Commandments of the Church

2008-09-29

“And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” (1 John 3:23-24)

These two commandments, to believe in Jesus Christ and to love one another are directly parallel to what Jesus says are the most important two commandments of the Law: To love God and to love others as we do ourselves. It is important to know the implications of both commandments, and that there is interrelatedness between them.

To believe in Jesus Christ is to trust in him--not just the single point in history when we are saved, but an ongoing belief where we continually trust in him. As it has been said many times, when we first believed, Jesus saved us from the penalty of sin (justification). As we continue to believe throughout our lives, and meditate on the Word of God and live out the Gospel, Jesus saves us from the power of sin (sanctification). In the future, when we enter into eternity, Jesus will save us from the presence of sin (glorification).

The second commandment, to love one another, is not emotional love like Hollywood and the music industry depict. Consider what John writes in his Gospel, quoting the Lord Jesus: “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13). It may not necessarily be the sacrificial dying for your brothers and sisters in the Lord (though it absolutely can be, as Lord did for us). It is the giving of your life every day. It is the giving of your soul.

God has chosen His people to reveal His glory. It is the body of Jesus’ disciples that comes together for each other’s mutual edification and “perfection” (Ephesians 4:11-13). It is where “iron sharpeneth iron” (Proverbs 27:17). It is where we grow in the Lord, and where the outsider ought to be able to look in and know that we are from the Lord (John 13:35).

But the emphasis is that the church is the people, not a building or location! It is anywhere where believers are together and sacrificially loving each other every day.

This is a challenge to me and many others today. We need to come to unity, but we often retreat into our individuality. There is definitely a time and place for going off by ourselves to be alone with God. But we must remain as a part of the body of Christ, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25), because together is how the Lord will use us the most effectively.