At the core of New Commandment Men’s Ministries is…well…the new commandment. Jesus states this new commandment no less than three times in what are called his Last Night Discourses, which are found in John chapter 13 through chapter 16. The first statement of this command is John 13:34-35.
“A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
The second statement of this command is John 15:12-13.
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
And the third statement of this command is John 15:17.
“This is my command: Love each other.”
Obviously, Jesus’ “new commandment” is extremely important for all Christians: he gives it to his disciples on the last night before he is crucified, he repeats it three times, and it is central to the new covenant he also institutes at this time (Luke 22:20), a covenant we celebrate every time we partake of communion. (“This cup is the new covenant in his blood….”)
In his first statement of this command, Jesus makes it clear that the kind of love he is telling us to show each other is unique from all other types of love: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Like a geiger counter that begins crackling when it detects radiation, Jesus is saying that the entire world has been hard-wired by God to know when people are present who love each other this way.
So the question is, what makes Christ’s love so unique that people automatically identify us as his followers when we practice it? After meditating on this question for years, I’ve concluded that there are at least three unique qualities that have to be present in order for Christ’s love to be expressed. (So far, after sharing these qualities with thousands of Christians, no one has suggested any additional qualities.)
The first two of these unique qualities are based on the doctrine of the Incarnation and the third is based on the doctrine of redemption.
First Unique Quality of Christ’s Love: Personal Identification
In the Incarnation, God identifies with us by becoming one with us: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:10). The result of this identification is greater understanding and comprehension – we understand God and his love for us in a way we never could have before (1 John 3:16), and we have an intercessor who knows and understands our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15).
Second Unique Quality of Christ’s Love: Commitment
Also in the Incarnation, the Son of God became a human being. But he didn’t just become a human being, he became a human being permanently. He will always be a human being for the rest of time and eternity. Jesus Christ in his exaltation is “very God and very man.”
Third Unique Quality of Christ’s Love: Sacrifice
The third unique quality of Christ’s love is based on a different doctrine than the first two. This quality is based on the doctrine of redemption. In redemption, God is meeting a need we cannot meet.
“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The only way we can pay for the consequences of our sin is to die. But God, in his mercy, has provided a substitute for us, Jesus Christ. Through faith in him, we have forgiveness of sins and newness of life everlasting.
These, then, are the three unique qualities of Jesus Christ’s love – and God’s love – for us: personal identification, commitment, and sacrifice. Therefore, when Jesus commands us to love as he has loved us, these three qualities must be present. We must identify with the person we are loving, commit to them, and sacrifice for them.
Two common examples of this type of love are marriage and parenthood, In both of these social bonds, husbands and wives, as well as parents with their children, are identifying with, committing to, and sacrificing for the other.
But note that Jesus’ command is wider than mere family relationships. Jesus specifically broadens his command to include fellow believers: “Love each other as I have loved you.” Therefore, for this command to be fully obeyed, we must personally identify with, commit to, and sacrifice for our fellow believers.
Hence, the purpose of New Commandment Men’s Ministries is to convey this basic message to the church: the love of Christ applies to more than just marriage and family, but to everyone in the church, especially to those who need it the most: our widows, widowers, single parents, and others with long term “pressing” needs: people the modern church often ignores.
It is only when we identify with, commit to, and sacrifice for the neediest in our congregations – and then extending that love out to our communities – that we are truly obeying Jesus’ command to love each other as he has loved us.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
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Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom
and fatherless child in your church at NewCommandment.org.
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