The Apostle John teaches us some practical ways of measuring our growth in the things of the Spirit of God as he learned them from Jesus our Holy Master Himself. Listen and learn as Pastor: Landis expounds on some comparisons in our culture with the biblical record of applications of spiritual love and see some of the things that we can accomplish only through the love of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
Old Testament Scripture Reading: Leviticus 19:12 – 18 (NASB)
Lev 19:12 ‘And you shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.
Lev 19:13 ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning.
Lev 19:14 ‘You shall not curse a deaf man, nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the LORD.
Lev 19:15 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
Lev 19:16 ‘You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the LORD.
Lev 19:17 ‘You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him.
Lev 19:18 ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am
New Testament Scripture Reading: 1 John 2:5 – 11 (NASB)
1 John 2:5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 1 John 2:6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. 1 John 2:7 Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. 1 John 2:8 On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. 1 John 2:9 The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. 1 John 2:10 The one who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 1 John 2:11 But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Transforming Power Statements:
#1) Every believer in Christ Jesus must continually be in the process of learning the properties of true spiritual love as it can only be known through the proper understanding of the truths of the Scriptures, which are the source of spiritual definition for what true love is. (1 Corinthians 13:1 – 13; Genesis 1:1 – Revelation 22:21)
#2) Our development in Christian growth is a direct corollary to our Spirit-derived ability to understand and practice “Spiritual Love”
toward our fellow saints and sinners as well in accordance to the Word, but especially to those of the “household of faith”. (Galatians 6:10) #3) As Jesus performed and taught in the gospel records, it can be said that true spiritual love toward God and man is the summary of the Law and therefore, is the fulfillment of it also. (Romans 13:8)
