THE NEW COVENANT COMMANDMENT IS LOVE
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread;1 Corinthians 11:23 (NKJV)
And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you. Luke 22:20 (NAB)
I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. John 13:34 (NAB)
Given that when entering a covenant, covenant terms are declared just before the blood of the covenant flows; and that the only terms given for the New Covenant were declared in John 13:34 and 1 John 3:23; and given that Paul correctly understood the prophets to declare that the Old Covenant would pass away as the New Covenant was initiated (Ephesians 2:15 having abolished in His flesh . . . the law of commandments contained in ordinances); then what commandments are referred to in the following New Testament Scriptures?
The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Romans 8:3 (NLT)
Romans 8:3 obviously infers the Old Covenant Law was weak, as it relied upon the flesh, human will power, to keep it. Failure was inevitable. Because of love God sent His Son to remedy our failure and fulfill the Law for us.
He did this, so that we would do what the Law commands by obeying the Spirit instead of our own desires. Romans 8:4 (CEV)
Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10
Love is the fulfillment of Old and New Covenant laws. Jesus fulfilled the Old perfectly for all of us to enable all of us who rely upon His love, poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, to keep the New; do no harm to our neighbor; though we may feel he deserves it.
Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. 1 Corinthians 7:19
When Paul says circumcision is nothing, he is acknowledging the abolishment of the Old Covenant Law. Saying uncircumcision is nothing invalidates boasting either way. What is really important then is the only commandment of the New Covenant – love – and its various manifestations which Paul elaborated in Galatians 5:22, 23 as the fruit of the Spirit, against which there is no law.
If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 14:37
Everything that Paul wrote as an Apostle and a Prophet of God which was instructive came out of the same heart that sent Jesus to the cross to give His life for the world. Love is behind everything God does and everything He moves upon the heart of His sons and daughters to speak or do in His name.
In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. 16 It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
1 Timothy 6:13–16 (NRSV)
What commandment are we given power (grace) to keep without spot in the New Covenant?
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. John 13:34 (NRSV)
I hope you can tell that this is a higher commandment than to love your neighbor as you love yourself. The New Commandment of the New Covenant in His blood is empowered in us by choosing to receive His love first (1 John 4:19).
In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10 (NRSV)
We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19 (NRSV)
He chose to love us first, to empower us to love Him. We love others as He loves us, out of hearts touched by and filled with His love.
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5 (NKJV)
. . . For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Matthew 12:34 (NKJV)
He empowers us to choose to love; even our enemies. As we choose, He empowers. It’s always a choice.
4 I was very happy to learn that some of your children are following the way of truth, as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, this is not a new command but is the same command we have had from the beginning. I ask you that we all love each other. 6 And love means living the way God commanded us to live. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is this: Live a life of love. 2 John 4–6 (NCV)
He wants us to know that if we choose to trust Him to love, even our enemies, with the same love He loves us with; He will empower us with His love for them. You can trust Him to choose love. What do you choose?