Love

A new commandment I (Jesus) give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35 The letter of James very well sums up the message of the New Testament as it shows the way we all must think and act as we walk in our Christian faith, that we be found acceptable by our God and by His Christ. It is recommended you read it in its entirety. His message is a message of love (See 1John 3:11). Love covers a multitude of sins: Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.
4:8 1Peter

For I (God) desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6 Let all that you do be done in love.
1Corinthians 16:14 Proverbs 10:12

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. 1John 3:14 God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. In this is love perfected with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment. And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also. 1John
4:16,17,21

If you really fulfill the royal law, according to the scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well. James 1:8 So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:7 And this is love, that we follow his commandments; this is the commandment, as you have heard from the beginning, that you follow love. 2John 6 the aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere

faith.

1Timothy 1:5 Colossians 3:14 1John 3:18

lovebinds everything together in perfect harmony.

Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love.
2Corinthians 13:11)

1John 4:8 (See also 1John 4:7-21 and

Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we should believe in his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who keep his commandments abide in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the (Holy) Spirit which he has given us. 1John 3:21-24 (We are
united as one by the Holy Spirit)

In Scene 6 of the 2nd Tableau of the Initiation of Plato, it is said Love is the source of life, the principle of the Universe! The grand law of harmony, whence divers things are born. As is shown in the following, faith without good works is dead. Love is all-important: Not every one who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day (Judgment Day), many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name (all gifts of the Holy Spirit. See 1Corinthians 13:1-13)? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me you evildoers. Matthew 7:21-23 A person may be possessed by the Holy Spirit, displaying all the gifts provided by the Holy Spirit, can have such great faith as to be able to move mountains by their faith in believing it is so and not doubting, and can give his life and die for God and for the testimony of Jesus, but if he does all this and has not love for others, he is unacceptable to God and Jesus, unworthy of salvation. The following scripture is of the utmost importance: If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels (speaking in tongues), but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge (all gifts of the Holy Spirit), and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all that I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned (all works), but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. When I was a child (a babe in Christ) I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So faith (in God and Jesus), love (for others), hope (of eternal life) abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1Corinthians 13:1-13

He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD (God) require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 Through love God gave his only son to die for us (See John 3:16). Jesus love for us led to his death on a cross (See Galatians 2:20). What you do (or do not do) for others, you do (or do not do) for Jesus: When the Son of man (Jesus) comes in his glory (when he comes in his cherub at the Second Coming), and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne (in Jerusalem). Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left (this refers to the Judgment). Then (Jesus) the King will say to those at his right hand, Come, O blessed of my Father (God), inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee? And the King (Jesus) will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me. Then he will say to those at his left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire (of hell) prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Then they also will answer, Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee? Then he will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me. And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Matthew 25:3146

What you do (or do not do) for others, you do (or do not do) for God also: He who oppresses a poor man insults his Maker (God), but he who is kind to the needy honor him. Proverbs 14:31 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD (God), and he will repay him for his deed.
19:17 Proverbs

Righteous Requirements Seek good, and not evil, that you may live
Amos 5:14

Thus says the LORD (God) of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy each to his brother, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in his heart. Zechariah 7:8

seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.

Isaiah 1:17

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27 Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me? Says the LORD. Jeremiah 22:15,16 I (God) hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and cereal offerings, I will not accept them, and the peace offerings of your fatted beasts I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream. Amos 5:21-24 (See Barnabas 3:3) He who gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.
28:27 (One of the curses is hell; remember the parable of Lazarus) Proverbs

Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. Psalms 82:3-4 Blessed is he who considers the poor!
Psalms 41:1

In all things I have shown you that by so toiling one must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35 Bear one anothers burdens and so fulfill the law of (Jesus) Christ.
Galatians 6:2

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; those you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! Matthew 23 23-24 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace, do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, says the LORD (God). Zechariah 8:16-17 There is great gain in godliness with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world and cannot take anything out of the world; but if we have food and clothing, with these shall we be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money (greed) is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs. But as for you, man of God, shun all this; aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1Timothy 6:6-12

I appeal to you, therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I bid every one among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned him. For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in (Jesus) Christ, and individually members of one another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, then according to our faith; if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in his liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the (Holy) Spirit, serve the LORD (God). Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited. Repay no evil for evil, but take sight what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the LORD. No, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is Gods servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid Gods wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. The commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet, and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is a fulfilling of the law. Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Romans 12:1-21, 13:1-14 (See also 1Thessalonians 4:1-8) But as for you, teach what befits sound doctrine. Bid the older men be temperate, serious, sensible, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Bid the older women likewise to be

reverent in behavior, not to be slanderers or slaves to drink; they are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be sensible, chaste, domestic, kind, and submissive to their husbands, that the word of God may not be discredited. Likewise urge the younger men to control themselves. Show yourselves in all respects a model of good deeds, and in your teaching show integrity, gravity, and sound speech that cannot be censured, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say of us. Bid slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect; they are not to be refractory, nor to pilfer, but to show entire and true fidelity, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and Godly lives in this world, awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds. Declare these things; exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you. Titus 2:1-15 Be subject for the Lords sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. For it is Gods will that by doing right you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. 1Peter 2:13-15 Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love of the brethren, a tender heart and a humble mind. Do not return evil for evil or reviling for reviling; but on the contrary bless, for to this you have been called, that you may obtain a blessing. 1Peter 3:8-9 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles; lest the LORD (God) see it, and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him. Proverbs 24:17 And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that none of you repays evil with evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Jesus for you. Do not quench the (Holy) Spirit, do not despise prophesying, but test everything; hold fast what is good, abstain from every type of evil. 1Thessalonians 5:14-22 For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him (See Proverbs 22:4). Hebrews 11:6 And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. John 17:3 The law of the Holy Spirit of life in Christ Jesus: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the (Holy) Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son (Jesus) in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but

according to the (Holy) Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on things of the flesh, but those who live according to the (Holy) Spirit set their minds on things of the (Holy) Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the (Holy) Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to Gods law, indeed it cannot; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh, you are in the (Holy) Spirit, if in fact the (Holy) Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness. If the (Holy) Spirit of him (God) who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his (Holy) Spirit which dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the fleshfor if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the (Holy) Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. For all who live by the (Holy) Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, Abba! Father! it is the (Holy) Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Romans 8:117

But I say, walk by the (Holy) Spirit, and do not satisfy the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the (Holy) Spirit, and the desires of the (Holy) Spirit is against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would. But if you are led by the (Holy) Spirit you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissention, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the (Holy) Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the (Holy) Spirit, let us also walk by the (Holy) Spirit. Let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another. Galatians 5:16-26 If then you have been raised with (Jesus) Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When (Jesus) Christ who is our life appears (at the Second Coming), then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you once walked, when you lived in them. But now put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there cannot be Greek (Gentile) and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, in all. Put on then, as Gods chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the LORD (God) has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of (Jesus) Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of

Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord (Jesus) Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing you also have a Master in heaven. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it in thanksgiving; and pray for us also, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ (the testimony of Jesus), on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear, as I ought to speak. Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone. Colossians 3:1-25, 4:1-6 So shun youthful passions and aim at righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call upon the LORD (God) with a pure heart. 2Timothy 2:22 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in (Jesus) Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as (Jesus) Christ loved us and gave himself up for us (refers to his death on the cross), a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 4:31-32,5:1-2 Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:2,3-4 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But (by accepting Christ) you were washed (of these sins), you were sanctified, you were justified (justification by faith) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the (Holy) Spirit of our God. 1Corinthians 6:9-11 Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
Romans 14:23 James 4:17

For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries. Hebrews 10:26-27 For yet a little while, and the coming one shall come and shall not tarry (See The Apocalypse of

Baruch XLVIII.39); but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back (turns back to sin), my soul has no pleasure in him. Hebrews 10:37-38 Do not neglect to do good and share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Hebrews 13:16

So put away all malice and all guile and all insincerity and envy and all slander.

1Peter 2:1

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father (God) is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. 1John 2:15-17 Well, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air; but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. 1Corinthians 9:26-27 The fear of the LORD (God) is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. Proverbs 8:13 But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
20-21

Jude

So, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1Corinthians 10:31

See also Psalms 15:1-5, Isaiah 58:6-8 and Barnabas 19:1-19. Love one another. One cannot stress this enough.

Excerpt from: Homily XIV: The True Teaching from Words of Wisdom: The Homilies of John of the Gentiles