Understanding the two commandments Jesus gave through a New Covenant perspective…
I have sat under many ministers who have taught these two commandments – ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind and you shall love your neighbor as yourself’. I have spent many years in condemnation because in all reality, I could not honestly say that I loved God with ALL of my heart, ALL of my soul and ALL of my mind… I failed just as greatly at the second commandment. My conclusion… ‘It is impossible to fulfill the two commandments that Jesus gave!
Just like every other Old Covenant Law, we can partly do some of it, but we simply do not have the ability to totally fulfill it, and under the Law, a nine out of ten is a one hundred present failure!
In context, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment IN THE LAW?” The question was not a New Covenant question, and the answer that Jesus gave was not a New Covenant answer – Jesus answered a question regarding the Old Covenant Law.
Romans 3:19 says that the law’s purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God and in Romans 5:20 it says that God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. The Law was given to prepare people to receive their Messiah and His New Covenant of grace. Jesus entirely and completely fulfilled both commandments, He loved God with all of His heart, with all His soul, and with all of His mind and He loved His neighbor as Himself – So, IN CHRIST we HAVE fulfilled the Law… what we cannot and could not do in our strength was done for us by Jesus. How awesome is that!
So, how do we increase our love for the Lord and others under the New Covenant?
1 John 4:19 says that ‘we love because He first loved us.’ As we freely receive Jesus’ unremitted, undeserved love for us, the love that we receive can now be given back to Him to others and to ourselves. Stop trying to love Jesus, others and yourself more, and start receiving the love of Jesus and as you do, you will increase your capacity to love.
Make this confession of faith - say this out loud with me…
“John 17:17 says that I am sanctified and set apart by Your truth - Your Word is truth - Your Word absolute truth – the Word is for me to walk in, to accept as final truth and for me to stand on, to declare by faith and for me to do – I am who the Word says that I am - I can do what the Word says I can do - I can be who the Word says I can be - Christ in me can do all things – I can do all things through Christ - I have absolute POWER over ALL the Work of the enemy – nothing shall by any means harm me – I have power to raise the dead – I have power to heal the sick – I have power to do the works of Jesus – I have total authority over all of the works of His hands in Jesus Name! – the power and the authority of the creator of all things is on the inside of me – when I speak by faith, I ALWAYS have what I say – As I speak the Word, the Father ALWAYS watches over it to perform it – The Father loves it when I expect Him to ALWAYS perform His EVERY Word! – I always expect the Father to bring to pass every word that I speak according to His Word – God is not a man that He should lie – His Word is literal, His Word is truth and His Word is final!”
