Love One Another

In the Old Testament the commandment to love one another is just one of many commandments, but in the New Testament it takes on greater importance. According to Romans 13:9, one who loves someone will not bring harm to that person in any form. This in a sense raises the commandment to love above the other commandments listed there like not committing adultery, murder, or stealing. In verses 8 and 10 of Romans 13, Paul says that “love is the fulfillment of the law.”

In the Old Testament the commandment to love was part of the law and was external to the person, but in Christ there is a new beginning. We have mentioned that as a believer we are a new creation resulting from growth from the seed of God that was placed within us. This seed brings God inside us as the Holy Spirit, and, since God is love, we now have love on the inside. It is natural for God to love and therefore it will be natural for this new creation inside of us to also love. In this sense the command to love one another is now inside us and motivates our behavior, which raises it above other commandments which still remain outside the person.

At the beginning of the Christian life the command to love one another takes its place inside of us and becomes a unique characteristic of all believers. This is clearly described in John 13:34 – 35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (NASB).

In Galatians 5:22 love is described as the fruit of the Spirit. If we were to place a colon after the word love then the list of words that follow would give eight characteristics of God’s love. Those characteristics should be evident in the behavior of one who is walking in the light with God. Those characteristics are “joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control” (Galatians 5:22 – 23, NASB). When someone rubs you the wrong way, do these characteristic give evidence of God’s love within?