2016.01.03_Let Us Keep the New Commandment

Through Jesus Christ We Know that God is Love

God is the Father of Jesus Christ. As no one has ever physically seen God or heard His voice, even if one claims to have seen God, that would just be his own subjective story. However Christians are not people who believe in superstition that professes the existence of something non-existent and bow down to it. Though nobody has ever seen God, by believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Christians know that God the Father of Jesus Christ exists and thus trust in everything God does.

Jesus is a man born from a human body. He came in the flesh into history; he is not an imaginary person invented by people. However we believe Him as the Son of God, and thus are certain that God, His Father exists. Whoever believes Jesus Christ as the Son of God receives the forgiveness of sins through His grace and His merits, as well as testimony of the Holy Spirit concerning his faith.

Jesus was able to send us the Holy Spirit from heaven because He had been glorified. Two thousand years has passed since the ascension of Jesus, and even now the Holy Spirit is descending upon those who believe. Those who received the Holy Spirit experience His gifts and power, and cast out demons in Jesus’ name. How clear is this testimony? Nevertheless, it is most dreadful that people’s hearts are hardened and still refuse to believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

In 1 John 4:8, it says, “God is love”. This does not mean that the idea of love is God, but rather, it means that everything which God does that we experience is demonstrated as love. The picture of God’s will which man is able to perceive is the fact that God is love.

Jesus met the requirements of the Law and gave us a new commandment.

The Bible is made up of the Old and the New Testament. At the heart of the Old Testament is the Law, and for the New Testament, it is the Gospel. The Law was given through Moses, while the Gospel came through Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Jn 1:17). However both the Law and the Gospel are God’s words. Although the Law and the Gospel are differentiated as the first and the new covenant, the foundation of them both is love.

The principle of the Law is love; however, the Law cannot save man. The purpose of the Law is to bring man on his knees before God and confess that he is a sinner. People come to realize they are sinners before God through the Law. And anyone who confesses himself as a sinner is subject to a curse as the price of sin. Therefore, if anyone is under the Law, he is under a curse (Gal 3:10). Does that mean that a person who does not know the Law is free from the curse? By no means. Whether or not they know the Law, both will still perish (Rm 2:12).

The person who is honest before the Law confesses, “I am a sinner!” and kneels down before God. It was for someone like this that Jesus shed His blood and died on the cross and fulfilled the requirements of the Law. The Law demands the wages of sin, which is death (Rm 6:23). Jesus bore this burden for mankind, and hence saved those who were under the Law.

The foundation of the Gospel is also love. However the outcome of the Gospel is very different to that of the Law. God gave us the Gospel in order that we may receive eternal life. And on this, Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn 3:16).

The world refuses to believe in God’s word, nor accepts the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They defy God with man’s ideas and knowledge. They say that talking about demons in an age of advanced science and technology is foolish. However Jesus said, “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Mt 12:28). Demons relentlessly bring devastation and hindrances to man. But how amazing is it that we have the power to overcome them? By this, God seals and testifies to our faith.

The foundation of both the Law and the Gospel is love. The purpose of the Law is to bring man to repentance before God, whereas the Gospel brings blessedness to the souls that have repented. Christian faith life is not about bearing both the burden of the Law and the Gospel. As Jesus already carried the curse of the Law, we do not need to any more. However now we need to bear the new commandment Jesus gave us.

We all understand how serious a commandment is. When people disobeyed the commandments under the Law, they were cursed on the spot. Hence, they were always trembling because of their fear of death. But the new commandment of the Lord is far more fearsome than the Law. People tend to take the Lord’s new commandment lightly although they fear the Law. However the difference between the Law and the new commandment is not in the weight of authority. The difference lies in the fact that it is not possible for man to keep the first commandment, whereas with the new commandment, it is possible. Despite this, if we do not keep the new commandment, there will only be terrible consequences.

God said to those who were under the Law, to love God with all their heart, all their mind, all their soul, and all their strength, and to love their neighbors likewise. But now, He commands those in Jesus to keep the new commandment. What is the new commandment? Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (Jn 13:34). The Bible says, though we give to the poor or lay down our lives for others, without love, it profits nothing (1 Co 13:3).

Let us love with the heart of a mother.

Many people tend to perceive love from an emotional standpoint. However, love is not an emotion. Love is maternal love. It is like how Mary, the mother of Jesus loved Him with all of her heart, all of her life, all of her soul, and all of her strength, knowing that He is the Son of God. Even when the disciples who promised to follow the Lord to the end all left Him, His mother stood by His side even to the place where He was crucified. God loves us with the same heart. When God gave us Jesus Christ, He loved us with all of His heart, all of His mind, all of His life, and all of His strength. Hence, just as Mary became the mother of the Son of God, we too should become a mother to God, serving Him with all of our heart, with all of our mind and with all of our soul. We must have maternal love towards God. And in the same way, we have to love our neighbors with the heart of a mother.

What good is it to say to a person who is starving, “Oh dear, you must be hungry! Go and get something to eat”? What is the use of saying, “You look so cold. Put on something warm!” to someone who has nothing to wear? If we were their mothers, is that all that we would we do? A long time ago in Korea, lepers used to go from house to house begging for food. People treated them with disgust, and threw their leftovers at them in order to get rid of them fast. Yet if we were their mothers, we would not be able to treat them that way.

It is with a mother’s heart that we have to evangelize others as well. We need to have the eagerness to serve them and evangelize with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. How great is a mother’s patience? Is it possible for a newborn baby to survive in this world if it is not for the mother’s patience and perseverance? Mothers take in all of their children’s outbursts and tantrums, whilst making every sacrifice for them patiently. This does not even mean that their children appreciate what their mothers do for them. Nevertheless, mothers feel bad when they have not done much for their children. When we teach the souls at church and perform our duties, we must do so with a mother’s heart. We ought to uphold the kingdom of God with a mother’s heart.

Let us become the true disciples of the Lord by keeping the new commandment.

Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35). The word saint means a holy disciple. The Bible differentiates Apostles, saints, and those who call on the name of Jesus (1 Co 12:1-2). Are you a saint, or a religious person who only calls on Jesus’ name? We must not depart this world as religious people, but become disciples of Jesus. Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed” (Jn 8:31). If anyone wishes to become a true disciple of the Lord, he must abide in the Lord’s words as his own dwelling place. He must keep the new commandment of the Lord.

Everyone in our families should become disciples of Jesus, including our children and our relatives. A disciple upholds and keeps his master’s teachings. Recently on the news, we hear reports about students assaulting their own teachers. Similarly, how many people these days claim to be saints yet treat God with such contempt? We have to love God, and love our neighbors likewise. We cannot stand and watch our neighbors going down the path of destruction. Could we possibly leave them in that state if they were our own children? We are disciples of Jesus. Therefore, we must keep His new commandment.