Notes:
1st Commandment – Love the LORD your God
What is the GREATEST commandment?
Matthew 22:37 KJV – 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
“LORD” there is Kyrios in the Greek. (www.blueletterbible.org )
– He to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord
– The possessor and disposer of a thing
– The owner; one who has control of the person, the master
– In the state: the sovereign, prince, chief, the Roman emperor
– Is a title of honour expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants greet their master
– This title is given to: God, the Messiah
Where did Jesus get that from? He quoted the Law of Moses!
Deut 6: 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And THESE WORDS which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
LORD here in the Hebrew is “Jehovah.”
– Jehovah = “the existing One”
– The name of the supreme God of the Hebrews
– (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God
And what are “These words” we are to believe?
Deut 6:1-2 – Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2 That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
But wasn’t the Law of Moses done away with? Nope! If you do not believe in the Law of Moses, you do not believe in the words of Jesus Christ! This is where many open themselves up to a spirit of unbelief.
John 5:45-47 – 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. 46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
Romans 10:9-10 – 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Matt 5:16-17 – 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Prov 6:23 – For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
How did Jesus tell us to love God?
John 14:15 – 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Do these instructions to love God by obeying God’s commandments still apply post-resurrection?
Absolutely! The “disciple whom Jesus loved”, referring to the Apostle John who laid his head upon Jesus’ chest at the last supper, reiterated this several decades after Jesus ascended back to Heaven.
1 John 2:3-5 – 3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
Revelation 12:17 – 17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 22:14 – Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Titus 1: 16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
Jesus declared His mandate in 2 ways, one of WHAT His mandate was and HOW that mandate would manifest:
Matthew 4:17 – From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Luke 4:18-19 – 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Referencing Isaiah 61:1-2, Is 42:7, Isaiah 35:5)
Who are the captives and who are the blind that need to be preached to so that they may repent?
Isaiah 42: 7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house…18 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. 19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant? 20 Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not. 21 The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable. 22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore. 23 Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come? 24 Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law. 25 Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.
Isaiah 29: 10 For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered… 13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: 14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
What are some of the benefits of loving God by obeying His commandments?
Deut 7:12-15 – 1 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them. 12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:13 And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.14 Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle. 15 And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
John 12: 39 Therefore they could not believe, because that [Isaiah] said again, 40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. (*quoting Isaiah 6:10)
Deuteronomy 28 – ** Read for yourself all the blessings you will receive and the curses that will be removed when you obey His voice.
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