Synod Sermon by Rev J B Jardine
John 13:34-35. 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.
In the Old Testament we have many examples of rivalry between brethren. We see there the rivalry between Cain and Abel, between Jacob and Esau, and between Joseph and his brothers. When we read of these things in the Word of God they cast us down and we think to ourselves: How can there be such enmity amongst brothers? How can they be so devoid of natural affection? When we come to our text, we have the clear instruction that we ought to love one another, to leave behind what may cause separation from one another in our affections, and to strive to act as brethren according to the commandment of Christ.
This was of the utmost necessity for the disciples at the beginning of their ministries – when we think of the Saviour leaving them and the hostility and difficulties that they were to face in the years ahead. Whatever adversity they might face from the world, they were to love one another, and the unity and fellowship among themselves would compensate for the enmity they might feel from the world. Their coming together as brethren would bring them to a place of refuge amidst all the difficulties and tribulations they were to endure. In our own generation too, it is necessary for us to love one another. When we come together, it should be for mutual consolation, to comfort one another. Where we come together should be a place of refuge from the world.
(1.) Let us consider the new commandment announced here. (2.) Let us open up the new commandment. (3.) This new commandment is to be a badge of witness to the world, showing that the brethren of Christ are different to the world. (4.) Let us confirm what we have before us here.
We notice in the two verses that there is an overlap in the teaching, even a measure of repetition. But we know that what is repeated in the Word of God is of great importance. Repeating a truth was a means of emphasising the importance of that truth and that instruction.
1. A new commandment is announced. “A new commandment I give unto you”. Notice that Judas Iscariot was not in the company when this commandment was given; it was given to the disciples, the brethren that remained. Christ gave the new commandment to the Lord’s people, the brethren, as a
1Preached by the Moderator at the opening of the meetings of Synod in May 2021.
last testament. Christ would give His disciples this clear order, as He was about to leave them. So it carries with it, we believe, the weight of a last testament, and we are to feel that weight in our own hearts. When we read elsewhere in the Gospel of John or in his Epistles, we see that this is a commandment that John comes back to time and time again. We can go to John 15: “This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:12-13). Clear arguments are used when the command is given, to encourage us to keep it: “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us” (1 Jn 3:24).
We can go back to the Old Testament, to the giving of the law of Moses. We know that the second table of the law directs us to love our neighbour as ourselves. Here that is applied, not to men in general, but to the brethren in particular. The gospel is a law of love for the brethren in their dealings with one another. They are called to love God and to love one another. They must love as brethren.
You can go to 2 Peter 1:7: Add “to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity”, or love. Love is to be prominent in the Church of God, among the people of God. Where we see that love, we see what is pleasant, what is profitable, what is worth having. It leaves its mark on the brethren and on others. We can go so far, I believe, as to say that here we have a fundamental law of the kingdom. In our experience as a Church over the years, we can think how we delight in communion seasons, and we can think of the question meeting on the Friday of a communion season; very often love between the brethren is given as a mark of grace. It is seen to be a fundamental part of fellowship with one another and we are not to lose sight of that. Love to the brethren goes hand in hand with believing in Christ: “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” (1 Jn 3:23). “See that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” (1 Pet 1:22).
We ought to endeavour to keep this commandment as we are to keep all Christ’s commandments. Christ, as the King of the Church, has given this commandment to the Church as a binding obligation. “These things I command you, that ye love one another”; we are to hold it fast. The Redeemer gives us this command for our help, for our benefit – so that, in loving one another, we might overcome sin among ourselves, and in our own hearts and lives. It is given to bind us together in fellowship, to make us fit for heaven; if we are part of the same kingdom, we ought to have fellowship with one another. We are commanded to love as brethren those who love Christ.
We know there is a general way in which this applies to all the brethren. Wherever in the world anyone is found who believes in Christ, we are to love them as brethren. But we want today to note the specifics of how we ought to act among ourselves in our own communion, how we ought to act among ourselves as brethren, as we live and worship with one another, as we come together around the things of God. If we have a living faith, if we are exercised as we should be, we should endeavour to love the brethren.
We can think of the context in which the Saviour gave this command to the disciples – the wider context of the situation in Israel among the Jews at this time. We know that they had corrupted the principle of love as we have it in the second table of the law. The Jews saw it as obsolete, as out of date. They had brought in the traditions of the elders, adding to the law and twisting it in such a way that it served the spirit of self-love. But here Christ cuts through the false teaching of the Pharisees and of others and He puts new authority onto an old obligation. Matthew Henry says that the new commandment is like an old book in a new edition, corrected and enlarged; the truth is brought out in a clearer way, so that we are able to understand and appreciate it. Believers are to put this great obligation into practice, knowing that it is an everlasting command.
The Church of Christ is to be governed by this principle of love among the brethren; this surely is a part of our heritage in the Reformed Church. Go back to the First and Second Reforms and you can see that the opposite is true of the false religion that was prevalent in the times of Cardinal Beaton and Archbishop Sharp: the Church was ruled by pride, ambition, selfishness, and cruelty, especially in putting the people of God to death. But in general we see a different spirit amongst the Covenants and the Reformers, the prevalence of brotherly love to one another. This ought to be maintained by us today, and it ought to bind us together as brethren. When times of adversity come – and we presently live in a time of adversity – we are not to lose sight of this. It is particularly necessary then to remember the love we ought to have for one another, and endeavour to exercise it. This will be the glory of the Church, and the Lord Himself will, we believe, bless it. We know the love commended here “hopeth all things, believeth all things”.
2. The new commandment opened up. We believe that the measure of repetition within the two verses is for emphasis and shows that it is important for us to take these things to heart. “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 Jn 3:16). Throughout Scripture, this commandment is repeated, it is emphasised, it is brought to the fore. But what does love to the brethren entail? We are of the same family; we have the same heavenly
Father; so we are to love one another. Jacob directed his sons: “See that ye fall not out by the way” (Gen 45:24). Surely the instruction we have from our Heavenly Father is to be given greater weight; it is something we cannot overlook, “that ye love one another”.
To love one another, we believe, means to endeavour to keep together, in the same communion – to keep one another’s company, as it were. That is where we desire to be. So we need to be seeking to agree with one another if at all possible. Certainly we need to pray for and with one another. If we do so, we will be endeavouring to bear one another’s burdens. “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2). If we do this, we will be forbearing with one another when differences arise. When they arise, we certainly should endeavour to keep them among the brethren and to deal with them in a spirit of love.
We must forgive one another and correct one another with a gentle, patient spirit. We ought to try to build one another up in faith and holiness, not to put one another down. We should desire that the other person may come with us to heaven, that we would be yoked together with him – to be helping one another in temporal things and, most importantly, in spiritual things. We must also sympathise with one another: “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another” (Rom 12:10) – as our text says, “that ye love one another, as I have loved you”. The Saviour gives His own ministry, His own life as the example. What He has done Himself is what His people are to do: they are to imitate Him; they are to follow His example: “As I have loved you”.
We must love the brethren, not just out of a feeling of obligation but in the newness of the Spirit. “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” (Eph 5:2) We are to act towards the brethren as Christ acted towards His disciples. We think of Christ as the elder brother; we think of how He dealt with these disciples. He spoke kindly to them, He cared for them – for their temporal welfare and their spiritual welfare.
Again, “Be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing; but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing” (1 Pet 3:8-9). The Saviour also instructed and comforted the brethren, even when he himself was in need of comfort. The Saviour prayed for them. When they were accused by others, He came to vindicate them. When the world was against them, He took their part against it. He was with them and He showed to them that there was nothing dearer to Himself than they were.
He also corrected them when they erred and He had compassion on them when they failed to understand His teachings, especially about His death. But He encouraged them; He did not expose their faults or failings unnecessarily; He loved them to the end. We are to love one another in the same manner; we are to do so in obedience to the command, by the grace of God in our hearts. It ought to be natural to the brethren to love one another, to take Christ as their example, to follow the directions Christ has given, and to do so willingly and sincerely – to do so with all humility, preferring others before themselves.
What are we told of the Saviour’s ministry? “Even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45). We ought to be of the same spirit, to minister to the needs of others, to instruct them, to teach them and to minister to them. We ought to follow the example of Christ. We may not give our life as He did on the cross but we may spend our time and energy in ministering to the needs of others, in ministering to and loving the brethren. This love is to be unconditional love to all the brethren. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). We should be willing to love the brethren for Christ’s sake; “that ye also love one another”.
Christ loved His disciples in spite of their unworthiness, in spite of their ungratefulness, their faults and their failings. There was many a blemish on their characters and on their profession. The Saviour loved Simon Peter, in spite of all his failings. We must follow that example, even when we find things in the brethren that are disagreeable. If we have a proper spirit of self-examination, we must confess that there is much in our own heart and lives that others may find disagreeable. We are all sinners, sinners saved by grace, and we need to remember the love we should have for one another.
The Saviour loved His people without distinction; thus should we also love the brethren. The Saviour loved in deed and in truth, and so should we, not merely saying, Of course, the brethren love one another. These will be no more than vain words if they are not followed by loving actions, seeking to live in a spirit of love to one another. We are “to love with a pure heart fervently”, to “let brotherly love continue”, to serve one another, to follow Christ’s instruction, to be directed by His example. This is of great importance to us as individuals, and to the Church of God. The reason for it is what we want to consider next.
3. This new commandment is to be a badge of witness to the world. “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples”. Obedience to this command establishes the sincerity of one’s profession: “This commandment have we
from Him, That he who loveth God love his brother also” (1 Jn 4:21). If we love one another, this is how it will be said that we are truly the disciples of Christ. “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples”.
This is a principle which the Saviour Himself stated: “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift” (Mt 5:23-24). It is thus the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ judges His people, and thus they are to judge themselves. If we love the brethren, if we seek to fulfill this command, we may conclude that we have passed from death to life, that a true work of grace has begun in our hearts.
This is an important mark of grace. The Saviour has made a judgement; believers themselves have made a judgement; and others have made a judgement on the brethren: “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples”. This is how a congregation is going to know us, this is how the Lord’s people are going to know us, and this is how the world is going to know us. The world seeks to bring in divisions amongst the brethren. The world soon sees any division. Is it for the benefit of the Church, for the good of the brethren? No. The world and the devil seek that these divisions would be increased, so that love among the brethren may be decreased. The world is no friend of the Church or of the people of God. We ought then to seek to love the brethren and set forth before the world that their endeavours have come to nought.
To love one another is the distinguishing mark of the believer and it shows their true character. It does not matter what our outward appearance may be, or how austere we might want to be. We can think of the Pharisees and the impression they sought to give to the world. What does the world notice? What do the people of God notice in one another? Leaving aside other gifts, this grace of love to the brethren is one which is set forth as a great banner. This is a great mark. If we cannot love one another as brethren, if we cannot have this unity, what does that say?
Brotherly love is the distinguishing characteristic of the believer; “by this shall all men know that ye are My disciples”. “Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him” (1 Jn 2:8-10).
We profess to be among the Lord’s people and we believe that the Lord has shown great love to us; therefore we ought to seek to love the brethren as the Lord loves us. The Lord loves us greatly and so He forgives us what
we do wrong. The Lord forgives many sins, for Christ’s sake. We ought then to forgive the brethren. Our love ought to abound towards the brethren; “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom 5:20). If we do not show that love to one another, it is a reproach on our profession; it is cause for others, and for ourselves, to question our sincerity in religion. “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” (1 Jn 3:17). The believer is to love the brethren. There is to be no place for malice or spite or for the believer to become angry quickly, or to be of such an ill nature that it causes discord among the brethren.
To have this badge of love towards the brethren is what the believer is to strive for. No duty will be accepted without it. “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. 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. 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” (1 Cor 13:1-3). Again, “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. … And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (1 Cor 13:8,13).
Nothing will be more productive of unity among the brethren and of prosperity in the Church of God than for the brethren to put into practice this commandment to love one another. Therefore the very truth of it is repeated to us: “If ye have love one to another”.
4. Confirming the matter. We have much to be thankful for when we think of our privileges as a branch of God’s Church in having the Presbyterian system of church government, in the wonderful parity that exists among brethren. In a church court, there are teaching and ruling elders – the teaching elder educated to convey knowledge to the brethren and the ruling elder rich in Christian experience and mature to deliberate. We have to add to this token of the Lord’s goodness that He has been pleased to preserve amongst us a self-denying love towards one another. We are all passing through the same trials; we are all here as wanderers in this wilderness. We are in this world, but we are not of it; we are pilgrims here in this wilderness. We need a fellow feeling of others’ infirmities, and that fellow feeling ought to bind us together. Christ’s people should excel in brotherly love; they should be kindly affectioned one to another, preferring one another.
The Saviour’s love was a practical love, He loved the brethren in a way
that was for their good, and this is how we ought to love. As individuals, we ought to think of the banner that is over the people of God as a banner of love. As the people of God we should take hold of that banner and wave it as our own banner. We are under this banner of love and, as we have love to God, we ought to love one another. We should love one another sincerely, perseveringly, in a self-sacrificing way, so that – no matter what difficulties we may face, no matter what troubles may come upon us as congregations, as presbyteries, or as a Church at large, at home and abroad – we may have this unity together around the things of God, a brotherly love towards one another. This is a love to one another’s souls for God’s glory, for the sake of Christ – a regard to one another’s spiritual and eternal good. When we do so, we fulfil the command we have here.
You may remember the story of James Ussher visiting Samuel Rutherford and what he said about the 11 commandments rather than 10; the eleventh being that of love to the brethren. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another”. The Apostle Paul said, “We preach Christ crucified”. We are to preach Christ from the pulpit. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” We are never to lose sight of the gospel: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn 3:16).
We are also to preach Christ in our daily lives; we are to preach Christ by our brotherly, Christian example to one another, in faithfulness to the Word and to the gospel, to show forth the commands of Christ. We must remember this commandment in particular, “that ye love one another”. He loved His people even to the end, to death itself, to the cross. His desire is that they would be with Him where He is and that they would dwell together in unity while they are here in this world.
“Behold, how good a thing it is, and how becoming well,
Together such as brethren are in unity to dwell.”