Lesson 4Lesson 4

“Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining”1 John, 2: 7-8

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.”

Leviticus, 19: 18

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”

Deuteronomy, 6: 5

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another”

John, 13: 34

Love God above all.Love God above all.1

Love your neighbour as yourself.Love your neighbour as yourself.

Love everybody as Jesus loves you.Love everybody as Jesus loves you.

2

3

KNOWING GOD

KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS

KNOWING GOD

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever! Amen” 2 Peter, 3: 18

Knowing God means having a close relationship with Him. This relationship must be progressive and in a daily basis.

KNOWING GOD

“To give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins” (Luke, 1: 77)

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John, 17: 3)

Knowing God involves:Knowing God involves:

Salvation.

Forgiveness of sins.

Eternal life.

Salvation.

Forgiveness of sins.

Eternal life.

KNOWING GOD

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is

love” 1 John, 4: 8

God’s knowledge and God’s love are inseparable.

We cannot know God without love.

Knowing God is loving Him. “Love God above all things”.

KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS

“The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him”

1 John, 2: 4-5

While Gnostics said that knowledge was enough for salvation, John made it very clear that knowing God must be

expressed with a change in your life: Keeping His commandments.

“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him”

1 John, 2: 9-11

“We, who understand the magnitude of God’s incomparable love for us, are obliged to imitate that love in our relationship with our neighbours. Since God loved us despite we are unworthy; shouldn’t we love our brother, although he may seem unworthy to us?...

SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 7, on 1 John, 4: 11

We are urged to love each other, and this shared love grows when a brother helps another. The more we are ready to take care of others first (Rom. 12: 10) and the more we are willing to give our life for our brothers (1 John 3: 16); the more we will be similar to God and the more our love will be similar to God’s”

“Whoever claims to live in him must walk as

Jesus did” 1 John, 2: 6

Walking as Jesus did means imitating him in everything.

He is our example. Each time we make a decision, we have to wonder:

“Love your neighbour as I have loved you”John, 13: 34 (paraphrased)

Jesus’ example transforms the old commandment “love your neighbour as yourself” into a new commandment:

“The new commandment ordered men to preserve the same mutual relationship that Jesus cultivated with them and with all humanity. The old commandment ordered men to love their neighbour as theirselves, but the new one urged them to love as Jesus had loved them. Actually, the new one was harder than the old one, but enough grace was given to carry it out.”

“The new commandment ordered men to preserve the same mutual relationship that Jesus cultivated with them and with all humanity. The old commandment ordered men to love their neighbour as theirselves, but the new one urged them to love as Jesus had loved them. Actually, the new one was harder than the old one, but enough grace was given to carry it out.”

(SDA Bible commentary. Vol. 5, on John, 13: 34)

“Love to God and our neighbor is the very essence of our religion. No one can love Christ and not love His children. When we are united to Christ, we have the mind of Christ. Purity and love shine forth in the character, meekness and truth control the life. The very expression of the countenance is changed. Christ abiding in the soul exerts a transforming power, and the outward aspect bears witness to the peace and joy that reign within. We drink in the love of Christ, as the branch draws nourishment from the vine. If we are grafted in Christ, if fiber by fiber we have been united with the Living Vine, we shall give evidence of the fact by bearing rich clusters of living fruit. If we are connected with the Light, we shall be channels of light, and in our words and works we shall reflect light to the world. Those who are truly Christians are bound with the chain of love which links earth to heaven, which binds finite man to the infinite God. The light that shines in the face of Jesus Christ shines in the hearts of His followers, to the glory of God.”

E.G.W. (Reflecting Christ, March 31)

ASSOCIATE truth – Why should I study this lesson?DISCOVER truth – What does the Bible say about this truth?APPLY truth – How can this truth affect my life today?PLAN using the truth – How can I use this truth today?TRANSFER truth to life – What changes do I need in my life?

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