This is God's new covenant commandment for us.
God's new covenant commandment is that our life will be filled with love for our brothers and sisters. We ought to love like Jesus loved us… with true selfless, sacrificial love. That is how all people will know that we are His disciples.
All of us know the Bible is divided into two parts: the Old and the New Testaments. We know that the Old Testament captures the interactions that God had with mankind, before the time of Jesus. The New Testament covers the life of Christ and following. The word testament can mean either a will or a covenant, an agreement. There are multiple covenants that God made with saints in the Old Testament and they were all inadequate. Therefore in the careful study of prophecy, people of old knew that God promised a new covenant, one that we know was inaugurated as a result of the sacrificial death of Jesus.
9 of the 10 commandments recorded in Exodus 20 are repeated in the New Testament. The only one that is not repeated is the 4th commandment that speaks about honoring the Sabbath. We can interpret that the Lord is instituting that everyday is holy unto the Lord, not just a Saturday or a Sunday. Instead of a weekly worship day, even though most believers gather together for worship at least once a week, every day is holy unto the Lord.
I grew up understanding that God gave Ten Commandments to Moses at Sinai. And that in the New Testament, Jesus gave two commandments instead.
“But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.””
Matthew 22:34-40
After many years as a Christian, I was surprised to find out that these were not new covenant commandments, but old covenant commandments itself. We read them in the books of the Law as follows:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Deuteronomy 6:5
“You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.”
Leviticus 19:18
Also Jesus' rule called the Golden Rule in popular culture is also supposed to be a summary of the old covenant requirements as opposed to a new requirement.
““In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 7:12
These were not new commandments. These were instead the essence of the old covenant requirements from God's people.
However, God wants us to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law in us, according to apostle Paul's exhortation in Romans 8.
“He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Romans 8:4
The righteous requirement of the law is love and when we love, the law is fulfilled.
“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Romans 13:8,10
A few days before His death, Jesus gave a new commandment to His disciples. It was so important that it is recorded twice; in John 13 and 15.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.””
John 13:34-35
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
John 15:12-13
This is God's new covenant commandment that He wants us to follow. That our life will be filled with love for our brothers and sisters. We ought to love like Jesus loved us… with true selfless, sacrificial love. That is how all people will know that we are His disciples. It is not through our programs, our teachings, our miracles, our blessings, our worldly success, our material wealth, our spiritual gifts or our holiness. It is through our love for one another. Can the world tell that we are Christians if they see our love?
There is sometimes confusion about whether faith requires works or not. We will never be justified by our works. God sees us as righteous because of our faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection. Our works are never going to please Him. However true faith works through love. And that is pleasing to God.
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.”
Galatians 5:6
“But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
1 Timothy 1:5
The goal of all preaching and teaching should be love. That is how we are measured. That is what the world really needs to see. How much love do we have for the people in the body of Christ? Not just ones we like, but all the saints. When Paul heard of the Ephesian church, he heard of their faith toward God and their love towards all the saints, he never stopped praising God for them (Eph 1:15). How is our love towards all the saints? Not just the ones we are close to, not just the ones we get along with, not just the ones who are like us, part of our family, part of our small groups, but ALL the saints?
This is the desired end result of all preaching and teaching: how much do the hearers exhibit the love of God to the people around them. Remember, the Goal of the instruction is not Doctrinal Accuracy, Healing and miracles, material wealth, spiritual gifts, large numbers in churches, or even holiness. It is whether we are able to love the people in the body as Christ loved us.
Jesus himself warned us saying in the last days, the love of many shall grow cold. Let the love in our heart not grow cold and let it ever burn bright with the love of God.
May God's Spirit shed abroad His love in our hearts so that we may love like Jesus loved us.