Theology and the Christian life (which should be the same, but sadly are not always) are built on and sustained by God and Who He is. Who God is will determine what God does. The Scriptures do not contain long discourses describing Who God is. However, there is much information in the Word of God declaring the "Who" of Deity. Just as Who God is will determine what God does..., what God does will reveal a great deal about Who God is. Christ declares that truth in John 14:11 and elsewhere.

John 14:11 "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

Christ was talking with His disciples shortly before His death, and was setting forth many Spiritual truths that were essential, IF they were to live the Christian Life and spread the message after He was gone.

In reading this conversation, you will see the disciples interrupt Christ over and over again. Basically they said, "Christ, we’re sorry, but we just don’t get it! Please be a little more practical!!!" Christ was giving them many facts about "WHO" He was, and based on this "WHO".., His disciples should have known what He was doing and was about to do.

The disciples, very much like us, indicated that these deep Spiritual truths were going right over their heads. Over and over again, they said or indicated to Christ that He should.., "Get it down to earth! Be a little more practical!!"

John 13:31 So, when he had gone out, Jesus said (to His disciples), "Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. 32 "If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. 33 "Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, 'Where I am going, you cannot come,' so now I say to you.

34 "A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another;
as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples,
if you have love for one another."

36 Simon Peter said to (interrupted) Him, "Lord, where are You going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward." 37 Peter said to (interrupted) Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake."

In v 31-32, Christ was stating doctrinal facts that give understanding to a subject that would be mentioned over 200 times in the New Testament. The subject referred to is the glory of God, and it's being imparted to Believers, etc. Of course, you remember our study on "earthen vessels", don’t you?

2 Corinthians 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

We don’t have the time for review. I just want to refresh your thinking in the fact that ALL Scripture has a bearing on the interpretation of any other Scripture. BECAUSE the disciples didn’t get it or listen to those facts, they missed most of what Christ was teaching at that time. This is same reason many of us miss MUCH of the great truth of the Word of God.

It is in the setting or context of these truths (in v 34) that Christ states an "OPERATING PRINCIPLE" of the Christian life. This "OPERATING PRINCIPLE" is also the "power", the "message", the "means" AND the "ONLY WAY" we can reach a world through so called evangelism and/or missions.

Living in and by this "OPERATING PRINCIPLE" is a "key" to Christian living and Biblical fellowship or koinonia that we looked at briefly last week. If we are not living and functioning by this "OPERATING PRINCIPLE", we are as carnal (of the flesh) as any dead carcass hanging in the butcher shop waiting to be carved into steaks or ground into hamburger.... AND equally as Spiritual "cold".

As you can see by reading v 34, this "OPERATING PRINCIPLE" is "God’s Love" or agape. Folks, you need to be careful about the questions you ask...., BECAUSE I might answer them, and often the Biblical answer may not be the answer you wanted to hear.

As I answer the question and present this subject of the Love of God, I will try to be as "professional" as possible. Actors say "Draw a deep breath, grit you teeth..., the show must go on!" Well my friends, I’m not an "actor", and the Love of God is not a "show".

I cannot look, in depth, at the Love of God as some mere sterile fact of history. Over and over again in the preparation time for this subject, my eyes filled with tears until I could no longer see my material. They were tears of "joy" for the greatness of His love. They were tears of "shame" for my abuse of His GREAT love. They were tears of "concern" for those whom God has called me to shepherd. I will endeavor to present this LOVE in as factual a manner as I can, BUT this LOVE is not just facts.

If you are able to look at the Love of God 

in only 

a factual sterile manner, 

I fear for your eternal destiny!!!!!  

Back to our passage.

John 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, 

that you love one another; 

as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  

35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, 

if you have love for one another."  

Christ is giving a "new" commandment, not new in the sense that nothing similar to it had ever existed before.., but that it was new as to freshness, or being re-freshed. The "old" commandment, from the 10 commandments, was "love your neighbor ‘as’ yourself". This "new" commandment is love one another "as" I, Christ, have loved you.

Let me tell you, THAT puts a far greater "spin" on the subject of loving one another. As we will see, this new commandment is fresh, different, and it cannot be accomplished by any human effort.

The standard of the "old" commandment was "self-love"

The standard of the "new" commandment is "God’s Love"

We have two different, but similar Greek words used for love in these verses. In this case, I’m going to use the English spelling of these Greek words. I’m doing this, NOT to teach Greek, but so we will have a "handle" on these definitions, and because "agapa" or "agape" has been thrown around so carelessly by some teachers, and then it has been misused by many who have been taught by those careless teachers. As this series moves along, I will use the English spelling of these Greek words less and less, replaced by the English term "God’s Love" or "The Love of God", etc.

The three references to love in v 34 are the Greek word agapao. The reference to love in vs 35 is the Greek word agape. Both are God’s love, but the two words have a different shade of meaning. These two words are used throughout the New Testament to distinguish the Love of God from human love.

By seeing the definitions of both, it will give us a clearer picture of these words used by the Holy Spirit to distinguish God’s love from the Greek phileo, meaning friendship or human love. Neither of these two Greek words are used exclusively to represent God’s Love in the New Testament, but rarely are they used of any other type of love. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, these words do represent God’s Love, either emanating directly from God or through the Believer.

Love [John 13:34 agapao] = (Greek) To love.

Agapao indicates a direction of the will and finding one’s joy in something other than self. (That fact, alone, will eliminate a lot of Believers from having this type of love.) It stands in contrast to phileo which means to be contented with, and denotes common interests, hence a befriending.
Agapao is often used in the sense of social or moral love resulting from a deliberate choice of the will.

Love [John 13:35 agape] = (Greek) Benevolent love.

Agape is not in the classic Greek, only in the common Greek of the New Testament. This benevolence is not shown by doing what the person loved desires, but what the one who loves deems as needed. This benevolence is not dependent on friendship.
It is God’s willful benevolence toward mankind. For a human to show God’s love, that person must first appropriate God’s love.

Agape is built on or made up of three Greek words. These three words in combination and correlation give "agape" its Greek definition. The use throughout the New Testament gives agape its Biblical meaning. Please, don’t MISS those facts!!! The Holy Spirit is using these Greek words in a special way with far greater meaning than their simple definition.

Remember... when the Holy Spirit gives special Spiritual meaning to a word, that special meaning will not go contrary to the original definition. NEITHER will that word be limited to the simple definition. The new meaning will be the DEFINITION plus the USAGE by the Holy Spirit in the text of Scripture.

The three Greek words that make up "agape" are:
(1) Agapao -- to love in a social or moral sense.
(2) Phileo -- to be a friend or to be fond of i.e. to have affection for, as a matter of feeling.
(3) Philos -- dear i.e. friend or friendly; An associate or neighbor.

All of these or any one of these words, making up "agape", play a role in the Spiritual meaning of "agape". The intensity or shade of meaning of agape, in any one passage, will depend largely on the context. As with any Greek word, the context is of equal or greater importance to the understanding of that term than just the simple definition.

The Holy Spirit, in giving the text of the New Testament, used agape and its derivatives in a unique and limited manner. It is used of the supernatural love of God, and of that love imparted to Believers, and the demonstration of that love by one Believer to others Believers.

No human action can demonstrate or substitute for this divine love. Agape can be demonstrated in a Believer’s life only as they are living in fellowship with Christ.., AND walking in the Spirit.., AND partaking of the divine nature through the proper use of the Word of God.

John 13:31 So, when he had gone out, Jesus said (to His disciples), "Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. 32 "If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. 33 "Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, 'Where I am going, you cannot come,' so now I say to you.

34 "A new commandment I give to you, 

that you love one another; 

as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  

35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, 

if you have love for one another."  

36 Simon Peter said to (interrupted) Him, "Lord, where are You going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward." 37 Peter said to (interrupted) Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake."

This NEW commandment is that Believers must have and demonstrate "God’s love" for other Believers. In the same manner or same way that Christ loved us..., we are to love other Believers.

Remember the definition...??? This type of love is a determined choice of the will. It is not based on whether we like the other Believer, or if the other Believer is even our friend. We are to have and demonstrate this love to other Believers in the same way or manner as Christ has and is demonstrating this love for us.

Romans 5:6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

IF God had demonstrated His love for us.... IN the same way some Believers demonstrate God’s love to other Believers.., there would be a lot Christians today who would have never had the opportunity to become Believers.

If God had demonstrated His love for some Christians, the way those same Christians demonstrate God’s love to others..., they would be burning in Hell, right now!

We ARE NOT to withhold the demonstration of God’s love from a fellow Believer, simply because they are not living the Christian life or have not ask for forgiveness.

Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" 22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Peter, like some of us, thought he would demonstrate his great knowledge of Spiritual things. Therefore, he ask how many times he should forgive someone sinning against him. Then showing how Spiritual he was, he answered his own question with a question type statement.

I’m sure Peter didn’t think there would be an answer to his question-statement. Peter was probably expecting a compliment from Christ to the effect that he had heard and remembered what Christ actually said. After all, he had often heard the stinging remarks from Christ about how slow of hearing he was, and that he didn’t learn the lesson from those things taught.

Let me step aside from the main topic of this lesson, to look at a very relevant truth. This truth is not DIRECTLY involved in the Love of God, BUT none the less, it has a great deal to do with our living in and demonstrating the Love of God. Don’t forget where we were when we stated this little "side" trail. If you forget where we were, when we come back to the main trail..., I’ll update you, ok?

What Peter did is so typical, and so very, very human. I’m sure Peter heard what was said at other times during Christ’s ministry, but Peter tried to generalize a teaching that was very specific. Look at a teaching of Christ’s that Peter probably heard on a number of occasions.

Luke 17:4 "And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."

This is not a parallel account of the event in John chapters 13 & 14. It is an entirely different situation, but the lessons taught are parallel. We need to keep in mind that Christ sometimes taught several times a day and several times a week. These teachings were often repeated and were heard by the disciples many times over during those "three" years of ministry.

Christ had taught that if you’ve been sinned against 7 times a single day.., AND 7 time that day the sinning person asks for forgiveness, you are to freely give forgiveness!

Therefore, Peter thought, as you and I would, that "7" was the magic number. So Peter ask a question, that he thought he knew the answer to, and even suggested that answer in a second question-statement. Peter made a mistake that can happen so easily. This mistake has happened often in this matter of agape or God’s love, as well as other Biblical subjects.

Matthew 18:21Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" 22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Luke 17:4 "And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."

Peter had heard Christ give the answer to similar questions on many occasions. Therefore, he naturally thought that the same answer applied to all such questions. It is important to know the Greek definition of agape, BUT we must remember that the simple definition is not the "full" meaning of God’s love in every references to it.

Notice in Peter’s question an obvious omission that was in Christ’s teaching in Luke 17. Christ was teaching about a sinning person who repented and ask for forgiveness. Peter makes no mention of any repentance or requests for forgiveness in his question.

Peter assumed that "one-size-fits-all". Yes!! It is a small thing, but it is those small things that make a great deal of difference between knowing the facts of Bible and knowing the truths or doctrines of the Bible.

Several things to note before we return to the "main" trail of our class. In the Luke passage, we need to understand that Christ was not setting a limit as to the number of times forgiveness can or should be given. The parallel use of the phrase "seven times" is an indication that no manner how many requests there are for forgiveness, we are to give it.

There is another subject that should be studied in this area. Forgiveness is not the same as acceptance. We should forgive a person for their sin, BUT we should NEVER accept the sin of that person.

This parallel use of "seven times" is a Greek language idiom that was understood by the Greek speaking people of that day, just as some English idioms are understood by our culture at this time, but might present a problem to some historian in a 1,000 years from today.

We say an item, event or speech just "BLEW ME AWAY". We know this English or really American idiom is an expression that has meaning other than the definitions of the words used in the expression. A historian some 1,000 years from now, on the other hand, may spend a lot of time trying to find WHERE we blew away to..., but that will be their problem.

Peter asks about an entirely different situation than was used by Christ in the Luke 17 passage. Peter, in Matt 18, simply asks how often should he forgive, or what are the limits that should be placed on his forgiving. Christ says to Peter, "There is no ‘bottom line’ when it comes to forgiveness."

Christ also adds another factor to this business of Believer’s forgiveness that is consistent with the love of God.

We are to forgive  

EVEN  BEFORE  

the offending party asks.

We are to forgive  

EVEN  IF  

the offending party  

NEVER  

asks.

CHRIST  DID!!!

Do your actions show 

the love of God, 

or the sin of stubborn self-pride and revenge?

1 John 2:2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

Romans 5:7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

I trust we learned some good Spiritual lessons from this "side" trip. I also hope, we will do more that "hear" these lessons. My prayer is that we put these lessons to work!

The major reason for the "side" trip was to, once again, establish the need to carefully categorize, compare and divide or sort the truths of the Word of God. In this subject of the "Love of God", it is imperative that we know and apply the Biblical truths to each Biblical reference of the Love of God.., OR we will find ourselves teaching and practicing doctrines that are not taught by the Scriptures. This "type" of doctrine is called, according to the Bible, the "commandment of men" that can only lead to more ungodliness.

Well, look at that! We completed our scenic overview and now we’re back to the main trail of our lesson. It is a good thing, that our salvation is eternal, and once we accept Christ as our Savior, we CANNOT be separated from the Love of God in Christ.

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Romans 8:36 As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If our salvation was only as secure as the way we demonstrate God’s love to other Believers, most of us would be getting saved all over again.., and again..., and again..., and again,.. and.........

Stop and think!!! IF God demonstrated His love to you, in the same manner that you are, at the present time, demonstrating God’s love to some other Believer.., how much of God’s love would you have?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

I want us to pause for time of silent thought. Let your mind wander over the list of Believers you know. Then think of the Believers in this church, and especially those in this meeting. Have you been or are you demonstrating God’s love to those Believers in the SAME way and manner as Christ demonstrated His love to you??

If NOT, you are presently living in gross sin!! That sin NEEDS to be confessed to God right now!!! Also, as soon as the service is over, you need to go and confess that sin to the one to whom you have not been demonstrating God’s love. May I encourage you to take a few minutes and allow God to speak to you on this subject.

Who God is will determine what God does. 

What God does will reveal a great deal about Who God is. 

John 14:11 "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

For us to learn much about Who God is, we will have to examine what God has done. Christ, in a confrontation with some of the religious leaders of His day, told them basically the same thing He told His disciples in John 14:11.

John 10:24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." 25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.

Notice these non-believing Jews said the same things about the teaching of Christ as the disciples said in John 13. They simply used different words to say the same thing. Both the Jews and the disciples said in effect, "We can’t understand what YOU, the Son of God, are teaching. Please make it practical."

Sounds a lot like MBF... or Austin in general... It sounds a lot like most natural people who are trying to understand Spiritual things in a "practical" manner. You see Spiritual things are not understood in a "practical" manner.

John 10:30 "I and My Father are one." 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?" 33 The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God." 34 Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods" '? 35 "If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36 "do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? 37 "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 "but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."

These religious Jews wouldn’t understand what Christ was teaching.  

The disciples couldn’t understand what Christ was teaching.

Both groups wanted Christ to put His teaching 

down on a "practical" level.

Most people, who ask for the teaching of the Word of God to be made practical, DO NOT know what practical means. It means to bring "Spiritual" things into such a natural state that those Spiritual things can be "practiced", or easily used by the ones hearing those Spiritual things.

That makes a nice cover story. Sadly that is exactly what the Church in general is doing. They are making "Spiritual" things earthy enough so the natural person can do them.

The more "practical" 

you make Spiritual things, 

the less Spiritual those things will be.

That is even a conflict of "terms" to say nothing of the reality of such an act.

We are not to down grade the "Spiritual" 

to the level of the natural person.

Our job is to elevate the person 

to the point they can understand Spiritual things!!!!

In this portion of John chapter 13 through 17, Christ is giving to His disciples some of the deepest and greatest spiritual truths of all eternity. Over and over again, the disciples interrupt Him with a comment or question in effect asking Christ to make the Spiritual truth a little more earthy.

Christ finally explains to them that He can’t make Spiritual things "practical".., BUT soon they will be elevated Spiritually so they could understand these heavenly things. Here is ANOTHER great "Love Chapter"! There are MANY "Love Chapters" other that 1 Corinthians 13.

John 14:21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?" 23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me. 25 "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 "You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I. 29 "And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. 30 "I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. 31 "But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

It would be exciting to take this "Love Chapter" verse by verse. We only have time to see that, after many interruptions to ask Christ to make what He was saying "practical".., Christ tells His disciples that (vs 25) He spoke these things while still present with them. "BUT" (v 26) or literally you can’t understand these things now..., but the Holy Spirit will make it possible for you to understand them, because the Holy Spriit will teach you.

That will not happen 

by making the information more earthy or practical.

Understanding Spiritual things can only come about 

by teaching that information in a  

MORE  

Spiritual manner, 

by comparing Spiritual with Spiritual. 

John 13:31 So, when he had gone out, Jesus said (to His disciples), "Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. 32 "If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. 33 "Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, 'Where I am going, you cannot come,' so now I say to you.

34 "A new commandment I give to you, 

that you love one another; 

as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  

35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, 

if you have love for one another."  

36 Simon Peter said to (interrupted) Him, "Lord, where are You going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward." 37 Peter said to (interrupted) Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake."

Let’s close by looking once again at John 13:34-35. As Believers, we are to love one another as Christ loved us.

IF  

we, as Believers, are following this 

"NEW  commandment",

THEN  

ALL  will  KNOW  that we are Christ’s disciples.



Do they  ALL  KNOW ???????

THEN

we must have failed in following this

"NEW"  commandment.

It would be good to make a daily "status" check 

to see just how active this  

"NEW"  commandment 

is in your life.