Love One Another: Christ's Command for the Church

Loving one another in the body of Christ is our only mandatory debt, and it's never paid in full. You know, other debts you might incur, you come to the place where it's paid in full. You pay off your mortgage on your house and you have a mortgage burning celebration. The debt is paid in full. There's no further obligation. But but that never comes when it comes to this matter of loving one another. You never pay in full and can say, okay. Now I don't have to love the brethren anymore because I got it all paid up. No. No. It's your only mandatory debt. [01:05:09] (48 seconds)  #LoveIsOurDebt

No one has seen God at any time. How do people see God? How do people see God in the world around us? How do people see God through this local church, this body of believers? Right here. If we love one another, God abides us in in us and his love has been perfected in us. In other words, the way God is revealed in this world is by the love that God's people have for one another. It's one of the ways. By the love that God's people have for one another. And notice that this is in the context of a corporate application, of a local church application. John is writing to believers in in a church kind of context. And so the church in which people obviously love one another is a church that communicates, that shows the love of God dwelling among them and working in that particular congregation. And by that work, the impact that God's work is having on that congregation, God is seen. God is seen. We're tested by loving one another. [01:14:57] (84 seconds)  #LoveRevealsGod

I cannot expect the Lord to answer my prayer if number one, I don't believe in Jesus, and number two, I don't love the brethren. I can't. I can't expect him to answer that prayer. Notice in second John, again, just turn a page or two in your bible to second John and look at verses five and six. And we discover that loving one another is a condition not only for answered prayer, but it's also a condition for obedient discipleship. Verse five, John writes, now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning that we love one another. This is love that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. [01:20:28] (53 seconds)  #FaithPrayerNeedsLove

He who does not love does not know God for God is love. Not only does loving the brethren, loving one another serve as a test for the reality of your profession of faith in Jesus, it it serves to test the reality of your relationship with God. If you say you love God but don't love the brethren, then you don't love the God of the Bible. You may love a god, but not the god of the bible. How do you know that? Because of what god tells you. He who does not love does not love the brethren. This was the context here. Let us love one another. He who does not love does not know God for God is love. It is it's just going to be part and parcel of that relationship with God. [01:13:16] (52 seconds)  #LoveTestsFaith

There's always room to grow here. There's always room to grow. But the but the fact of the reality of the brethren loving one another is an indication that God is working in the lives of his people. It's also an indication in second Corinthians chapter one, so you can just turn a page or second Thessalonians chapter one, turn a page verse three. Loving one another indicates that, you know, my faith is growing. Here, Paul writes to the same church. He says, we are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting because your faith grows exceedingly and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other. Your faith is growing and an evidence of your faith growing is your love for one another growing. Now here's an interesting interesting thing. We just finished a series on growing in the Christian life. I want to grow in the Christian life. A strong indicator of spiritual growth is a growing for a growing love for my brothers and sisters in Christ in my local church. [01:17:15] (78 seconds)  #GrowInLove

It's a rhetorical question that the lord asks Cain and it is, an illegitimate response that Cain gives back. Where's your brother? Am I my brother's keeper? Well, yes. Indeed, you are. This is what Cain needed to understand. And as his keeper, he failed miserably in that keeping of his brother. Well, there's a sense in which you and I too are our brother's keeper, not simply those who are related to us by birth. Some of you may not even have a birth brother, but you do have brothers, brothers and sisters in Christ. Those who are your brethren by virtue of the new birth. [00:47:11] (53 seconds)  #BeYourBrothersKeeper

Probably the greatest of these challenges and one I think that really controls the rest of them is the new commandment that Jesus gives here in John 13, this commandment to love one another. Isn't it amazing that in less than twenty four hours, Jesus is gonna be hanging on a cross. He's going to be buried in a garden tomb. And with that with that event coming quickly, one thing he wants to emphasize to his disciples is this commandment, to love one another. [00:48:32] (39 seconds)  #NewCommandLove

He says in verse 11 of chapter 15, these things have I spoken unto you that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full. How is it that we can experience the fullness of joy? Verse 12. This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. I wonder if a lot of Christians are miserable because they're failing in this particular commandment. Well, Jesus said, if you obey this commandment, you'll know my joy. My joy will be in you. So this command to love one another is it's delivered openly by Jesus. Now, I want you to turn to first Thessalonians chapter four and look at verse nine. First Thessalonians four verse nine. As Paul is writing to this church at Thessalonica, he says something that's very interesting to us in light of what Jesus has just commanded. [00:59:30] (65 seconds)  #LoveBringsJoy