Tag Archives: love one another

JOUN’S GOSPEL…KNOWING GOD – 4c

Bible Study, ,

It seems that John had taken seriously Jesus’ instruction during His last hours with them in the Upper Room. Jesus had told them that loving Him equated to keeping His commandments. He gave them His new commandment to love one another as He had loved them.  

The question is…since we love Jesus by obeying Him, in what tangible ways can we love one another as evidence of our love for Him? Does the Bible give us the ways in which we can love each other in God’s family?

Across the New Testament letters, there are many instructions to help us fulfil this commandment. 

  1. By meeting one another’s needs

John wrote…

“This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead….If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬, ‭14‬, ‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This instruction is for everyone and specially for those who have enough to meet their own needs and some left over to help others in need. 

  1. By serving one another through our spiritual gifts

Spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit are a great way to show our love for each other. In every church group, there are a variety of spiritual gifts spread across the congregation. These are gifts that can minister to many different needs in the family of God. 

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Not everyone has the same gift, so, by using our gifts, we can together contribute to the life and health of Christ’s body. 

  1. By building up one another’s faith and encouragement to do good works 

“But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith…”

‭‭Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Faith and good works are an essential part of our everyday lives. We live by faith, not by sight or feelings. Good works are the ways of serving each other, led by His Spirit, especially by using our spiritual gifts. 

  1. By doing life together

“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Doing life together is the way God’s children are a witness to His life in us. This means participating together in all the ups and downs of ordinary life by protecting the love and unity that binds us together. 

“Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Without the witness of the Holy Spirit’s power in us to overcome our natural selfishness, the preaching of the gospel of Jesus is hollow and unconvincing. Love and unity in Jesus’ body are the best witness to the truth that Jesus came from heaven to save us. 

  1. By praying for one another

“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭2‬ ‭

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”

‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There are many encouragements to pray for one another in all circumstance. How better can we love one another than by identifying with each other at God’s throne of grace?

  1. By identifying with one another’s suffering

“Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬ NLT

We can link this encouragement together with prayer as the best way to identify with each other in suffering. 

We can’t do all of these things all of the time especially because we are separated by time and distance. However, we are encouraged to do what we can, when we can, to whom we can, especially in our local fellowship. We can also go global with our prayers and financial support when we can. 

Since we are children of God, led by His Spirit, we can ask Him to show us ways to obey Jesus’ command to love one another that will witness to His presence in and among us. 

There may be other ways in which we can love each other but these samples give us insights into the closeness of God’s family and the need to support and protect one another against the ravages of the sin nature in us and the sinfulness of the world around us. 

PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD – 8

Christian Life, ,

Paul says nothing in this passage  about one piece of armour we need to protect our backs. However, his letters are full of exhortations to love and protect one another. We are in this battle together, caring for one another as much as we care for ourselves. Our backs are as vulnerable as every other part but we have no protective covering to cover our vulnerability.

Colossians 3:12-14 NLT
[12] “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. [13] Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. [14] Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.”

All Scripture points us to a precious truth that every believer is part of the protection for our backs. The New Covenant clearly teaches us that we are to care for and protect  “one another”. Love is the way we protect each another, expressed in every practical way that fends off the enemy’s strategy to hit us in our exposed parts.

Galatians 5:25-26 NLT
[25] “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. [26] Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.”

Every “one another” Scripture protects a vulnerable part of us.

“These 23 One Anothers from the New Testament represent the heart of the Bible. They show us what it means for people to be soul mates who are “deep-spirited friends” (Philippians 2:2b, MSG). These are the spiritual blessings of God’s love in Christ that we long for from “one another.” This is “Christ in Community.”

THE “ONE ANOTHERS” IN THE BIBLE

Jesus said, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all [people] will know that you are my disciples” (John 13:34-35).

“Be devoted to one another in brotherly [and sisterly] love. Honor one another above yourselves” (Romans 12:10).

“Live in harmony with one another” (Romans 12:16).

“Stop passing judgment on one another” (Romans 14:13).

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you” (Romans 15:7).

“Instruct one another” (Romans 15:14).

“Agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you” (1 Corinthians 1:10).

“Serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13).

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).

“Be kind and compassionate to one another” (Ephesians 4:32).

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19).

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21).

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom” (Colossians 3:16).

“Encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

“Spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24).

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:25).

“Do not slander one another” (James 4:11).

“Love one another deeply, from the heart” (1 Peter 1:22).

“Offer hospitality to one another” (1 Peter 4:9).

“Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another” (1 Peter 5:5).

“Greet one another” (1 Peter 5:14)

“If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (1 John 1:7).

(All Bible verses are from the NIV84.)
(http://www.mmlearn.org)

When we apply these “one anothers” to the way we treat each other in the body of Christ, we keep close rank and allow no fiery darts reach and penetrate our backs.

The battle for our souls is never an alone one. We are all in it together. We must watch one another’s backs, restore the fallen,

Galatians 6:1 NLT
[1] “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.”

and strengthen the weak.

Isaiah 35:3-4 NIV
[3]” Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; [4] say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”

Only then can God’s army remain strong and invincible on the battle field. Only then will we share in Christ’s victory over sin and death. Only then can we claim our prize when our Commander-in-Chief returns.

Concluded

WHY DID JESUS COME?

Christian Life, ,

“Is this why Jesus came?” I often ask this question when I see the religious shenanigans that go on in churches here and in other countries. Did He really come to set up a religion more ornate, elaborate, and more full of rituals and revelry than we already have in the world?

I love the latest series of “Voetspore” on TV, the second in a series of travels through South America. The first in the series took the travellers south from Uruguay to the southernmost tip of South America.

The current series is taking the team north, again from Uruguay, through Bolivia, Peru, Equador, and Columbia. How often, on their travels through great cities in South America, do they marvel at ornate churches of every size, shape, and colour. Some have already stood for centuries but all represent a brand of so-called Christianity that is far removed from Jesus’ purpose for coming into this world.

Our travellers have witnessed ceremonies, festivals, services, etc, that represent their hosts’ brand of religious faith that is far removed from the truth.

Why DID Jesus come? On one occasion,

‭Matthew 22:35-36 NIV‬
[35] One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: [36] “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

‭Matthew 22:37-40 NIV‬
[37] Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [40] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Unfortunately, these commandments didn’t work for most of God’s people. Their sinful nature drove them in the opposite direction. All 613 laws of the Old Testament couldn’t teach them to love God and each other as He required.

So, Jesus came, not to change God’s law but to take all 613 laws, stuff them inside five little words, model them in the life of one person, Himself, then empower them by His Spirit inside every believer to direct them to do His will.

The Old Covenant commandment was,

Matthew 22:37-39 NIV
[37] ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as your yourself.’

Jesus reduced it down to…

“Believe in (love) me , and love one another.”

The rest of the New Testament flesh out these five simple words.

Believing in Jesus means obeying His teachings.

‭John 8:31 NLT‬
[31]” Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. “

‭John 14:15 NLT‬
[15] “If you love me, obey my commandments.”

What else did Jesus command?

‭John 13:34 NLT‬
[34]”So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”

There we have it! Time and again, New Testament writers repeated Jesus’ commands just to ensure that their readers stick to the plot and do not stray from Jesus’ blueprint for the church, BELIEVE IN ME AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Everything we do, as the church, should feed into these two commands.

‭1 John 3:23 NLT‬
[23] “And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.”

Romans 13:8-10 NLT
[8] “Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. [9] For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” [10] Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.”

Now, I ask you, if Jesus is the head of the church and the church is His body, why are the Head and the Body pulling in two different directions?

Everything the Holy Spirit says and does in us is to direct us towards obedience to Jesus’ commands. However, to many so-called believers, egged on by prosperity and faith preachers, the body’s goal is to get all its material and sensual needs met.

So, how do we deal with this anomaly?

As individuals and as a church (a local branch of the worldwide body of Christ), we must test our lives by this question, “Is this why Jesus came?” If we can answer that our believing and doing enhances our obedience to Jesus’ commands, we are on the way to maturity.

‭Ephesians 4:11-13 NLT‬
[11] Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. [12] Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. [13] This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ….
[15] Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. [16] He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

Surely, all the rest is gobbledegook!

WHAT IS THE ACID TEST?

Bible Study, ,

WHAT IS THE ACID TEST?

For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death (1 John 3: 11-14).

Hey, John! Haven’t you got it wrong? I thought that to have eternal life means to believe in Jesus. Isn’t that what He said?

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

The whole world knows that verse! So how can you say that loving my brother and sister is the way to eternal life? Aren’t you mistaken?

Let’s look at it this way. It’s easy to answer an altar call or sign a decision card in a moment of emotion when the music is playing softly and the preacher’s words are persuasive. But what about tomorrow when you are faced with the same irritating people at the office or the same nagging wife at home. The same disobedient children live in your house. The same teenagers who hog the bathroom when you are already late for work, still show you no respect or consideration. How do you react to them now? Has anything changed?

Believing in Jesus is much more than a religious exercise or a decision made in an emotion- charged moment. It is a decision and a choice to accept by faith God’s offer of forgiveness for all your sin. That’s the first step. The second is to surrender the control of your life to the Holy Spirit who has pledged to take up residence in you and to put you back on the path of obedience to God’s way of living. The good news is that He also enables you to do what you could not do before.

It’s actually a two-way commitment. God only responds to your decision when He knows that you really mean it and are committed to seeing it through to the end of your days. It’s a life-changing transaction. His part is powerful and supernatural. He rescues you from the clutches of the devil and his influence and transfers you to the kingdom of God where He calls the shots. His rule is underpinned by love, not selfishness, which the Holy Spirit generates in your heart. He washes you clean of all the stains of your past and puts His own nature in you, a disposition of loving obedience and trust in Him.

How do we know that this transaction has taken place? How do you know what kind of fruit tree is growing in your garden? By its fruit. It’s as simple as that! Jesus said that the fruit will identify the tree. How do you know that the confession of your lips is true? Has the change taken place in your life or are you the same person you were yesterday? Do you have the same reaction to those who annoy you as you did before you made your “decision” to follow Jesus?

Of course, that does not mean that you have suddenly become perfect. You still have your old sinful nature to contend with, but somehow things are different if Jesus has responded to your sincere faith in Him. There’s a stirring in your heart towards the person whom you disliked yesterday. You are beginning to see him through different eyes. You recognise that he has his own issues which make him difficult to get on with. You find that can let go of the things that irritated you about him now.

There are the beginnings of new fruit in your life. God’s nature is starting to grow in you. You find yourself strangely moved by other people’s suffering where you were once disinterested and indifferent. You open your heart and your purse to someone in need instead of turning your back and walking away. What’s going on?

It’s the life of Jesus in you, not just a religious experience but an actual change that has happened in your heart. God is becoming real to you, not just a name that you utter when you are exasperated or surprised. You cringe when others thoughtlessly call His name. The emptiness and restlessness in your heart have been inexplicably removed and replaced with a peace that makes no sense but is very real.

How do you know that you have eternal life? Not because you signed a card or went up to the front for prayer, but because a real transformation has happened to you. You know you have eternal life because love has begun to grow in your heart.     

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Jesus Loved His Disciples

Bible Study, , ,

JESUS LOVED HIS DISCIPLES

How did Jesus relate to His disciples as opposed to the way the other rabbis related to theirs? Was His relationship with them formal and impersonal, like students in a classroom who were there to learn but not to know their teacher intimately? We have nothing in Scripture to tell us about the relationship of, say Hillel or Shammai to their disciples but there is much in the gospels that bear witness to the way Jesus related to the Twelve.

First of all, there is no doubt that Jesus loved His disciples, passionately and completely. He affirmed and verbalised His love for them over and over again. He did not leave them to guess that He loved them. He told them! He wanted His love for them to be the model and motivation for their love for one another.

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

This would be the hallmark of His disciples – not how well versed they were in the Torah or how well they performed under the anointing of the Holy Spirit or how many spiritual gifts they had, but how much His love for them was mirrored in their love for one another.

John was the one who recorded these words. What? John! The one who, with his brother James, was nicknamed Boanerges – sons of thunder! Hot heads! They wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans for not offering hospitality to Jesus. They wanted to stop a man from casting out demons in the name of Jesus because He was not one of them. What happened to you, John?

Perhaps the best way to find out what happened to change him is to be a fly on the wall in the Upper Room in Jerusalem on Passover evening. The disciples were arranged around the supper table, lounging on cushions or mats on the floor. No chairs. Judas was sitting on the left of Jesus in the place of honour so that he could converse freely with the host. John was seated on His right. John took pains to tell us that he was leaning on Jesus’s breast.

Instead of protesting, “Hey, you are invading my space!” Jesus said nothing and did nothing. He didn’t move away. He allowed John to lean on Him, to put his head on His chest, to listen to His heartbeat.

John took a huge risk. What if Jesus had rejected him, moved away in irritation, protested against his presumption? Nothing happened. Jesus accepted his weight, the discomfort of his body pressing down on Him. What was He saying? “Lean on me, John. Put your full weight on me. I accept your gesture of trust. I love you, John.”

Was this the moment when the realisation hit John, not just in his head but in his heart. “Jesus loves me!” From then on he called himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. That’s how he identified himself. Not “John”; not even “the son of Zebedee” or “the brother of James” but “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. What a life-transforming moment! Boanerges became the apostle of love because he experienced it and felt it. That’s how Jesus loved him.

Jesus also wanted his disciples to experience the Father’s love just as He did. He revealed the Father to them at every opportunity – by making them aware of the Father in Him, and how He referred to and related everything He said and did to the Father. This was in preparation for something much bigger that was to happen to them. He was about to do something that would change their status completely.

God was not only the Father of Jesus; He was their Father as well! After His resurrection, Jesus specifically stated that God was their Father. They would not be sitting outside, looking through the window at a family’s festivities; they would be part of the family of God now, reconciled and brought in through His sacrifice for them. He sent Mary, the first to greet Him when He emerged from the tomb, with a message for His disciples.

Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ (John 20: 17)

Did you get that? Their relationship had changed. He was no longer only their rabbi but also their brother as well. God was His Father and their Father, His God and their God. Did that mean that Jesus and His disciples were now on equal footing? In a sense, yes! The writer to the Hebrews picked up on this thought:

In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. (Heb. 2: 10-11)

Wow! Now not only disciples but brothers! O yes, Jesus was elevated to the highest place and given a name above every other name, but He also invited His disciples (and that includes us if we are truly His followers) to sit on the throne with Him. James and John wanted the places of honour beside Him in glory. They had to learn that not only they, who selfishly wanted the best places, but also all who are “in Christ” will share that position with Him.

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2: 6)

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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