Mark A Brown, click
here to update your pages on AuthorsDen.
Blogs by Mark A Brown
The Great Commands by J-me 11/24/2009 8:13:23 AM
Jesus gives the believer two Great Commands Two great commands are given to the Christian by Jesus himself.
• Mark 12:29-31, "And Jesus answered him, The first of all commandments is, HEAR, O ISRAEL; THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD: AND THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY MIND, AND WITH ALL THY STRENGTH: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF, There is none other commandments greater than these."
In stating that the Christian should love the Lord his God with all his heart, with all his mind, and with all his strength, God through his word is obviously talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. It has been ordained by the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; that to honor God is to give all glory, honor, obedience, and worship to Jesus Christ. Jesus is the focal point of the Christian's love.
* The Father's Will
• John 16:27, "For the Father himself loveth you because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God."
• John 14:21, "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."
• I John 2:23, "Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also."
* The Holy Spirit's Witness
• John 16:13-14, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you."
It is the will of God that the Lord Jesus Christ is to be the First Love of all believers!
It is by loving and obeying the Lord Jesus Christ that we honor the Father.
• John 12:36, "If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour."
• John 5:22-23, "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him."
The second commandment, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," is simply the means by which the Christian demonstrates his love toward the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Matthew 10:37-39, "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."
This may seem to be a hard statement by Jesus the Lord, but in actuality by loving Jesus more than anyone or anything the Christian can love all men including father, mother, wife, husband, son, daughter, or anyone else more than he thought possible.
How can this be? As the Christian is drawn closer to Jesus his love is transformed from selfish, self-serving, fleshly love into an obedient, self-less, godly love called "Charity."
• I Corinthians 13:4-7, "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity evieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."
What is the result of this type of love?
• I Corinthians 13:8, "Charity never faileth..."
This type of love never fails, but can only be accomplished by Loving Jesus Christ first and foremost.
The second command to "Love thy neighbor as thyself," is simply the practical outcome of following the first commandment.
• Matthew 25:34-40, "Then shall the King say unto them on the right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? Or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
• I John 3:16-17, "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?"
• John 13:34-35, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
To obey God's commands gives great pleasure to the Lord Jesus Christ.
• I Samuel 15:22, "And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."
Finally, the Christian does not obey the Lord Jesus Christ from fear of wrath, but from praise and thankfulness that God has delivered him from destruction through his Son Jesus Christ. The Christian chooses to follow Christ in his love for others because God first loved us!
• I John 4:10-11, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."
