Old & New Commandments

24 October 2014

"Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. 8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth."(1st John 2:7-8)

John mentions old and new commandments in this passage but he is essentially saying that the commandment is the same - Love.

Several times in the gospel accounts we find Jesus being confronted with the question of what is the greatest commandment. His answer was always the same;

"Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."(Matthew 22:36-40)

What John is saying is that the commandment has not change but we now see it from a new perspective. It was given as a law or rule in the Old Testament but now it has been shown in the perfect example in the life of Jesus Christ.

Any question about what God meant by his commandments was answered in the life and actions of Jesus Christ. The commandments were fulfilled in Him and He has shown forth the perfect example for us to follow.

Bryce Lowrance

Elder Bryce Lowrance

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