The following was derived in whole from Chapter 6 of Dr. MacArthur’ book “Welcome to the Family,” where he discussed the inevitable result in the life of new believer, love.
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THE SUPREME TEST
So far, we’ve spent our time considering how your life as a Christian is transformed by your relationship with God, His Son, and His Spirit. Now let’s look at ways you can expect your life to be different in relation to the people around you, believers and unbelievers alike.
In chapter 1 we focused on what Jesus identified as God’s greatest commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind” (Luke 10:27). In the same verse He also said to love “your neighbor as yourself.” What is your Christian responsibility to love your neighbor in general, and fellow Christians in particular?
Loving your neighbor as yourself involves the same virtue as loving the Lord with all your being; there’s no difference in sincerity, commitment, or dedication. It is by choice—intentional and active—not merely sentimental and emotional. And it is measured, Jesus said, by love for “yourself.” If you’re hungry, you feed yourself; when you’re thirsty, you get a drink; and when you’re sick, you take medicine or see a doctor—all because you are consumed with caring for yourself. You don’t just think or talk about what you need; if you have the power to meet your needs you meet them. A Christian looks out for others with the same level of attention and effort.
This dual command sums up the basic requirement of Judaism as well as Christianity: to love God and to love your fellow man. Jesus said, “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:40). Everything God required of believers in both the Old and New Testaments is based on them.
The apostle John talked about love for one another throughout his first epistle:
- 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. He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (1 John 2:7–11)
John was saying that love is an essential test of our salvation. Light and darkness represent eternal life and eternal death. The guarantee is that “he who loves his brother abides in the light.”
AN OLD COMMANDMENT
John’s characterization of an “old commandment” tells us this teaching is not some new truth his audience had never heard before. Since the majority of the first converts to Christianity were Jews, they knew that in the Old Testament God established the law of love in unmistakable terms. We noted in the first chapter their familiarity with the Shema. Just as important to them was Leviticus 19:18, which says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” So news of their responsibility to love their neighbors was no surprise.
The apostle Paul built on that truth:
- Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:8–10)
Paul quoted Leviticus 19:18 to show that loving your neighbor isn’t just a part of the Law; it fulfills the Law. It encompasses all of God’s laws concerning human relationships. If you truly love your neighbor, you’ll do for him only what is in his best interests.
The prohibition against adultery in Scripture is clear, but if you love your wife, you won’t be tempted to be adulterous in the first place. And you won’t violate your neighbor’s trust if you love him. The same is true with all of the commands Paul mentions. You’re not going to steal from someone you love, lie to someone you love, or covet something that belongs to someone you love. The link between loving your neighbor and obeying God is inseparable.
When a person comes to Christ, he must count the cost of becoming a Christian. He needs to know there is a commitment to obedience, to the law of God, and to love for God and His people. So the command to love ought to be clear from the beginning because it is part of the covenant of obedience you take when you become a Christian: you will obey the lordship of Jesus Christ, and that means you will love the brethren. God will work in you so your obedience is not burdensome and your love won’t be forced or superficial.
A NEW COMMANDMENT
What John said in 1 John 2:8 appears to contradict the “old commandment” mentioned in verse 7: “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.” Actually, this new commandment is the same as the old one—John is just giving it a new spin. It’s not new in time, but in quality and character.
Manifest in Christ. The newness of the command that “is true in Him” is truly manifest (meaning clearly shown or readily apparent) in Jesus Christ. Never before, in spite of all the clear teaching throughout the Old Testament, has there been an embodiment of that love as clearly manifest in all its perfection as in Jesus Christ. Only our Lord could show the world what perfect love is. All others fall miserably short of the standard. So the newness isn’t in the command; it’s in Christ.
Luke’s account of an event the night before our Lord’s crucifixion is an ideal example of how Jesus manifested His love. As He and His twelve disciples prepared to eat the Passover meal, “there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest” (22:24).
If any one of the dozen men bickering there in the Upper Room should have been thinking about the glory that was rightfully his, it was Jesus. Yet, John said, “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1). “To the end” means He loved them “to perfection.” He loved them to the uttermost. He loved them with total fullness of love. That is the nature of Christ’s love. At the moment when anyone else would have been totally concerned with self, Jesus, who of all those present had the most right to claim superiority, selflessly humbled Himself to meet the needs of others. Genuine love is like that. 
Jesus waited until everyone was seated and supper was served. In a time when roads were dusty and people typically wore sandals, hosts were traditionally responsible for washing their guests’ feet. This unpleasant task was usually performed by the lowliest slave in the household. Etiquette dictated that it be done before the meal, but for some reason no servant was available that day. Yet how could disciples destined for greatness perform such a menial and humble duty?
In an unforgettable act of humility that must have stunned the disciples, “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded” (John 13:3–5).
With calmness and majesty, perhaps saying nothing, Jesus stood up, took a pitcher of water, and poured the water into a basin. He then removed His outer robe, His belt, and very likely His inner tunic—leaving Him clothed like a slave—put a towel around His waist, and knelt to wash the feet of His disciples, one by one.
To go from being God in glory (verse 3) to washing the feet of sinful disciples (verses 4–5) is a long step—yet a step bathed in humility and brimming with the manifestation of perfect love. John wrote, “Let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18). Love that is real is love expressed in action, not just words.
Manifest in Believers. Not only is this new commandment “true in Him,” but also “in you” (1 John 2:8). For the first time perfect love is manifest in Christ, and now it has been manifest in us in dimensions no one has ever seen before. That’s the glorious realization of what it means to be a new creation in Christ.
On the same night Jesus provided such a wonderful example of love, He told the disciples: “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16–17). While clearly the Holy Spirit has been with all who ever believed throughout redemptive history as the source of truth, faith, and life, Jesus indicates that something new is coming in His ministry. When the Holy Spirit comes “in you,” you will have the capacity to love God, Christ, and all others.
When you became a Christian—a member of God’s family—the Holy Spirit took up residence in your life. Romans 5:5 says, “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” God deposits His incredible love within us, giving us the capacity to love others. Paul wrote, “But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another” (1 Thessalonians 4:9). As new creations in Christ, as children of God, Christians love each other.
If God lives in you, if you share His life, you will also love, because “God is love” (1 John 4:8). This is not just a responsibility; it is evidence of God’s presence and your changed life. It is impossible for a true believer not to love other believers.
The apostle Peter added, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart” (1 Peter 1:22). That is characteristic of a true believer—it is who you are: you obeyed the truth, your soul was cleansed, and that produced a genuine love for the brethren. The command to love one another is based on your new capacity to love, and you are to do so fervently. The Greek word for “fervently” was used to refer to a muscle stretched to its limit. The idea is, you ought to love one another to the max.
If you don’t have a love for God’s people, for the members of your new family in Christ, that’s clear evidence you’re still a product of your sinful self, separated from the life and love of God. If you are a true Christian, the proof will be in your love. Though it will be an imperfect effort, you’ll do everything in your power to exhibit a heart of love, not of hatred. Your desire will be to serve others, not make demands on them; to help others, not harm them; to encourage others, not tear them down; to love others as you love yourself and as God your Creator loves you—a love so total and complete that He sacrificed His only Son that you might live and love forever.
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MacArthur, J. (2004). Welcome to the family : What to expect now that you’re a Christian (Page 57). Nashville, Tenn.: Nelson Books.