Calvary Road Baptist Church

“THE DEMAND OF LOVE”   Part 1

John 15.12-17 

Moderns imagine that if you love someone, your approach to their decisions and actions should be completely passive, without demands, and accepting of whatever they say or do. After all, you love that person, and unconditional love requires acceptance without demands. Right?

God is love; we are told twice, in First John 4.8 and 18. Yet, God’s approach to love is nothing like what is presently imagined by so many people. And who is the ultimate expression of the love of God, Himself being love since He is God, but the Lord Jesus Christ?

Yet, we find His concept and approach to this matter of love differ from what is common to modern mankind. We see this in our text for today, John 15.12-17: 

12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

17 These things I command you, that ye love one another. 

Consider each verse in turn: 

Verse 12:

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” 

There are few statements in God’s Word with more profound implications than this one. Three phrases:

The verse begins with the phrase, “This is my commandment.” Although it is always essential to locate where someone is making an important statement, such as realizing that the Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples were in Caesarea Philippi when He asked, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” it is also essential to keep track of time frames and the passing of time. Thus, it may very well be that only two or three minutes have passed from comments being made by the Lord Jesus Christ to His men in the Upper Room until He said, “This is my commandment.”

Perhaps they are 50-100 yards removed from the Upper Room, but they are only a couple of minutes removed, with the Savior still engaged in His ongoing discourse with His “little flock.” Why do I mention geography and the brief passage of time? I do so to help locate the context in which our Lord’s statement was made. He said, “This is my commandment.” However, the word translated “this” is the Greek word oá½—toV. “There are two demonstrative pronouns in Greek. The near demonstrative (oá½—toV) points out to something near at hand; the remote demonstrative points out something further removed (ἐkeá¿–noV).”[1] Therefore, we know the Lord Jesus Christ is pointing out to His disciples a nearby command and not remote in terms of physical distance or elapsed time. So, when did He recently refer to obeying a command having to do with loving? Two times. 

John 14.31:

“But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.” 

This is the nearest of any mention of commandments preceding our Lord’s remark in John 15.12. However, this verse refers not to our Lord’s commandment but the Father’s commandment given to Him. 

John 13.34:

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” 

This is what we are searching for. The most recent mention of a commandment in terms of both time and distance prior to our Lord’s commandment of John 15.12 is a commandment our Lord issued to His own. Thus, He restates and emphasizes the importance of a commandment He initially gave to His disciples in the Upper Room and issues again in this verse.

The middle phrase of the verse reads, “That ye love one another.” So deeply was this commandment engraved on the heart of our evangelist that St. Jerome, the man who translated the Latin Vulgate Bible, wrote, lib. iii. c. 6, Com. ad Galat., that in his extreme old age, when John used to be carried to the public assemblies of the believers, his constant saying was, Little children, love one another. His disciples, wearied at last with the constant repetition of the same words, asked him, Why he constantly said the same thing? “Because (said he) it is the commandment of the Lord, and the observation of it alone is sufficient.”[2]

Why do you suppose the Lord Jesus Christ referred to this as a new commandment back in John 13.34? Commentator Albert Barnes suggests because this command is a peculiar law of Christianity, called hence the new commandment. I am persuaded Barnes is mistaken. I think Barnes’ erroneous Protestant view of the Church blinded him to the fact that this is the first time the command to love one another has been issued to the Church of Jesus Christ, our Lord’s “little flock.”[3] So, what is the Lord Jesus commanding these remaining apostles to do, these men He had formed into the embryonic Church of Jesus Christ?

There are two keys to understanding His command. First, we look at the form of the Greek verb he used. The root verb is á¼€gapá½±w, which is the standard verb corresponding to the noun á¼€gá½±ph, love. Also important to note is the form of the verb, present active subjunctive. It means the disciples are to continue loving one another into the future. Don’t stop loving each other. And as fellow heirs of the grace of God, we understand that this commandment applies to us, as well. We are to love and keep on loving each other.

The verse concludes with the phrase, “As I have loved you.” This second key shows the extent and essence of the love they were to have for each other. Our Lord Jesus Christ set a high bar for those Church members’ mutual love. Our mutual love for fellow Church members is just as well established. How and to what extent has the Lord Jesus Christ loved us? Though He had not yet suffered, and bled, and died on the cross, He would be crucified within twelve hours from speaking these words. He left heaven because He loved us. He lived His life because He loved us. And He would die on the cross because He loved us. “As I have loved you.” It is a noble calling, this Christian life of love for God, love for the Savior, and love for each other. Is there a more noble calling? 

Verse 13:

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” 

The Apostle John penned this Gospel 50-60 years after these words were uttered. By then, the impact of Christ’s love for His own was more fully realized after His crucifixion than when these eleven heard His comments in person. Imagine the effect on the readers of John’s account as they listened to these words read for the first time, two to three generations after they were spoken and following the Savior’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to glory.

Three considerations in connection with this verse:

First, consider what the Lord Jesus Christ said in light of what the Apostle Paul had written in First Corinthians 13.3: 

“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” 

It is possible to make the ultimate sacrifice for motives quite distinct from love, or, as the word is translated in this verse, charity. There are many motivations for sacrificing one’s life that have nothing to do with love.

Second, that understood, the most excellent possible demonstration of love for one’s fellow man is the laying down of one’s life for his friends. If someone lays down his life for others, they may do so motivated by love or for some other reason. However, if someone is not willing to lay down his life for another, it can be rightly concluded that the motive of love is missing. Thus, the willingness to sacrifice your life for someone is a necessary but not sufficient demonstration of love. Some will sacrifice their lives who do not love, but no one who loves will fail to offer their lives when necessary.

Third, are we to limit the application of our Lord’s words to physical death? Is the ultimate sacrifice only a willingness to die a physical death for others when appropriate? Or is it reasonable to understand that love will also exhibit itself with a desire to live appropriately for the benefit of others? Does a Christian’s giving to the cause of Christ show love for other Christians as well as show one’s love for God? Does one’s faithful attendance during times of worship show love for other Christians as well as one’s love for God? Does one’s involvement in outreach ministry and other forms of ministry show love for other Christians and one’s love for God? Yes, yes, and yes. I raise this issue because many these days claim to love God. But we recognize that love for God is an abstraction for many people, not always reflected in concrete and observable behavior. However, with the Lord Jesus Christ connecting love for God and love for Him with the believer’s love for other believers in a way that can be tied to actual conduct, you are in a position to display your real and genuine love for God, for the Savior, and other Christians by your behavior, by your faithfulness in attendance and service and sacrifice. 

Verse 14:

“Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” 

The Greek word translated “if” means here “if ye keep on doing.” What is referred to is something more than spasmodic obedience to Christ’s commands.[4] It is the likely future conduct of believers in Jesus Christ. Notice how closely this verse resembles John 15.10: 

“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” 

The Lord Jesus Christ is pointing out that obedience to His commands is a prerequisite to discipleship and fellowship, which identifies the existing relationship as a spiritual friendship with Christ. In contrast, before, it was shown to be a prerequisite to love. Our Lord will repeat this principle in the Great Commission, Matthew 28.20: 

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” 

The word translated “I command” in John 15.14 and the word translated “I have commanded you” in Matthew 28.20 are the same Greek word. Obeying Christ’s commands shows love of Him and displays friendship toward Him.

There is a sense in which the Lord Jesus Christ gives His life for the world.[5] There is another sense in which He dies for His friends. But who are His friends? 

“Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” 

This obedience is not what makes the believer His friend; it is what characterizes His friend. Do you recognize that this ‘friendship’ is not strictly reciprocal? The friends of Jesus Christ cannot turn around and say that He will be our friend if He does what we say.

Although Abraham[6] and Moses[7] are called friends of God, God is never called their friend. And although the Lord Jesus can refer to Lazarus as His friend, He is not identified as Lazarus’s friend.[8] Neither God nor the Son of God is ever referred to in Scripture as the ‘friend’ of anyone. However, if one measures friendship strictly based on who loves most, guilty sinners can find no better and more trustworthy friend than in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Son whom He has sent. But the mutual, reciprocal friendship of the modern variety is not in view in Scripture and cannot be without demeaning God.

Our Lord’s friends, then, are the objects of His love (verse 13) and are obedient to Him (verse 14). If obedience is a necessary criterion, what distinguishes the Lord’s friends from servants? It is the requirement to be the friend of God and to be the friend of God’s Son that you obey His commands. Mark well that you cannot be Christ’s friend so long as you do not obey Him. 

Verse 15:

“Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” 

A progression of thought is evident as the Lord Jesus Christ continued His walking discourse with His men, leading them to a better understanding of the relationship the Lord Jesus Christ provides for His own. Four comments:

He begins with the word “Henceforth.” The Greek word is oὐká½³ti, and it takes in the idea of not only the English word “henceforth,” but also the English word “not.” It refers to the extension of time up to a point but not beyond, no more, no longer, no further.[9] He has dealt with these men in a certain way during their time with Him, but the relationship will, from this point, develop and progress.

Next, note two complementary phrases. The first is “I call you not servants,” and the second is, “but I have called you friends.” They are two sides of the same coin describing their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. “Servants” translates doῦloV, referring to bond slaves, and “friends” translates the Greek word fá½·loV, which is akin to the Greek word filá½³w, one of the two prominent Greek words for love found in the New Testament. It is one of the terms that give us Philadelphia. Thus, the type of relationship enjoyed by the obedient disciple, the one who abides in Christ, who knows the joy and love of the relationship he has with Christ, especially as a member of a Church of Jesus Christ congregation, is that of a friend and not of a slave.

Third, notice why the Lord Jesus Christ does not call them servants: 

“I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth.” 

The servant (slave) is someone who is not paid to think because he is not paid at all. Therefore there is no benefit to him to know what is going on in his master’s life. It is not that way between the abiding disciple and the Lord Jesus Christ. It cannot be said about us that we do not know what He is accomplishing in the world because we have the mind of Christ, according to First Corinthians 2.16, and we have the Bible.

Finally, take note of what the Lord Jesus Christ calls them now that He no longer calls them servants: 

“but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” 

Two remarks here about the verbs translated “I have called you friends” and “I have made known unto you.” “I have called you friends” translates a form of the verb indicating a permanent state of the believer’s new status. Abraham was called “the Friend of God” in James 2.23.[10] The verb “I have made known” is a form that views the entire process of teaching and imparting knowledge as a complete thing. Do these words indicate already these guys know everything they will ever learn? No. But our Lord describes it as a done deal because He will accomplish in them, with them, and for them what He has set out to do. Reflect, if you will, on the shift indicated here between the kind of relationship an Old Testament believer imagined he had with God and the type of relationship these men (and we who abide and obey) have with the Savior. It is markedly different. We have great privileges who claim Christ as our own and display our claim by abiding, by obeying, loving, experiencing joy, and being His friend. 

Constraints of time require that I stop here to wrap up our consideration of the rest of the passage next week, the Lord willing.

I have titled this message “The Demand Of Love.” As I remarked at the outset, this world’s love concept is radically different from God’s and Christ’s.

What was the famous line that affected a generation in the movie titled “Love Story”? “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” That line suggests that if you love someone, there are no demands. Excuse me, but that is so much tripe. In reality, love is very demanding. Parents who do not make demands of their children have a warped sense of love for them. Couples failing to recognize the demands of love in their marriages are likely doomed to failure.

When the Apostle Paul described love in First Corinthians 13.1-8, he wrote out a list of the demands of love, á¼€gá½±ph translated by the word “charity.” Let me read the passage to you: 

1  Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

3  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

4  Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5  Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

6  Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7  Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

8  Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 

Love for others 

That, my friends, means love for others is profoundly demanding.

What about love for God? Is love for God also demanding? Love for God and Christ is very demanding. Such love demands that you love God. Such love demands that you love one another, verse 12. Such love also demands that you obey, verse 14.

Let me leave you with this. God’s love is demanding. Christ’s love is demanding. Such love is nothing like what this world imagines love to be. Such love does not provoke lethargy. Such love does not induce laziness. Such love does not overlook and remain silent in the face of sin.

Have you any interest in the love that would see your sins forgiven, see your guilt removed, result in your sins being washed clean, and see you in heaven instead of Hell someday? Then understand such love from God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Such love is demanding.

__________

[1] Ray Summers, Essentials of New Testament Greek, (Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman Press, 1950), page 47.

[2] Adam Clarke, Clarke’s Commentary, Vol V, (New York: Abingdon Press), page 628.

[3] Luke 12.32

[4] A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures In The New Testament, Vol V, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1932), page 260.

[5] John 1.29; 3.16

[6] Second Chronicles 20.7; Isaiah 41.8; James 2.23

[7] Exodus. 33.11

[8] John 11.11

[9] Bauer, Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), page 736.

[10] A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures In The New Testament, Vol VI, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1933), pages 37-38.

Would you like to contact Dr. Waldrip about this sermon? Please contact him by clicking on the link below. Please do not change the subject within your email message. Thank you.

Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church