The New Testament has only 1 commandment to the SAVED

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Even for a Christian, work for God has radically changed from the old covenant’s obeying the “works or commandments” of the Law in order to be “right and pleasing” to God to the completely-different-in-kind New Covenant’s “kopos wearied-labor (a) of unconditional-love” (b).  Paul says, “Whether you obey the torah/nomos Law of conditional-favor by being circumcised [as Jews do] or not [as Gentiles don’t] counts for absolutely in fact nothing – only trusting-relying-faith working through-the-realizing-channel-of unconditional-love” (c).  The writer of Hebrews says, “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and/coupled the unconditional-love that you have shown for His name in serving the saints” (d), and so the writer says:  “Let us consider how to stir up one another to unconditional-love and/coupled good works, not in possibility neglecting to meet together (e).  And so Jesus links the “work of trusting-relying-faith” from the previous BLOG to this “work of unconditional-love” here:  I know your [plural] works:  your unconditional-love and/coupled trusting-relying-faith and [in parallel] service and/coupled patient-endurance (f) and because of metonymy, it reads “service of unconditional-love and/coupled patient-endurance of trusting-relying-faith.”  Yes, both do take work!  So much is written about keeping The Faith to the end in order to be saved. So much is written about “walking the talk of unconditional-love.” <Notes> a) kopos:  deep fatigure or extreme weariness from toiling labor, even as if struck by blows, b) 1 Thessalonians 1:3, c) Galatians 5:6, d) Hebrews 6:10, e) Hebrews 10:24-25, f) Revelation 2:19.

To the SAVED, Christ also gave only 1 entole official, all-authoritative, universally-binding decree.  The very Jewish-Christian James calls it the “The perfect Law of liberty/freedom” where “mercy [of NT Grace] triumphs over judgment” [of OT Law] (a), which Paul calls “the Law of Christ” (b). A Greek word search reveals there is only 1 entole commandment given to Christians by Jesus, and it is completely “NEW” (c) meaning, like the New Covenant, for it is “one-of-a-kind, unprecedented, and has nothing in common with any other” OT commandment before it.  Jesus made this crystal clear:  “A NEW (c) entole commandment I give to you – that you unconditionally-love one another.  Just as I have unconditionally-loved you, you also are to unconditionally-love one another.  By this [single action] all people will experientially, relationally ginosko know that you are My disciples:  if you have unconditional-love for one another” (d).  This isn’t gnosis head-knowledge, but witnessed!  Jesus reiterates later:  “This is MY commandment:  that you unconditionally-love one another as I have unconditionally-loved you. . . . These things I entellomai command (e) you:  that you will unconditionally-love one another” (f).  We saw from the previous BLOG that “having trusting-relying-faith in the Son Jesus Christ” was a command from the Father that Jesus faithfully preached, but this “unconditionally-loving one another like Christ does” comes from Jesus.  <Notes> a) James 1:25, 2:12-13, b) Galatians 6:2; 1 Corinthians 9:21, c) chadash, kainos: fresh, completely-different-in-kind, unprecedented, sharing nothing with its predecessors, unique, and superior, d) John 13:34-35, e) entellomai is a verb form of entole commandment that emphasizes the end-objective, purpose, or consummation of an officially-decreed, universally-binding charge, f) John 15:12, 17.

The apostle John echoes Christ: “This is the logos message that you have heard from the beginning [of The Faith]:  that we should unconditionally-love one another” (a), and after talking about “having trusting-relying-faith in God’s Son Jesus Christ,” John links to this “This is His (Christ is the last noun) entole commandment:  . . . unconditionally-love one another, just as He (Christ) has already given [singular] entole commandment to us” (b).  John says in another reminder: “I ask you, dear lady – not as though I were writing you a completely-different-in-kind New [from John’s perspective] entole commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning [of our Christian’s trusting-relying-faith]: that we unconditionally-love one another” (c).  The phrase “unconditionally-love one another” is also found in 1 John 4:7, 11, 12; Romans 12:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; and 1 Peter 1:22 – all written to Christians!  <Notes> a) 1 John 3:11, b) 1 John 3:23, c) 2 John 1:5.

How simple is that?  Something that even little children and the “least among you” can focus on!  But definitely not easy in your own “might and power by “by My Spirit” (a) of unconditional-love (b).  Christ said there was only 1 distinguishing mark, our witness, of a saved Christian that unbelievers would be able to personally experience – our Christ-like, no-strings-attached, serving unconditional-love for ALL people, not just to our “neighbors” [like us] that the greatest OT Law already taught, even if this summed up “the Law and the Prophets” and all of OT scripture (c), but also to unconditionally-love those very much “unlike us,” even our enemies!  This simplicity of focus can be very liberating, as Gaylord Enns discovered in: Love Revolution – Rediscovering the Lost Command of Jesus. <Notes> a) Zechariah 4:6, b) Galatians 5:22, c) Matthew 7:12, 22:40; Romans 13:8-10, Galatians 5:14 – see Logos Word of God – BT13.

Reflection:

As Christian musicians, wouldn’t you rather believe the simplicity of the New Covenant that NOW Christians only have 1 act of obedience, 1 work, and 1 labor to DO WITH God, instead of 613 to DO FOR God?  Like Paul said, NOW the only thing that counts is your trusting-relying-faith in Christ working itself out through-the-realizing channel of unconditional-love!  God is impartial – even a little child or any of the other “least among us” can do this, when we are working with God by the means of His Holy Spirit of unconditional-love.

Prayer:

Thank You Jesus that you have kept our focus as simple as that for little children that you call us to be:  Hold onto our trusting-relying faith in You and unconditionally-love one another just as You did others.  Still we call for your Holy Spirit to strengthen us to even live this simplicity!

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