Loving One Another

A couple of weeks ago, we had a time of solitude.  During that time, God directed my attention to the second epistle of John.  In this epistle, John reminds us that it is not a new commandment, to love one another but the original that was from the beginning.  He immediately brings up that this is in opposition to the deceivers who teach that Jesus did not come in the flesh.  What correlation do these two teachings have?  It deserves a closer look.

Let us gather the context first. In the first part of the book John’s excitement for the truth is almost overwhelming.  He uses the word five times in the first four verses.  This culminates in his statement of joy that some of the children of the elect lady were walking in truth.

With this premise of excitement about truth, He naturally flows into the commandment to love one another.  Defining love as walking according to the Father’s commandments, he states that loving one another has always been the commandment even from the beginning.

It came to mind that if this truly is the case I should be able to find it in the books of Moses.  Looking at Genesis we learn that in the beginning God created the earth as a place to put man to dwell in unity with one another.  A place where they could love one another, within the protection of God’s garden.  However, man refused to live in love.

Having rejected the ideal place that had been provided for them, they were without hope. God, however, in the book of Exodus through His servant Moses, demonstrated that would not give up on them.  He, in His mercy, gave them a law to show to everyone what love looks like in daily life.  As I was reading Exodus recently, I noticed everything that is in the law is about either loving God or loving others and what this looks like in practical terms.  Man, sadly, did not have the ability to live in this way of love.

God therefore had to become flesh and demonstrate that the life of love can only be lived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Now because He rose again, Jesus imparts the Holy Spirit to all who believe on Him.  If He did not come in the flesh and be tempted in every way as we are, He could not give us the power of the Holy Spirit to live this way.  Denying Jesus’ deity, therefore, is not just some random theological point. It is rejecting the means God has given us to live the way we are commanded i.e. through Christ and is thus intrinsically connected to loving one another.