Obedient Steps of Faith – BT20:  Faith & Love are the only 2 commandments integrated in New Covenant

 

 

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Only 2 commandments were given in the NT – one to the unsaved as “the Law of trusting-relying-faith” (a) or “work of trusting-relying-faith” (b) – see Logos Word of God – BT15, and the other to the saved as the “labor of unconditional-love” (c) that is the “Law of Christ to carry one another’s burdens” (d) that is Christ’s completely-in-kind-NEW commandment to “unconditionally-love one another just-as I have unconditionally-loved you,” (e) that is “the perfect Law of Freedom/Liberty” [from slavery to the Law of sin & death] where “mercy triumphs over judgment” (f) – see Logos Word of God – BT16.

 

Really, there are only 2 commandments in the NT to the saved and unsaved and both are inseparably related to each other – see Logos Word of God – BT14 and Only 2 Commandments – BT6. These have nothing to do with any of the old covenant’s 613 commandments either – see Only 2 Commandments – BT4, not even their 2 greatest “to Love God wholly or to Love your neighbor as yourself” despite this common misconception – see Only 2 Commandments – BT3.

 

<Notes> a) Romans 3:27, cf. John 3:16-18, 36, 40, 6:29, 20:31; 1 John 3:23, 5:10, 13; Acts 18:8, b) 1 Thessalonian 1:3; 2 Thessalonian 1:11, c) 1 Thessalonians 1:3, d) 1 Corinthians 9:21; Galatians 6:2, e) John 13:34-35, 15:12, 17; 1 John 3:23; Romans 12:10, 13:8; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 3:12, 4:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; Hebrews 10:24; 1 Peter 1:22, 4:8, 5:14; 1 John 3:11, 4:7, 11-12; 2 John 1:5-6, f) James 1:25, 2:13.

 

These are the very things the Father, the Son, and the indwelling Holy Spirit “causes” us by His unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace working within us to “walk/live in, by, or with!” (a). 1 John 3:23 combines each entole universally-binding commandments into 1 commandment from God:   trusting-relying-faith in the name/authority of His Son . . . and/coupled unconditionally-loving one another just as Christ has given us commandment.”  So important are these that Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:13 that only trusting-relying-faith, hope – faith in future events – and unconditional-love will remain forever.  Why?  Because all 3 are necessarily in relationships to prosper, and eternity will certainly require a relationship with God.  <Notes> a) Ezekiel 36:27; Philippians 2:13; Hebrews 13:21; 1 Corinthians 12:6, 15:10.

 

Pistis faith and agape love are naturally koinonia relationship words based on epignosis genuine, full, experiential, relational knowledge and not at all on gnosis informational-knowledge words of things like dogma creeds or didache doctrine or theology acquired through reading, study, analysis, debate, or memorization as the Jewish scribes and Pharisees erroneously relied on in order to know God and obviously failed (a).  And much of Protestant teaching as fallen into the same “animal trap and bird snare” – see New Covenant Ways – BT17 and – BT18. <Notes> a) John 5:37-40, 7:28, 8:19, 55, 16:3.

 

NT writers often integrally connect “trusting-relying-faith and/coupled unconditional-love.”  They are inseparably coupled 6 times (a), combined into 1 commandment from God (b), in reverse in 5 places (c), and closely associated 19 times (d).  See Only 2 Commandments – BT6 page. <Notes> a) 1 John 3:23; 1 Thessalonians 3:6, 5:8; 1 Timothy 1:14, 2:15; 2 Timothy 1:13; Revelation 2:19, b) 1 John 3:23, c) Ephesians 6:23; 1 Timothy 4:12; Titus 3:15; Philemon 1:5; Revelations 2:19, d) 1 Corinthians 13:2, 13; 2 Corinthians 8:7; Galatians 2:20, 5:6, 22; Ephesians 1:15, 3:17; Colossians 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Timothy 1:5, 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22, 3:10; Titus 2:2; James 2:5; 1 John 3:23; Revelation 1:5.

 

“Faith and Love” are integral to the gospel logos message.  Paul strongly-urges his pastor-in-training to “presently/ongoingly echo ‘take hold to possess’ the pattern-example of the hugiaino ‘sound, in-balance, all-parts-working, healthy-condition’ logos messages (gospel) that you have already heard from me, in/by/with the trusting-relying-faith and/coupled unconditional-love that are in/by/with Christ Jesus” (a).  This is the essence of the gospel logos message that they preached and taught to pastors to preach!  Paul tells those he is training:  “the aim of our charge is unconditional-love that issues from an unmixed heart and/coupled a good conscience and/coupled a sincere trusting-relying-faith” (b). <Notes> a) 2 Timothy 1:13, b) 1 Timothy 1:5.

 

In fact, these 2 commandments are what is supposed to be taught to make disciples, per “The Great Commission” to the 11 apostles, not everything that Jesus taught!  Jesus actually specifically charged them in Matthew 28:20, “to be teaching them [the disciples they just made in v. 28:19] to tereo ‘watch carefully to guard or keep as soldier at his post’ ALL that I have entellomai ‘officially-decreed as universally-binding commandments to’ you,” but again, there were only 2 entole commandments found anywhere in the NT, 1 from the Father (a) and 1 from the Son (b), thus only 1 compound commandment from the Godhead: “having trusting-relying-faith in the name/authority of God’s Son Jesus Christ and/coupled unconditionally-loving one another, just as He (Jesus) has given us an entole commandment” (c).  How beautifully simple for even little children and the other Least Among You.  <Notes> a) John 6:29, b) John 13:34, 15:12, c) 1 John 3:23.

 

Our Christian lives or peri ‘comprehensive, walking all arounds’ are begotten or “born again” from “Faith and Love” and continue to grow because of it.  We are called to “walk in the footsteps of the trusting-relying-faith that our father Abraham had” (a), which is “peripateo ‘walking all around, comprehensively’ dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of trusting-relying-faith, absolutely-in-fact-NOT by sight” (b). <Notes> a) Romans 4:12, b) 2 Corinthians 5:7.

 

We are also to be “stoicheo ‘walking in line, keeping in step, to a particular place’ unconditional-love” (a) “just as Christ unconditionally-loved us (b) and gave Himself up for us” (c) – “this is unconditional-love . . . this is the commandment (d), just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should peripateo ‘walking all around, comprehensively’ in/by/with it” (e).  For “whoever says he meno abides-remains-lives in Christ ought to definitively/wholly peripateo ‘walking all around, comprehensively’ in the same way in which He was ongoingly peripateo ‘walking all around, comprehensively’ ” (f). <Notes> a) Romans 14:15, b) John 13:34, 15:9, 12, 17:23, c) Ephesians 5:2, d) a completely-different-in-kind New Commandment: John 13:34; My commandment: John 15:12, e) 2 John 1:6, f) 1 John 2:6.

 

“Faith and Love” are key characteristics of the Holy Spirit (a) and thus supernaturally of Christians (b) who have the indwelling Holy Spirit.  Our trusting-relying-faith is also in God’s unconditional-love for us through Christ (c), having already been rooted and grounded in/by/with Christ’s unconditional-love.”  <Notes> a) Galatians 5:22 – scholars see “pistis trusting-relying-faith or faithfulness” as only one of the adjective-noun descriptions, facets, or ‘flavors’ of “the [singular] fruit of the Spirit being unconditional-love” thus making trusting-relying-faith an expression of unconditional-love, b) James 2:5; 1 Peter 1:8; 1 John 3:23, 4:16, 5:1; Revelation 2:19, c) Galatians 2:20.

 

Nevertheless, Paul prays for these Christians “to definitively/wholly be strengthened-empowered dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of dunamis dynamite-like enabling-power of Him [Christ] eis toward-and-reaching-the-goal-of the inner man [for] The Christ to definitively/wholly dwell dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of The-Trusting-Relying-Faith (The Christian Faith) eis toward-and-reaching-the-goal-of your hearts in/by/with unconditional-love in order that you might definitively/wholly exischuo ‘be out-from aggressively-strengthened for the difficult task of’ katalambano ‘grasping hold of to receive down from’ [heaven] with all the saints what is the breadth and/coupled length and/coupled and/coupled height and/coupled depth – that is, to definitively/wholly experientially, relationally ginosko know The Surpassing, The Gnosis informational-knowledge (a) of/belonging-to The Christ, in order that you might be definitively/wholly pleroo filled-to-completion eis ‘toward-and-reaching-the-goal-of’ ALL the pleroma abundant-fullness of The God . . . routinely/habitually being filled-to-completion by-the-means-of the Spirit (b). <Notes> a) this is a rare occasion that Paul speaks of gnosis positively, b) Ephesians 3:16-19, 5:18.

 

Christ’s unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace overflows to us meta ‘changed afterward after being with’ [singular] trusting-relying-faith and/coupled [singular] unconditional-love that are in/by/with Him (a), and thus trusting-relying-faith and/coupled unconditional-love are consequently the definitive aspects of Christian evangelistic witness/testimony (b).  <Notes> a) 1 Timothy 1:14, b) Ephesians 1:15; Colossians 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 3:6.

 

So Paul rightly “thanks God always when I remember you (Philemon) in my proseuche conversational-prayers, routinely/habitually akouo hearing/listening-to-understand/know of/belonging-to your The Unconditional-Love and/coupled The-Trusting-Relying-Faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus kai and/also for all the saints, [praying] so that koinonia fellowship-sharing of The-Trusting-Relying-Faith of you might become energes ‘active, energized, operational, and effective’ by-the-means-of [singular] genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of every agathos ‘God-like-good’ (a) [thing] that [is] in/by/with us eis toward-and-reaching-the-goal-of Christ” (b).  In other words, evangelism is only effective when you are in a koinonia relationship with Christ, so that’s the priority!  In other words, our horizontal koinonia relationship with each other, even through evangelism, is empowered by our vertical koinonia relationship with God (c) – see Unconditional Love – BT9. <Notes> a) agathos:  “God-like, good-natured, pleasantly joyful, excellent or distinguished and thus useful, upright, or honorable,” b) Philemon 1:3-6, c) 1 John 4:7-8.

 

Consequently, trusting-relying-faith and/coupled unconditional-love are “the example” to pursue for Christian workers (a), being Paul’s aim in life (b), the aim of his charge against false teachers (c), and the subject of Paul’s greetings (d), blessings (e), kneeling before God (f), and thanksgiving (g). <Notes> a) 1 Timothy 4:12, 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22, 3:10, b) 1 Timothy 4:12, 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22, 3:10, c) 1 Timothy 1:5, d) Titus 3:15; Ephesians 6:23, e) Ephesians 6:23, f) Ephesians 3:17, g) 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:3.

 

 

 

 

 

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