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“A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
— John 13:34–35
Let us look at what the Word of God says. The words we have just read are not suggestions. They are not recommendations. They are not optional extras for especially dedicated Christians. They are a commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus calls it “a new commandment.”
The song you have before you is built almost entirely from Scripture. It circles and returns again and again to one central demand of God upon His people:
> “That you love one another, as I have loved you.”
Linked to this are two other key passages:
— Ephesians 5:2
— Colossians 3:14
These verses, sung and repeated, press home one decisive truth: love is not an emotion we visit from time to time; it is a commanded lifestyle, a way of walking, a garment we put on, and the chief mark of true discipleship.
The great issue is not how much Bible we know, not how many meetings we attend, not how many spiritual experiences we claim, but this: Do we obey the command of love?
The main words of the chorus come from John 13. We must stand in that room with the disciples to grasp the weight of this commandment.
### The setting: The Upper Room
John 13 describes the night before the crucifixion. Jesus knows:
The atmosphere is intense. The cross is only hours away. Jesus is not giving casual teaching; He is giving His final instructions to those who will carry His mission.
In that setting, John writes:
> “Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”
> — John 13:1
Then Jesus does something shocking. He takes the place of a slave, washes their feet, and says:
> “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”
> — John 13:15
Immediately after speaking of the betrayer (Judas), and after Judas has gone out into the night (John 13:30), Jesus turns to the eleven and says:
> “A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another…”
So:
Love, in this context, is not sentiment. It is covenant loyalty, expressed in costly service, in the face of spiritual hostility and human failure.
### Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3
Paul writes Ephesians and Colossians from prison. He is not theorizing about love from a comfortable study. He is suffering for the gospel.
Love is not one virtue among many. It is the crowning garment that holds all the others together.
So we have:
This is the atmosphere in which these lyrics live and breathe.
To understand the depth of this command, we must look at two key Greek words.
### 1. “Love” – *agapē* (ἀγάπη) / *agapaō* (ἀγαπάω)
In the New Testament, the primary word used here is agapē (noun) or agapaō (verb).
“God is love (agapē).” — 1 John 4:8
In John 13:34:
> “That you love (*agapāte*) one another; as I have loved (*ēgapēsa*) you…”
This is not:
It is: Choose, by your will, to seek the highest good of your brother or sister, in the same way that Christ has done for you.
In Ephesians 5:2:
> “Walk in love (*agapē*), just as Christ also loved (*ēgapēsen*) us and gave Himself up for us…”
Here we see the content of agapē: it gives itself up, it offers itself, it is sacrificial.
In Colossians 3:14:
> “Put on love (*agapēn*), which is the bond of perfect unity.”
Love is the binding force, the divine glue that holds people together in true unity.
### 2. “Commandment” – *entolē* (ἐντολή)
In John 13:34:
> “A new commandment (*entolēn kainēn*) I give unto you…”
*Entolē* means a charge, a precept, something prescribed with authority. It is used often of God’s commandments in Scripture.
This word tells us:
And it is called a “new commandment” (*kainē* means “new in quality, fresh, of a new kind”).
What is new?
“As I have loved you.”
So we have:
The lyrics follow a simple but profound progression. Each line connects us to deep spiritual realities.
### Chorus: “A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another, as I have loved you”
The chorus repeats John 13:34. Consider the structure:
1. “A new commandment I give unto you”
Jesus here speaks with royal authority. He does not negotiate. He gives.
2. “That you love one another”
The primary field of this command is within the community of believers.
Galatians 6:10:
> “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”
3. “As I have loved you”
This is the standard. How has He loved us?
So the chorus presses upon us:
This already introduces spiritual warfare. The primary area Satan attacks in any church is relationships—our obedience to the command to love. Division, suspicion, resentment, unforgiveness—these are not merely psychological issues; they are strategies of the enemy to make us disobey Christ’s central command.
Where there is persistent disobedience to this command, Satan will gain a foothold.
### Verse 1: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples…”
The verse quotes John 13:35:
> “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Notice what Jesus does not say:
All of these may have their place, but the decisive evidence to the world is: love for one another.
The Greek word for “know” here (*gnōsontai*) indicates recognition. The world is permitted—indeed, authorized—by God to test our discipleship by one primary measure: How do we treat other believers?
This exposes hypocrisy:
1 John 4:20–21:
> “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar… And this commandment we have from Him, that he who loves God must love his brother also.”
The repetition in the lyrics—“By this shall all men know…”—drives home that love is our badge of identity. Spiritual gifts are not the badge. Love is.
### Verse 2: “Walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us…”
This is Ephesians 5:2:
> “Walk in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a fragrant aroma.”
Here we move from command to pattern and pathway.
“Walk” (*peripateite*) describes the continuous conduct of life. To walk in love means:
How do we define this walk?
“Just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us.”
This defines agapē concretely:
This is important. Our love for others is, at its core, worship to God. When we choose to forgive, to serve, to be patient, to bless, we are not simply doing horizontal acts; we are offering vertical sacrifice.
Note also: Paul connects love with sacrifice and fragrance:
Where Christians refuse this sacrificial way, they block God’s pleasure and invite spiritual stagnation.
### Verse 3: “Above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity”
This draws from Colossians 3:14:
> “Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”
The image is clothing. Paul has just told the believers to “put on”:
Then he says, “Beyond all these things, put on love.”
The picture is like this:
“Bond” (*sundesmos*) means that which binds together, a ligament, a fastening. “Perfect” (*teleiotētos*) speaks of maturity, completeness.
So:
In spiritual warfare terms: love is the main defense of the Body’s unity. Where love is absent, the Body is disjointed and vulnerable to demonic attack—especially through division, slander, bitterness, and sectarianism.
### The repetition of the chorus
The song returns again and again:
> “A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another, as I have loved you.”
Repetition is significant. God often repeats what we are slow to obey. Many believers seek new revelations, new experiences, new teachings, while neglecting the new commandment that Jesus has already given.
If we do not obey this central command, our quest for deeper spiritual things will be blocked. Paul says:
> “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong… If I have the gift of prophecy… and know all mysteries and all knowledge… and if I have all faith… but do not have love, I am nothing.”
> — 1 Corinthians 13:1–2
Note the severity: “I am nothing.” Not “I have a weakness,” but “I am nothing.”
The song therefore calls us back from spiritual pretense to the central requirement of Christ—the command of love.
Love is a command. The Holy Spirit is given to enable obedience. We must respond in a deliberate, practical way. I will outline four steps.
### 1. We must acknowledge love as a binding command, not an option
First, we must settle this in our hearts:
This means:
We must call sin by its right name. Many relational sins in the church are masked under phrases like “personality clash” or “differences.” Often, in reality, they are disobedience to the command of love.
Ask the Holy Spirit:
When He shows you, repent specifically.
### 2. We must receive Christ’s love as the pattern and power
The command is: “as I have loved you.” To obey, we must first receive His love, not as theory, but as personal reality.
Romans 5:5:
> “The love (agapē) of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
The Holy Spirit pours God’s love into the heart. Many believers have correct doctrine but wounded hearts that have not truly received the Father’s love or Christ’s personal love.
Practical steps:
The more we receive His love, the more we have resource to love others. We cannot give what we have never received.
### 3. We must choose the walk of sacrificial love
“Walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us…”
This requires deliberate choices, especially in three key areas:
1. Forgiveness
2. Serving
3. Speaking
Ephesians 4:29:
> “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification…”
You will find that each of these areas involves death to self. That is exactly what Ephesians 5:2 describes: love as sacrifice.
### 4. We must “put on” love to protect and heal unity
“Above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity.”
This is an ongoing, daily action:
Practical suggestions:
1. Daily surrender of relationships
2. Refusal of division
3. Pursue reconciliation
In doing these things, you participate in the bond of perfect unity. You become a living answer to Jesus’ prayer:
> “That they may be one, just as We are one… that the world may know that You sent Me.”
> — John 17:22–23
Notice: both in John 13 and John 17, Jesus ties the credibility of our witness to our love and unity.
### Proclamation
Speak this aloud, slowly and thoughtfully. Align your will with God’s Word.
> I proclaim that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Master.
> He has given me a new commandment: that I love my brothers and sisters, as He has loved me.
> I acknowledge that love is not optional for me; it is His binding command.
> I affirm that the love of God has been poured out in my heart by the Holy Spirit.
> Therefore, I choose to walk in love, just as Christ loved me and gave Himself up for me.
> I choose to put on love as my garment and my bond of unity with the Body of Christ.
> I renounce bitterness, hatred, unforgiveness, and division.
> I receive grace to forgive, to serve, and to bless.
> By this love, the world shall know that I am a disciple of Jesus.
> I declare that love is the bond of perfect unity in my life, my home, and my fellowship—
> in the name of Jesus. Amen.
### Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
You have given me a new commandment: that I love my brothers and sisters as You have loved me. I confess that I have often failed to obey this command. I have harbored wrong attitudes, spoken careless words, and withheld love where You required it.
I ask You now to forgive me, cleanse me, and renew me. Holy Spirit, pour the love of God afresh into my heart. Reveal to me the depth of Christ’s love for me, and make that love the measure and pattern of my dealings with others.
I choose, by an act of my will, to walk in love. I yield my relationships to You. Where I need to forgive, show me. Where I need to repent to others, strengthen me. Where I have contributed to division, correct me.
Clothe me with love as a garment. Make me a bond of peace and unity in the Body of Christ. Let my life, my words, and my actions demonstrate to the world that I am truly a disciple of Jesus.
I ask this in Your mighty name, Lord Jesus.
Amen.
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