1jon2-7
I just love that hat……. Words=coins, after being n circulation 4 such long time wear out. Word love is losing its value & being used in many ways today.
Difficult to understand how a man can use the same word to express his love 4 wife, hat-
Open your Bibles once more…….Read Vs 7.
The old apostle who must’ve been n his late 80s was probably the last of the 12 still alive.
This letter was written as a chain letter to the churches in Asia minor, (presently Turkey) in the late 80s or early 90s and probably from Ephesus.
With sacrificial love (Agape) the old man addresses the believers as “children”.
Realizing he is in his last days this letter=written 2 refute those Gnostic teachers: Divine Jesus entered a human after birth and departed before the crucifixion.
Moral Excellency was not important since sins were easily forgiven.
John wants his readers to remember=Jesus & apostles taught, instructed & commanded. He reminds them that the teachings aren’t new.
They came originally from the writings of Moses in the Old Testament. God commanded Moses that he should teach that we are to love one another.
Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is refered to as “The Shema” a Jewish confession of faith.
John is encouraging them by reminding them that nothing contradicts what they had learned from the O. T. scripture.
Cultures change but the word of God remains consistent.
The amazing thing is that Christian love is both old and new.
John 13:34 says, So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
Jesus Himself combined two Old Testament commandments (Love God & love your neighbor as yourself) & said that these two commandments summarize all the Law & the Prophets.
In what sense, then, is “love one another” a “new” commandment? 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.
It’s new in 3 important ways.
It’s New in Emphasis (look at vs 7)
John is emphasizing one single commandment. In the OT, the command that God’s people love one another was only one of many, but now it’s preeminent.
How’s it possible for 1 commandment to stand head and shoulders above all the others?
If we were to obey the commandment to love, we wouldn’t need any others.
That’s why John says that “Love one another” is a new commandment—it’s new in emphasis. It stands at the top of the list!
Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another”.
So the commandment to love one another is new in emphasis:
Perhaps the best explanation of Christian love is 1 Corinthians 13……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.
It Is New in Example (look at the 8th verse)
John wants the readers to know that although the commandment to love one another isn’t anything new for the Jew….Jesus Christ through His life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension displayed an agape love (Totally sacrificial) which we are to imitate.
Love led Jesus to the cross. He was the greatest example of this commandment.
John writes in vs 8 that the darkness is disappearing. Satan’s reign is limited by time & time as we know it will someday run out.
The darkness of sin is like a parade which is passing by before our eyes & every parade has an end!
The end will come because, the true light (the spiritual illumination that Jesus Christ introduced) has come.
We should be reflecting the true light of Christ in our attitudes, actions, and message. In commanding us to love, Jesus illustrated love by the very life that He lived.
He hated sin and disobedience, but He never hated the people who committed such sins.
Christ’s loved each of the 12 disciples even though they must have broken His heart again and again. Christ loves us even though we have done the same!
Each of the 12 was different. He was patient with Peter’s impulsiveness, Thomas’ unbelief, and even Judas’ treachery. Jesus loved those who were difficult to love!
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!
In His life, His teachings, & His death, Jesus is the perfect Example of this new commandment, “Love one another.”
So the commandment, “Love one another,” is new in emphasis and new in example. It’s also new in a 3rd way. It’s New in Experience (look at vs 9-11)
9 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness.
Love & hate are incompatible. Love & hate are attitudes which are expressed in actions. We must remember that God has created all people and He loves each one.
The old apostle is really asking Christians, “how could you possibly hate a fellow believer and yet claim allegiance to Christ?
The heart can’t be filled with both love and hate.
10 Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.
This word Love in the original was agape which was an unselfish love demanding nothing in return. It’s supernatural, produced when the H S controls the believer’s life.
It’s more important than all the other spiritual gifts exercised in the church body.
John’s telling his readers that if you are controlled by the Spirit & filled with love you’ll not be a stumbling block to yourself or others.
11 But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.
John’s describing a pitiful scene here. A person with hatred in their heart is like one who is in a completely dark & unfamiliar auditorium, stumbling & grouping for anything that would allow him to see.
In Mammoth Cave in Kentucky the fish in Echo River have eye sockets but no eyes. That’s what the power of darkness can do if one allows Satan to deceive them.
It’s easy to talk about Christian love, but much more difficult to practice it.
Hatred is blinding people today & retarding a believer’s spiritual progress.
Christian love is a practical thing; it means to treat others the way God treats them.
It’s important that Christians exercise love in a local church, or else there’ll always be problems & disunity. If we practice Christian love, what’ll the results be?
1st, we’ll be living in fellowship with God and with our Christian brothers.
2nd, we’ll not stumble or become stumbling blocks to others.
And, 3rd, we’ll grow spiritually & progress toward Christlikeness.
The Christian life—is a beautiful blending of “something old, something new.”
Maybe the best thing we can do right now, is to search our hearts & see if we hold anything against another, or if someone has anything against us.
1 Corinthians 13 (message)
