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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 shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.”
— John 13:34–35 (KJV)
Let us look at what the Word of God says.
The central theme of this song is not human sentiment, not religious politeness, but a divine command. Jesus does not say, “I suggest” or “I recommend.” He says, “A new commandment I give unto you.”
Love, according to Jesus, is:
1. Commanded, not optional.
2. Defined by His own love for us, not by our feelings.
3. Evidence to the world that we truly belong to Him.
The lyrics are simply a restatement of His words:
> “A new commandment I give unto you
> That you love one another, as I have loved you…
> By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.”
This is not just about being nice. This is the mark of authentic Christianity. Jesus gives the world the right to judge whether we are His disciples based on one criterion: our love for one another.
John 13 places us in the upper room on the night before the crucifixion. The setting is Passover. Jesus is with the twelve. Judas is present. The cross is only hours away.
Several key facts are important:
1. Jesus knew His hour had come
John 13:1:
“Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.”
This statement sets the atmosphere. Everything that follows is given in the light of His departure. These are not casual remarks; these are final instructions.
2. Jesus had just washed their feet
John 13:4–5:
“He rises from supper, and laid aside His garments; and took a towel, and girded Himself. After that He pours water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded.”
The Lord of glory had taken the role of the lowest household servant. He had *demonstrated* love in humility before He *commanded* it in words.
3. Judas’ betrayal is in motion
John 13:27–30 tells us that Satan entered into Judas, and Judas went out to betray Jesus. The atmosphere is charged with spiritual warfare, treachery, and impending suffering.
4. Jesus speaks after Judas departs
John 13:31–33 shows Jesus speaking of His glorification through the cross, and then He turns to the eleven remaining and uses a very tender expression:
“Little children, yet a little while I am with you…”
Then He says:
> “A new commandment I give unto you…”
He is addressing the core group who will form the foundation of the Church. These men will preach the gospel to the nations, heal the sick, cast out demons, and many will die as martyrs. Yet the distinguishing mark He chooses is not miracles, not powerful preaching, not vast ministries, but love for one another.
We must place ourselves there. The Lord, on the threshold of His passion, looks at those who will represent Him after He is gone, and says in effect: “This is the condition under which you will bear My name before the world. This is how the world will identify you as Mine—by your love for one another.”
### 1) “New” – *kainos*
“A new commandment I give unto you…”
The Greek word translated “new” is *kainos*. It does not merely mean “new in time,” but “new in kind, new in quality, fresh, unprecedented.”
The Old Testament had already commanded love:
So what is “new” about this commandment?
The quality, the measure, the pattern of love is new. It is not based on human capacity but on Christ’s example and Christ’s life within us.
### 2) “Love” – *agapáō / agápē*
“That you love one another; as I have loved you…”
The verb here is *agapáō*, from the noun *agápē*.
*Agápē* is not emotional affection, not attraction, not sentiment. It is:
1 John 4:8:
“God is love (*agápē*).”
This love is not produced by human nature. Romans 5:5 says:
“…the love (*agápē*) of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
So when Jesus says, “That you love one another, as I have loved you,” He is commanding a supernatural love that is imparted by the Holy Spirit.
This changes how we interpret the lyrics. They are not a call to try harder in the flesh, but a call to yield to the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit and then *choose* to act in accordance with that love.
### Stanza 1–2: “A new commandment I give unto you / That you love one another, as I have loved you”
#### 1) It is a commandment, not an option
Jesus does not frame this as a suggestion. The Greek word *entolē* (commandment) denotes an authoritative order. To disregard this is disobedience.
Many believers focus on some commands and neglect others. But here we have the central moral command of the New Covenant. In fact, in John 15:12, Jesus repeats it:
“This is My commandment, That you love one another, as I have loved you.”
In 1 John 3:23, it is summarized this way:
“And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment.”
One command with two parts:
1. Believe in Jesus.
2. Love one another.
Faith and love are inseparable. If we claim faith but manifest no love, our profession is hollow.
#### 2) The measure: “As I have loved you”
How has He loved us? Scripture answers:
Ephesians 5:2 says:
“Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.”
“As I have loved you” means love that:
#### 3) The object: “One another”
This is specifically directed at relationships within the body of Christ.
Galatians 6:10 says:
“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
The world is to see something unique about how Christians relate to other Christians. This does not exclude loving unbelievers, but it begins in the family of God.
1 Peter 1:22:
“Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.”
Note:
This is very different from polite distance or Sunday-only, superficial relationships.
### Refrain: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another”
Here Jesus gives the authenticating sign of discipleship.
#### 1) “By this” – not by that
He does not say:
He says, “By this”—by love for one another.
Miracles, preaching, and gifts have their place, but they are not the primary public proof of discipleship. In Matthew 7:22–23, Jesus warns that some will prophesy, cast out demons, and do miracles in His name, and yet He will say, “I never knew you.”
But love cannot be faked indefinitely. Sooner or later, our relationships reveal whether we are truly under the Lordship of Christ.
#### 2) “All men know” – powerful public testimony
The world is watching. Jesus establishes that the Church’s greatest evangelistic testimony is not primarily its programs, but its relationships.
John 17:21:
“…that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.”
Unity in love is directly linked to the world’s faith in Christ’s mission.
When unbelievers see Christians:
Then they are confronted with a supernatural reality that cannot be explained merely by human effort.
#### 3) “If you have love one for another” – a condition
The word “if” is critical. This is conditional. If we do not have love for one another:
Satan understands this. One of his primary strategies is to sow offense, suspicion, bitterness, and division among believers. That is why love within the body is not sentimental; it is warfare.
James 3:14–16 warns:
“But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth… For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”
Where love is absent, “every evil work” gains an entry point.
### Spiritual Realities Underneath the Command
1. The nature of God
1 John 4:8: “God is love.”
To walk in *agápē* is to manifest the very nature of God. To refuse love is to resist His nature.
2. The nature of the new birth
1 John 4:7: “Everyone that loves is born of God, and knows God.”
Love is the evidence of regeneration. Hatred, chronic resentment, or refusal to forgive is a sign that something is fundamentally wrong.
3. The role of the Holy Spirit
Galatians 5:22 lists love first among the fruit of the Spirit.
Flesh produces division and selfishness. Spirit produces love.
4. The battlefield of the heart
The command to love confronts:
The cross deals with all of these. When we accept the death of our old nature with Christ, we are set free to love in a new way.
This command must move from theory to practice. I will outline four clear steps.
### 1) First: Receive His love as the source
You cannot give what you have not received. Many Christians try to love without first deeply receiving the love of God.
1 John 4:19:
“We love Him, because He first loved us.”
Meditate on Scriptures that reveal His love:
Make it personal: “Jesus, You love me. You gave Yourself for me. Your love is not based on my performance but on Your nature.”
As you receive, you become a channel instead of a reservoir.
### 2) Second: Decide to obey, not to feel
Love in this sense is first an act of the will, empowered by God.
Colossians 3:14:
“And above all these things put on charity (*agápē*), which is the bond of perfectness.”
“Put on”—like a garment. It is a choice.
You may say, “I do not feel love for that person.” The reply of Scripture is: Obey first; feelings often follow obedience, not the other way around.
Practical step:
Name specific believers with whom you are in tension. Before God say:
“Lord, I forgive them. I choose to love them. Show me how to bless them.”
### 3) Third: Express love in practical action
1 John 3:18:
“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
Ask the Holy Spirit for specific ways to demonstrate love:
Galatians 5:13:
“…by love serve one another.”
Service is a primary expression of love. Jesus washed feet. We can wash “feet” in many modern forms—doing the humble, hidden tasks that make life easier for others.
### 4) Fourth: Guard love through forgiveness and reconciliation
Love cannot be maintained without continual forgiveness.
Ephesians 4:32:
“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
“Even as”—that is the standard. As God has forgiven us, freely, fully, repeatedly, we must forgive others.
Unforgiveness is a spiritual cancer. It blocks the flow of God’s love and opens the door to torment (see Matthew 18:23–35).
Practical steps:
Sometimes reconciliation is not possible, but forgiveness is always possible. You can release them to God, trust Him to deal righteously, and refuse to hold them in the prison of your heart.
### Proclamation
Speak this aloud, slowly and deliberately:
“I receive the words of Jesus as absolute authority in my life.
He has given me a new commandment, that I love my brothers and sisters,
as He has loved me.
I declare that the love of God is shed abroad in my heart
by the Holy Spirit who is given to me.
I choose to walk in love, not in hatred, not in bitterness, not in self-will.
I choose to forgive those who have wronged me,
as God in Christ has forgiven me.
I renounce every form of strife, envy, and division.
I am a disciple of Jesus,
and by this—by love for my brothers and sisters—
all will know that I belong to Him.
Amen.”
### Prayer
Lord Jesus,
You are the One who loved us and gave Yourself for us.
You have commanded us to love one another as You have loved us.
We confess that in our own strength we cannot fulfill this command.
We turn away from pride, from resentment, from unforgiveness, and from selfishness.
We ask You now:
Let the love of God be poured afresh into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
Teach us to see our brothers and sisters as You see them.
Empower us to act in love—
to serve, to forgive, to bless, and to seek reconciliation.
Make our homes, our congregations, and our relationships
a visible testimony to the world
that we are truly Your disciples.
Where there is division, bring healing.
Where there is coldness, kindle love.
Where there is hardness, soften by Your Spirit.
We submit to Your new commandment.
We say, “Yes, Lord. By Your grace, we will love one another.”
In Your holy name, Jesus,
Amen.
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