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“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
— John 13:34–35 (KJV)
The central theme of this song is not a suggestion, not an option, but a command: the command of love. Jesus does not say, “I recommend,” or, “I suggest.” He says, “I command.”
In the Christian life, love is not primarily a feeling. It is an obedient response to the Word of God. It is the visible evidence of authentic discipleship. Jesus gives us the measure, the standard, and the test:
This command of love is central to spiritual growth, to deliverance from selfishness and bitterness, and to effective spiritual warfare. Many believers seek power, anointing, and victory, but ignore the basic command that governs the whole Christian life: love one another as Christ has loved us.
Let us look at what the Word of God says.
John 13 places us in a very specific setting: the upper room, on the night before Jesus’ crucifixion.
At the beginning of John 13, we read:
“Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.” (John 13:1)
Then, astonishingly, the Lord of glory lays aside His garments, takes a towel, and washes the disciples’ feet. This is not a religious ritual. This is love in action, humility in action, servanthood in action. It is the living demonstration of the command that will follow.
After the foot washing, after exposing the betrayer, Jesus speaks to the remaining disciples:
“Little children, yet a little while I am with you… A new commandment I give unto you…” (John 13:33–34)
This is family language. “Little children.” Jesus is not speaking to the crowds, not giving general moral advice to humanity. He is speaking to His own covenant community. The command of love is first and foremost directed to relationships among believers: “that ye love one another.”
The context is also one of impending pressure and persecution. The disciples will soon face:
In that context, Jesus does not first emphasize strategy, organization, or influence. He emphasizes love. This will be the distinguishing mark of His people. Not buildings. Not titles. Not external rituals. But mutual, sacrificial love.
So, picture yourself in that room. You are sitting there, feet recently washed by the Master, aware that something momentous is about to happen. You do not yet understand the cross, but you feel the weight of His words. Into that atmosphere, Jesus speaks: “A new commandment I give unto you…”
### 1. “New” – *kainos* (καινός)
The word translated “new” is *kainos*, not *neos*.
So when Jesus says, “A new commandment” (*entolē kainē*), He is not merely giving another rule added to the existing set. He is introducing a command that is new in nature and quality. It is not simply an extension of Old Testament commandments; it is the fulfillment and elevation of them.
Under the Old Covenant, Israel already had the command to love:
What is new is not that we must love, but how and on what basis we love.
### 2. “Love” – *agapaō* (ἀγαπάω) / *agapē* (ἀγάπη)
The verb “love” here is *agapaō*; the noun form is *agapē*.
This is not merely affection, nor romantic attraction, nor family attachment. It is a love of the will, rooted in decision, expressed in action.
*Agapē* is:
So the command can be understood as:
“A commandment of a new kind I give to you, that you practice *agapē* toward one another; in the same way and of the same kind as I have practiced *agapē* toward you.”
This shows us that the song’s words, “as I have loved you,” are not soft poetry. They are a direct reference to a specific, defined, costly love—the love that took Jesus from the table to the towel, and from the upper room to the cross.
This love is not natural. It is supernatural. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22). It flows in us and through us to others when we submit ourselves to the Lordship of Christ and to the working of the Spirit.
### “A new commandment I give unto you…”
The Christian life begins by receiving what Jesus gives. Notice the order: “I give… you love.” We do not generate this love in ourselves. We receive the command from His mouth and the power from His Spirit.
This “new commandment” is central to the New Covenant. In fact, it is one of the key evidences that the law is now written on our hearts:
“This is the covenant that I will make with them… I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.” (Heb. 10:16)
What laws? Fundamentally, the law of love:
“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.” (Rom. 13:8)
Satan’s kingdom is built on pride, hatred, and self-centeredness. God’s kingdom is built on humility, love, and self-giving. When we obey this command, we actively resist the nature of Satan’s kingdom and manifest the nature of God’s kingdom.
### “That you love one another…”
This is very specific. The first sphere of this command is the community of believers.
If we do not love our brothers and sisters in Christ, our claim to love God is exposed as false:
“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar…” (1 John 4:20)
So, the first application of this song is not general kindness to the world, but specific, practical, sacrificial love to fellow believers: in the local church, in the home, in the Body of Christ worldwide.
This is where many Christians fail. They talk of love in general, but harbor resentment, envy, and division within the Body. That is spiritual contradiction. It gives Satan a landing ground and grieves the Holy Spirit.
### “As I have loved you…”
Here we come to the heart of the command. The standard is not:
It is: “as I have loved you.”
How has Christ loved us?
1. He loved us while we were unworthy.
“While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8)
This means we are called to love believers who fail, who disappoint us, who offend us.
2. He loved us practically, not theoretically.
He washed feet (John 13:14–15). He healed the sick. He bore our sins.
So this love is expressed in service, not mere words:
“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:18)
3. He loved us sacrificially.
“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (1 John 3:16)
The true test of *agapē* is what we are willing to give up for the good of another: time, comfort, resources, reputation.
4. He loved us to the end.
“He loved them unto the end.” (John 13:1)
This love endures. It is not easily offended. It does not quit when hurt.
“Love… beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” (1 Cor. 13:7)
So, when you sing, “as I have loved you,” you are submitting yourself to a very high standard. You are saying, “Lord, by Your grace, I am willing to love others with this kind of love—unearned, practical, sacrificial, enduring.”
This is impossible in the flesh. It demands the cross in our own lives:
But it is attainable in the Spirit. The same love with which Christ loved us is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit:
“The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Rom. 5:5)
### “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples…”
Here Jesus gives an objective test of true discipleship. Not:
He says: “By this.”
The world has a right to examine our relationships. Jesus gives the unbeliever a valid test of whether we are truly His disciples: the quality of our love for one another.
When the Church is marked by internal strife, division, ethnic prejudice, unresolved resentment, and competition, the testimony of Christ is obscured. When believers of different backgrounds, personalities, and cultures love one another with *agapē* love, the testimony of Christ is displayed.
This is spiritual warfare at the relational level. Satan seeks to discredit the Gospel by producing hatred, suspicion, and division among believers. The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ by producing supernatural love among believers.
Paul connects this to spiritual maturity:
“…speaking the truth in love, [we] may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” (Eph. 4:15)
Growth into Christ happens “in love.” Where love is absent, spiritual development is stunted.
### “If you have love one for another.”
Note the conditional “if.” This is not automatic. It is possible to be a believer and yet fail to walk in this love. Therefore, it is a command to be obeyed, a lifestyle to be chosen.
“Having love” is not primarily an emotion. It is a settled attitude and pattern of behavior:
“Charity [love] shall cover the multitude of sins.” (1 Pet. 4:8)
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying…” (Eph. 4:29)
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” (Gal. 6:2)
The “law of Christ” is the command of love. When you bear your brother’s burden, you are fulfilling that law.
So the repeated refrain in the song:
“A new commandment I give unto you,
That you love one another, as I have loved you…”
is not mere repetition. It is a necessary reminder. Our hearts are prone to drift back into selfishness, pride, and self-protection. The Holy Spirit brings back this “new commandment” again and again to keep us aligned with the heart of Christ.
This command must not remain abstract. It must govern how we live. Let me give you four clear steps.
### 1. First, we must repent of unlove.
Before we can walk in love, we must acknowledge where we have not walked in love. Unforgiveness, bitterness, envy, and coldness toward other believers are not minor issues. They are sins.
John is very direct:
“He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.” (1 John 3:14)
Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to your mind:
Then, call these attitudes what God calls them: sin. Confess them, renounce them, and receive cleansing:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us…” (1 John 1:9)
Repentance breaks Satan’s hold and removes his legal ground of accusation.
### 2. Second, we must receive Christ’s love for us as the source.
You cannot give what you have not received. Many believers try to love others without first being rooted in the fact that Christ has loved them personally, fully, and unconditionally.
Jesus said:
“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.” (John 15:9)
Take time with the Word of God to meditate on how Christ has loved you:
As this becomes real in your heart, you become a channel, not the source. The love you extend to others is His love flowing through you.
You may say, “My love is very weak.” That is not the issue. The question is: are you allowing His love to flow?
### 3. Third, we must decide to obey the command of love.
Love is a command, not a suggestion. Therefore, we must treat it as an issue of obedience. This involves deliberate choices:
“Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” (Col. 3:13)
“Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.” (Rom. 12:14)
“By love serve one another.” (Gal. 5:13)
You may not feel love at first, but when you choose to act in line with God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will bear witness and produce genuine *agapē* in your heart.
Make it personal. You can say: “Lord Jesus, I choose to obey Your command. I choose to love my brothers and sisters as You have loved me. I submit my feelings, my rights, and my preferences to Your Word.”
### 4. Fourth, we must express this love in concrete ways.
Love that is never expressed is suspect. Ask the Lord for practical ways to walk out this command:
“If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee… first be reconciled to thy brother.” (Matt. 5:23–24)
Ask yourself regularly: “Am I walking in this command of love toward the believers around me?” This is not sentimental, but very practical and often costly.
### Proclamation
Say this aloud, thoughtfully, as an act of alignment with God’s Word:
“I receive the words of Jesus in John 13:34–35 as His command to me.
A new commandment He has given me: that I love my brothers and sisters,
as He has loved me.
I declare that I am not led by my feelings, but by the Word of God.
The love of God is shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, I can love with *agapē* love.
By this love, all will know that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I renounce hatred, bitterness, resentment, and unforgiveness.
I choose to forgive, to bless, to serve, and to lay down my life for the brethren.
I commit myself to walk in this new commandment:
to love one another, as Jesus has loved me.
This love shall be the mark of my life, my home, and my church,
to the glory of God the Father, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
### Prayer
“Lord Jesus Christ,
I thank You that You loved me and gave Yourself for me.
I acknowledge Your words: ‘A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you.’
I confess before You any unlove in my heart—every resentment, every bitter memory, every hard attitude toward my brothers and sisters. I bring them to Your cross. I ask You to forgive me, to cleanse me, and to deliver me from every spirit that works against Your love in my life.
Holy Spirit, pour the love of God afresh into my heart.
Empower me to love as Jesus loved: unselfishly, practically, sacrificially, and enduringly.
Make my life, my relationships, and my church a demonstration of this new commandment, so that all may know that we are truly disciples of Jesus.
I submit myself to the command of love. I choose to obey it.
Let the world see Christ in me, through this love for my brothers and sisters.
I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.”
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