The New Commandment -- Old From the Beginning
The New Commandment -- Old From the Beginning
The apostle John wrote, "Brethren, I write no new commandment
to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the
beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from
the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which
thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing
away, and the true light is already shining" (1 John 2:7-8). The
beloved apostle was not discussing options. Commands of God are
not optional. A command from God presupposes his requirement of
man’s obedience. As the apostle Peter during his trial in
Jerusalem, said, "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts
5:29). Obedience to this command that is both old and new is
required of those who would enter and maintain fellowship with
God.
As we continue our study of the letters of the apostle John,
we will study more of what is involved in obedience to God. We
will seek to understand how the commandment is old, yet new and
how important the beginnings of Christianity are. Today on this
program we will study these matters more closely, so please stay
tuned.
The West End church of Christ presents this program over this
radio station every Sunday at this same time. We hope to help
you become better acquainted with your Bible, and also to get to
know us, who we are and what we stand for. Being fallible, we
may err from time to time and in that event we ask those of you
who listen to let us know wherein you find us to be in error. We
do not want to be wrong.
You are very warmly invited to visit our meetings today. At
9 a.m. we have Bible classes for all ages. Today at 10 a.m. and
6 p.m. we worship congregationally. Each Wednesday we meet for
Bible classes at 7 p.m. You can find our meeting house very
easily. It is located at the corner of Parkside Drive and Old
Morgantown Road, across the street from Lampkin Park, and Tapp’s
Drive-In restaurant We would be delighted to have you today.
We publish a small paper twice a month called "The Voice of
West End." It is free; no donations are either asked for, or
accepted for it. If you would like to get it, here's how. Just
write us at 1609 Parkside Drive, Bowling Green, KY. 42101, or
call 842-7880 during the week days. I will repeat this
information at the end of today's lesson.
"Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old
commandment which you have had from the beginning.” The old
commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. From
our chronological perspective we should be able to understand why
this command is called "an old commandment." Jesus was asked to
say which command of God was the greatest. He replied by quoting
Deuteronomy 6:5, coupled it with Leviticus 19:18 and called it
the "greatest command of all" (Mk. 12:29-34). That passage
reads, "The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the
Lord our God, the Lord is one. `And you shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And
the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as
yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. So
the scribe said to Him, Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the
truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And
to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with
all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's
neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings
and sacrifices. So when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He
said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God." The
command is old due to its longevity. No one has ever been able
to update it, amend it, or replace it.
Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true
in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the
true light is already shining." The command of love is also new.
Jesus gave it a new meaning by: demonstration, application,
interpretation, and manifestation. The command is old in respect
to the requirement and longevity; new in respect to its
fulfillment and application. Notice further the words of John.
"Which thing is true in Him, and in you..." It is true to
perfection in Christ; it is true to a measure in his disciples.
The command is new respecting its relation to the Lord’s New
Covenant. Christians serve now as "ministers of the new
covenant, not of the letter" (2 Cor. 3:6). The Gospel of Jesus
Christ is the new covenant based on better promises. “But now He
has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also
Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better
promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no
place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault
with them, He says: Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with
the house of Judah" (Heb. 8:6-8). Every accountable being living
today should be profoundly grateful that the New and Living way
through Christ has been clearly established.
The new command is linked to the newness of life. Paul
wrote, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that
grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin
live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as
were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death,
that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if
we have been united together in the likeness of His death,
certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection"
(Rom. 6:1-6).
Truly penitent believers who are baptized into Christ also
become "new creatures." Again from Paul, we read, "Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, {he is} a new creation; old things have
passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Cor. 5:17).
Only those who become new creatures enjoy these sweet new
blessings under the new covenant.
The new command accords with the nature of Christianity in
that one is initiated into Christ through what He called a "new
birth." Jesus and a ruler of the Jews named Nicodemus were
talking, and Nicodemus said, "Rabbi, we know that You are a
teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do
unless God is with him" (John 3:2). Jesus replied, "Most
assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see
the kingdom of God" (vs. 3). The record continues: "Nicodemus
said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a
second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered,
Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the
Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of
the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit" (vss. 3-8).
The new birth is the only way one may enter fellowship with
the Lord. It consists of being born of water and the Spirit.
The water of the new birth answers to baptism into the newness of
life (Rom. 6:3-4). The Holy Spirit reveals the divine truth that
will set the sinner free and make him a new creature in Christ
(John 8:32). Thus, one who is baptized, as a penitent believer,
is born anew -- and we must realize that only those who do so are
in fellowship with God.
"Brethren, I write . . . an old commandment which you have
had from the beginning.” John reminds his readers that this was
something that had been known since "the beginning." He said,
“Which you heard from the beginning..." John expressed this two
ways. First, he said the command is something had from the
beginning, then something heard from the beginning. Truth that
has been heard the beginning of Christianity is what is stressed.
Hearing the truth produces faith. Paul wrote, "So then faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17).
The original message of Christ Jesus and his apostles must never
be abandoned. It is that which we have had from the beginning of
his rule over our lives. It must never be modified. It is as
new as the newness of life Jesus offers. Those who abandon the
original message of the gospel for a new approach to religion put
themselves in danger. Modifying the gospel means a loss of faith
and faith that becomes wrecked upon the crags and rocks of human
wisdom and opinion. Hear Paul’s solemn warning: “But though we,
or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than
that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we
said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other
gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed”
(Gal. 1:8-9).
Please listen carefully from the writings of a contemporary
British scholar, Mr. John R. W. Stott. In his commentary on I
John he wrote, "That which you have heard from the beginning is
the gospel, the apostolic teaching, the original message which
had been preached. It had not changed and would not change.
They must let it abide in them. It would not do so
automatically; they must allow it to do so. Christians should
always be 'conservative' in their theology. To have 'itching
ears', ever running after new teachers, listening to anybody and
never arriving at a knowledge of the truth, is a characteristic
of the 'perilous times' which shall come 'in the last days' (2
Tim. iii. I,7, iv.3). The continuous obsession for 'some new
thing' is a mark of the Athenian not the Christian (Acts xvii,
21). Christian theology is anchored not only to certain
historical events, culminating in the saving career of Jesus, but
to the authoritative apostolic witness to these events. The
Christian can never weigh anchor and launch out into the deep of
speculative thought. Nor can he forsake the primitive teaching
of the apostles for the subsequent traditions of men. The
apostolic testimony is directed essentially to the Son. That is
why it will keep them true to Him if they remain true to it.
Moreover, they will continue in the Son, and in the Father, in
the sense of experiencing an intimate spiritual communion with
Both. To continue in God (or 'abide in', RSV; Gk. menein) and to
'have' God (verse 23) are virtually identical in meaning."
Stott continues:
"The gospel does not change. The truth about the Person of
Christ and about Christian conduct is unalterable. In both
doctrine and ethics we must go right back to the beginning and
inquire what the apostles originally taught and their first
converts both had (ii.7, eichete, The message was that we should
love one another (cf. iii.23, iv.7, II,12; 2 Jn. 5; Jn xiii.34,
xv.12,17)." (John R.W. Stott, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries,
The Epistles of John, 1979, pages 112-113)., page 139).
That can hardly be improved upon. How could a conservative
Christian say that better? This is such a vital matter. This is
the very reason why churches of Christ insist on going back to
the original pattern Jesus gave for His church, for the plan of
salvation and for everything pertaining to life and godliness.
We have no other reason to exist separate and apart from the
Protestant denominational world. And, we sincerely believe we
have done what we intended to do. We accept nothing older than
the Old Testament, newer than the New Testament, or other than
the gospel of Christ. We sincerely invite and encourage all to
do likewise. Our commitment remains to abide in that which we
have had and heard from the beginning that remains ever new and
fresh. We urge all who believe there is a God and that the Bible
is his word to do likewise.
If you have a question about this, or anything else you hear
from us, please contact us. If you would like to receive our
free bi-monthly paper, write to West End church of Christ, 1609
Parkside Drive, Bowling Green, KY. 42101 -- our phone number is
842-7880. Thank you very much for your time. Until next Sunday,
may God richly bless you. Good bye.
Radio Sermon No. 79, Page 1
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Lyrics, Chords Tabs Rated
Children's NT Studies
