“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (13:34-35)
“Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” (14:11)
“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate (Helper), who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. … But you know Him, because He lives WITH you now and later will be IN you. … When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” (4: 15 ~ 21)
… “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is (now) from the Father who sent me. I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative — that is, the Holy Spirit — He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” (4. 23 ~ 26)
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is. the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produces much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”
“When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. …. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.” (15:1~17)
Questions:
- Do the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit only come to make home with someone who love others? Not showing love = no Holy Spirit.
- God prunes us with His words. So that we can bear more fruit (love more). So the more I study God’s words, will more He’ll help me to love others?
- When Jesus says “love each other”, does He mean “love human race” or “love Christians”? I’ve heard teaching that says it’s the later. But I think it’s more of the former because Jesus came and died for the whole world and He showed compassions to the sick and needy, and not only His followers. The parable of the good Samaritan also shows that (love thy neighbor). Yet, I can see that since it’s a ‘new’ commandment, it should be different from “love they neighbor”, and can be specific to Christians. The way the early church supported each other also demonstrate that. I can also imagine that when the world sees “we love our own group”, so that they want to join this group, And also, if they see “we love everyone”, they’ll also want to join our group. I do think somewhere the Bible says to ‘take care of God’s church first’. Need to find it.
In 1 John, John talks a lot of “loving the Brothers”, repeating the command of Jesus here. So I take it that as John wrote the gospel, he took it as “love Christians”.
Regardless, I need to study more Bible, so that I can love more. And when I do bear fruits, God will make His home in me. Father, please help me to love in Jesus’ name. Amen.
zenjax7 