil plot, completely blind to the fact that the Jews would win and that he himself would be destroyed.

Hatred is blinding people today, too.

Christian love is not a shallow sentiment, a passing emotion that we perhaps experience in a church service. Christian love is a practical thing; it applies in the everyday affairs of life. Just consider the "one another" statements in the New Testament and you will see how practical it is to love one another. Here are just a few (there are over 20 such statements):

Wash one another's feet (John 13:14).

Prefer one another (Rom. 12:10).

Be of the same mind one to another (12:16).

Do not judge one another (14:13).

Receive one another (15:/).

Admonish one another (15:14).

Edify (build up) one another (1 Thes. 5:11).

Bear one another's burdens (Gal. 6:2).

Confess your faults to one another (James 5:16).

Use hospitality one to another (1 Peter 4:9).

In short, to love other Christians means to treat them the way God treats them and us. Christian love that does not show itself in action and in attitude (ef. 1 Cor. 13: 4-7) is spurious.

What happens to a believer who does not love the brethren? We have already seen the first tragic result: he lives in the darkness, though he probably thinks he is living in the light (1 John 2:9). He thinks he sees, but he is actually blinded by the darkness of hatred. This is the kind of person who causes trouble in Christian groups. He thinks he is a "spiritual giant," with great understanding, when actually he is a babe with very little spiritual perception. He may read the Bible faithfully and pray fervently, but if he has hatred in his heart, he is living a lie.

The second tragic result is that such a believer becomes a cause of stumbling (cf. v. 10). It is bad enough when an unloving believer hurts himself (v. 9); but when he starts to hurt others the situation is far more serious. It is serious to walk in the darkness.

It is dangerous to walk in the darkness when stumbling blocks are in the way! An unloving brother stumbles himself, and in addition he causes others to stumble.

A man who was walking down a dark street one night saw a pinpoint of light coming toward him in a faltering way. He thought perhaps the person carrying the light was ill or drunk; but as he drew nearer he could see a man with a flashlight carrying a while

"Why would a blind man be carrying a light?" the man wondered, and then he decided to ask.

I can see, but so that others can see me. I cannot help being blind," he said, "but I can help being a stumbling block."

The best way to help other Christians not to stumble is to love them. Love makes us stepping-stones; hatred (or any of its "cousins," such as envy or malice) makes us stumbling blocks. It is important that Christians exercise love in a local church, or else there will always be problems and disunity. When we are falling over each other, instead of lifting each other higher, we will never become a truly happy spiritual family.

Apply this, for instance, to the delicate matter of

"questionable things" (Rom. 14:15). Since believers come from different backgrounds, they do not always agree. In Paul's day, they differed on such matters as diets and holy days. One group said it was unspiri-tual to eat meat offered to idols. Another group wanted strict observance of the Sabbath. There were several facets to the problem, but basic to its solution was: "Love one another!" Paul puts it this way: "Let us not, therefore, judge one another any more; but judge this, rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way. ... But if thy brother be grieved with thy food, now walkest thou not in love" (Rom. 14:13, 15, sco).

A third tragic result of hatred is that it retards a believer's spiritual progress (1 John 2:11). A blind man—a person who is walking in darkness-can never find his way! The only atmosphere that is conducive to spiritual growth is the atmosphere of spiritual light-of love. Just as the fruits and flowers need sunshine, so God's people need love if they are going

The commandment, "Love one another," becomes new to us in our own day-by-day experience. It is not enough for us to recognize that it is new in emphasis and say, "Yes, love is important!" Nor is it enough for us to see God's love exemplified by Jesus Christ. We must know this love in our own experience. The old commandment "Love one an-other" becomes a new commandment as we practice God's love in daily life.

Thus far, we have seen the negative side of verses

9-11; now let's look at the positive. If we practice Christian love, what will the wonderful results be?

First of all, we will be living in the light-living in fellowship with God and with our Christian brothers.

Second, we will not stumble or become stumbling blocks to others.

And, third, we will grow spiritually and will progress toward Christlikeness.

At this point, we should think about the contrast between the ugly "works of the flesh" (Gal. 5: 19-21) and the beautiful fruit of the Spirit -"Love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control" (vv. 22, 23).

When we are walking in the light, the "seed of the Word" (Luke 8:11) can take root and bear fruit.

And the first cluster the Spirit produces is love!

But love does not live alone. Love produces joy!

Hatred makes a man miserable, but love always brings him joy.

A Christian couple came to see a pastor because Something Old, Something New / 63

their marriage was beginning to fall apart. "We're both saved," the discouraged husband said, "but we just aren't happy together. There's no joy in our home." As the pastor talked with them and they considered together what the Bible has to say, one fact became clear: both the husband and wife were nursing grudges. Each recalled many annoying little things the other had done!

"If you two really loved each other," said the pastor,

"you wouldn't file these hurts away in your hearts.

Grudges fester in our hearts like infected sores, and poison the whole system."

Then he read, "[Love] thinketh no evil" (1 Cor.

13:5). He explained, "This means that love never keeps records of things others do that hurt us. When we truly love someone, our love covers their sins and helps to heal the wounds they cause." Then he read,

"And above all things have fervent love among your-selves; for love shall cover the multitude of sins" (1

Peter 4:8, sco).

Before the couple left, the pastor counseled them:

"Instead of keeping records of the things that hurt, start remembering the things that please. An unforgiving spirit always breeds poison, but a loving spirit that sees and remembers the best always produces health."

A Christian who walks in love is always experiencing some new joy because the "fruit of the Spirit" is love and joy. And when we blend "love" and "joy," we will have "peace"-and peace helps to produce

"patience." In other words, walking in the light, walking in love, is the secret of Christian growth, which nearly always begins with love. Now, all of us must admit that we cannot generate Christian love under our own power. By nature, we are selfish and hateful. It is only as God's Spirit floods our hearts with love that we, in turn, can love one another. "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given unto us" (Rom.

5:5). The Spirit of God makes the commandment

"Love one another" into a new and exciting day-by-day experience. If we walk in the light, God's Spirit produces love. If we walk in darkness, our own selfish spirit produces hatred.

The Christian life-the life that is real—is a beautiful blending of "something old, something new." The Holy Spirit takes the "old things" and makes them

"new things" in our experience. When you stop to think about it, the Holy Spirit never grows old! He is always young! And He is the only Person on earth today who was here centuries ago when Jesus lived, taught, died, and rose again. He is the only One who can take "old truth" and make it fresh and new in our daily experience at this present time.

There are other exciting truths in the rest of John's letter, but if we fail to obey in this matter of love, the rest of the letter may well be "darkness" to us.

Perhaps the best thing we can do, right now, is to search our hearts to see if we hold anything against a brother, or if someone has anything against us. The life that is real is an honest life-and it is a life of doing, not merely saying. It is a life of active love in Christ. This means forgiveness, kindness, long-suf-fering. But it also means joy and peace and victory.

The love life is the only life, because it is the life that is real!

Jhn 19:26  When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

Jhn 20:2  Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

Jhn 21:7  Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him,(for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.

Jhn 21:20  Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciplewhom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?