Love One Another
John wrote, “10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:10-11)
Love One another is one of the 13 “one another” commands in the New Testament. Yet it may be one of the lest understood in our modern times. Most mistakenly identify or define “love” as (1) anything that makes you feel good and or wanted. (2) Love is a word that is used to show kindness and respect to others. The word love has become so diluted that it is now on the same level as hello and goodbye.
Yet the Bible word for love is quite differently defined. It is specific not generic. The word, which most people will recognize is [ἀγαπάω] pronounced “ag-ap-ah’-o”. I see this love clearly defined in three ways.
- As a sacrificial love – “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.” (John 3:16)
- A love that serves – “27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:27-28)
- Obedient Love – “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:8)
We need to understand this as many have adopted the “worldly” definition, and not the Bible’s. In this lesson, some strong pointed language will be met out. Not to harm, but to correct. Paul commanded preachers, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). So, there will be a little of each in the sermon with the hope that brethren who are in error will be corrected in their own sacrifice for the Lord, their own service to Him and the members of the body, and their obedience to all the “one another”, commands of the Lord. To the end that their worship, their fellowship, and their obedience will all be according to the Spirit of truth.