A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
John 13:34-35
God tells us in I John 4:12, “…If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”
For the love of God to be perfected means that it is made perfect or complete. How else can we love one another as Christ has loved us? Christ sacrificed Himself for us, and that is how we are to love each other, willing to sacrifice ourselves for the well-being of our brothers or sisters in the Lord. By loving each other that much, the world will know that we are truly Christ’s disciples.
That kind of love only comes from God, so for believers to bestow God’s love on each other, they must first experience the deep, abiding love that caused God to sacrifice His Son on their behalf.
Ephesians 5:2 instructs us to “…walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”
I John 4:20 says, “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”
How does God love us?
- He died for us. I John 3:16 “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
- He’s good to us. Psalm 100:5 “For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”
- He’s gracious and merciful toward us. Psalm 116:5 “Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.”
- He forgives us. I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
How should we love one another?
I Peter 1:22-23 says, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35)