A NEW COMMANDMENT OR A NEW CAPACITY
Friday – October 25, 2019, Tishrei 26, 5780
Greetings my precious friends and partners of this Ministry and The Three Minute Word blog. A major focus of this ministry is to encourage and build us all up, unveil the Word (revelation) so we all come higher in Him looking more and more like Him, and to give prophetic insights into the will of God now and in coming days. Todays featured picture is of Donna and me in San Antonio by the Texan Cultures building waterfall in April. If you are reading this on Facebook please take a moment to hit the “love” and “share” buttons to give us encouraging feedback and to broaden the reach of these Bible teachings. God is so very good my friends. Now, let’s turn our attention to our Bible Study of the book of John by first reading out primary text aloud.
John 13:31-35 (KJV)
31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.
33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Yesterday and today I am discussing the statement by Jesus that He is giving us a new commandment. As we saw yesterday this command to love our neighbor was given in the Law centuries before so what is Jesus telling them and us? We also saw yesterday that the Apostle John connected this command with obeying or keeping the commands of God, Jesus, who is the Word. Indeed, obeying the Scripture is a fundamental aspect of our love of God. It seems that this is key to our ability to love others.
John 14:21 (KJV)
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Could it be that our love of God which is doing the Word of God, having a selfless lifestyle, and observing Blood Covenant empowers us to love others? Could it be that although the Old Testament saints had the commandment, they were unable to keep it in the same way we are, and that ability awaited the coming of the Messiah? The answer to both is yes. Following the Day of Sin and Death until Messiah came and paid the price of sin all the people that served God where not born again, they remained dead spiritually. It was not until the coming of Messiah that people could be born again by believing upon Jesus and through faith be saved by grace and receive the empowerments of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 2:8 (KJV)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Under the Old Covenant they could simply cover their sins from year to year with innocent animal blood and they had no empowerment (Holy Spirit) to do the commandments. The Law was the teacher pointing the way to the need for the Messiah, for Grace. There is natural love which is carnal, a weak form of love, we on the other hand in Christ Jesus have the capacity to love just as God loves. We have a supernatural love. Unlike those in the world we can express the fruits of the spirit (our spirit – same as His). When we are born again, we have the full capacity of the spiritual DNA we received from the Father. Among those fruits is the expression of (agapē) love, supernatural love, led of the Spirit love. We have a new capacity for love in faith led of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
A full expression of this supernatural love, agapē, is dependent upon being led of the Spirit of God and not our flesh. In order to love people like Jesus loved people (verse thirty-four) we must be born again and be led of the Holy Spirit. Let’s back up a few verses in Galatians and then go to Romans as we finish the week.
Galatians 5:13-14 (KJV)
13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
We are not to follow after the flesh which can only produce a natural or carnal love, we are by the Spirit of God love just as God is love. It takes time and diligence but doable. We know this for Jesus told us that everything He did we were to do it also and that includes agape love.
John 14:12 (KJV)
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Finally, in Romans.
Romans 8:1-6 (KJV)
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
“The things of the Spirit” includes loving just like Jesus.
Until our next publication, as a Bible Teacher and Prophetic Voice I speak this blessing over each and every one of you, receive it, believe it, and speak over yourself and your family by faith in Jesus name!
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
24 The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;
26 The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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