Title: Old and New Commandments
(Lecture 15) 1 John 2:7-11 Old and New Commandments
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Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have from the beginning, which you have heard, but again I write to you a new commandment, which is true to him and to you, that the darkness has passed and the truth is true. The light is already shining; he who says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness; he who loves his brother lives in the light and has no hindrance in himself; but he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness and knows where to go. do not know, for darkness has blinded his eyes (1 John 2:7-11).
<sermon>
Although God's commandments are not given as homework for us to practice, many people have this misconception about them. Due to this misunderstanding, people are mistakenly thinking that practicing the commandments without knowing the meaning and reason for their existence is obeying the will of God and living by faith. Of course, this does not mean that we do not have to practice God's commandments, that is, the Word. I just want to tell you that God's commandments are not weak things that humans can put into practice and keep if they put their mind to it. I want you to know that this is to emphasize the meaning of the commandments, not to ignore them.
It is often said that this is the age of grace. It is the age of salvation through grace. People who say this also say that the Old Testament is the Age of Law. It was the age of salvation by keeping the law. That is, they do not see the grace of God in the law. It is the same in both the Old and New Testaments that only the grace of God leads us to salvation. However, in the New Testament, Jesus, the essence of grace, came and confirmed His grace, and in the Old Testament, only the types of grace are different.
Nevertheless, if we look at our current beliefs, we see that doctrine is grace, but practical life is bound by commandments. In other words, the faith that started with grace eventually ends with practice and deeds. They are trying to confirm their faith based on their works. For this reason, those who are diligent in their actions are relieved of their faith, but those who are lazy in their actions eventually become discouraged and leave only great doubts about their faith. Therefore, it is very necessary and important for the believer to have a correct understanding of God's commandments.
Verse 6 says, “He who says he abides in him must also do as he does.” Those who abide in Jesus must do the same things that Jesus did. This does not mean that we should see what Jesus did and imitate it. The actions of Jesus are not made just because we imitate them. Early morning prayer was created just because Jesus prayed at dawn, and there are people who fast and pray for 40 days to imitate it just because he fasted for 40 days. In other words, you need to know that you are not imitating Jesus by following the outward act of prayer. So what does that mean?
Then, if the content is the same, why do we need to distinguish between the new commandment and the old commandment? Knowing this, we can say that we know the commandments.
However, in verse 8, there is a different word from verse 7. “Again I write a new commandment to you, which is true both for you and for him, for the darkness has passed and the true light has already given.” It's a strange thing to say that I write. It's not that I'm writing a new commandment, I'm not writing a new commandment, I've heard the old commandment, but when I put it together, it's not that I'm writing a new commandment in the sense that the content of the commandment is different, but it can be understood as saying that I'm writing a new commandment because it's something new in nature. There is. In the end, you need to know that what matters at this time is knowing the difference between the new and old commandments and what it means to keep the commandments.
In John 13:34, it says, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.” In the new commandment, Jesus tells us to love one another. So, is the new commandment different from the old commandment to love one another?
Leviticus 19:18 says, “Do not take revenge, do not grumble against your fellow men, love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.” In other words, loving your neighbor is not a new commandment, but a command already given to the people of the Old Testament. What is the reason for mentioning the new commandment while speaking of what God has already said?
First of all, we need to understand that God's words to love each other in the Old Testament are completely different from what Jesus said to love each other. God's command to love your neighbor as yourself is to show that so-called human love is not love. It can be said that human love is, at best, almost all it is to be kind, to help a little, and to get along with the person you love. But God tells us to love ourselves as ourselves. Is this kind of love possible with human power? Absolutely impossible.
So, what does Jesus mean when he tells us to love one another? It means to love one another in the sense that the impossible is made possible. This is the meaning of the new commandment.
We are without love. How can we love our neighbors? It was made possible because of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the difference between the old commandment and the new commandment is not in the content of the commandment, but in the matter of practice.
Again, the commandments are not something we can put into practice. I live in me, so how can I love my neighbor as myself? Therefore, because of God's commandments, our sinfulness, our wickedness, and our disobedience are bound to be exposed. But in Christ it is possible. Because in Christ there is new life. In other words, to love is not a result of our strength and effort, but a fruit that can be seen when we abide in Christ. In this sense, we are talking about the new commandment.
In the end, what is the basis for a believer to act as the Lord did as in verse 6? Because we live as those who have received the life of Christ in Christ.
John 15:4-5 says, “Abide in me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of its own accord unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, and you is a branch, if he in me and I in him, this man bears much fruit; apart from me, after you