Wednesday, 10th January, 2024
THE SUPERNATURAL COMMANDMENT
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35
Jesus did not leave His disciples without clear instructions. The instructions of Jesus are life.
He didn’t come to die for us, resurrect and ascend to Heaven without giving us clear commandments.
Beloved, He gave us the Holy Spirit and He also gave us His commandments.
Most times, we hear people say, we are not “UNDER A LAW…”
Then we begin to think we have no Law and commandments.
That is not entirely true. Because the Bible never said that.
Of course, we are not “UNDER THE LAW OF MOSES”
Whenever the Bible says, we are not under the law, it is referring to the LAW OF MOSES.
That law couldn’t bring us into the full expression of God.
In Christ, we have A NEW LAW OF LIFE (Romans 8:2). This law is also the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).
The commandments of Jesus are not the Commandments of Moses.
The commandments of Jesus are not merely demands. The commandments of Jesus also supply us with life and ability.
The truth is that His commandments are the dispensing of Himself.
Let me talk to You:
Whatever, Jesus tells you to do is what He has become to you and what He has made you.
He doesn’t just demonstrate what He tells you to do. He becomes what He tells you to do in you.
Our Lord Jesus doesn’t show you how to live His life externally. He has indwelt you through the Holy Spirit to do what He tells you to do, with you.
You don’t walk in the obedience of His commandments alone. You walk in obedience to His commandments with Him.
Paul said, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God” 2 Corinthians 3:5
See The Passion Translation:
“Yet we don’t see ourselves as capable enough to do anything in our own strength, for our true competence flows from God’s empowering presence”
This is what it is when I say, “The commandments of Jesus are Life”.
He says, “Without me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
The golden rule of the commandments of Moses is, “Love your neighbour as yourself”
This is demanding and limited.
It means the ability to love is issuing out of your love for yourself. And you can only love as far as you love yourself.
How far can you love with this limited ability of love in you?
And even until Jesus came, we had not seen the full expression of love.
Through Jesus, we saw a whole new civilization of love.
Paul says, “to know the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge…” Ephesians 3:19.
This means Moses’ commandment of love cannot bring you into full expression of the love of God.
And till today, many are still living by “love your neighbour as yourself”.
But Jesus is inviting us to a higher dimension of love.
He said, “ a New” Commandment I give. It means from now onwards you don’t operate by the Mosaic law.
The Lord is saying, I bring you something new. The word for new is “Kainos”, it means freshness, recently made, unused, unworn, unprecedented, uncommon, unheard of.
It is not “new” in terms of time, but “new” as to form or quality, of a different nature from what is contrasted as old.
It relates to being not previously present; as set over against that which is outworn, the effete or burnt-out through age.
Beloved, this New Commandment of love Jesus gave was beyond any human comprehension and experience.
It is a supernatural commandment.
The new commandment of Jesus says:
“…as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
This love is beyond the domain of men. It is beyond the standard of men. This is a higher standard of love. And no man can meet its demand. This is why God designed it to only be supplied to you by Himself.
This love doesn’t work just by utterance. It works by life. And you cannot wake up one day to just start loving as He has loved you unless you have received Him into you.
The greatest mind couldn’t imagine this love. He Himself has to be the picture of this love.
To walk in this love, you must know more and more the extent to which He has loved you.
“All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don’t let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud! My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:11-19 (The Message)
Glory to God!
