Loving one another in the body of Christ; 1Cor 12-13; John 15:17.

Title: Loving one another in the body of Christ; 1Cor 12-13; John 15:17.

John 15:17 "This I command you, that you love one another.

 

"command" - evnte,llomai[entellomai - present middle indicative] = to command, decree, or prescribe. Middle = for the believer's benefit.

 

All commands are divine prescriptions for the believer's benefit. Each command is designed to prosper the believer's soul out from or apart from the sin and evil of the world system.

 

The indicative mood shows the reality that the believer is benefited by a loving Lord who is for him and not against him.

 

"one another" - avllh,lwn[allelon] = each other of the same kind. There is no prejudice in the RFOG.

 

There are no distinctions of the kind that are in the world in the body of Christ.

 

 

Believers are enjoined to love; serve; accept; be hospitable; greet with a holy kiss; be devoted; live in harmony; bear with; be kind and compassionate; carry burdens; forgive; build up; admonish; encourage… one another.

 

In each of these cases, 'one another' implies "without distinction on the basis of social status or personal preference."

 

As we have defined agapan love: A mental attitude impersonal, unconditional love from mature virtue that recognizes the value of an object, producing a self-sacrificial preference and regard for its benefit even if hated. It is without sin and is not motivated by any affection or attraction.

 

Divine virtue love is impossible without grace. Grace imputation of the new creature, grace to learn it, and grace orientation in applying it.

 

As soon as works come into the picture, agape love is impossible since grace is no longer grace in the soul of the believer. As soon as merit systems, competing, comparing, and the whole arena of MAS’s come into the soul, agape love is impossible. If we don’t understand that God has done everything for us by means of grace then love is impossible.

 

Having virtue love for one another is wonderfully illustrated in the function of spiritual gifts, 1Cor 12-13.

 

1 Cor 12:12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.

 

1 Cor 12:13 For by one Spirit [baptism of the Spirit and not any weirdo movement] we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

 

In order to understand the reason for loving one another we must understand our union with one another and how that started. It is right here in verse 13.

 

“baptized” - bapti,zw[baptizo; aorist passive indicative] = to identify one object with another whereby the original object is changed.

 

The confusion surrounding this word results from the fact that it is transliterated and not translated.

 

9^th century BC: Homer, in the 9th book of his Odyssey describes the conflict with Cyclops, and when they rammed the sharpened stake into the eye of Cyclops Homer says the hissing of the burning eye sounded like the hissing of water when a smith baptises [baptizw] a piece of metal. What he is saying is that when you take hot iron and you identify it with water the character or the nature of the iron is changed. It is tempered. This indicates that the verb baptizw means to identify one object with another object whereby the original object identified is changed. So you have identification as the meaning.

 

4^th century BC: Euripedes [playwright] describes the sinking of a ship. He uses verb baptizw and he says the ship is so identified with the water that the character of the ship is changed. So, once again, in Euripedes the meaning of the verb is to identify.

 

Early 4^th century BC: Xenophon [historian], describing the ten thousand on their way to Persia to join the Persian army, related a little ceremony on their departure. Each man took his new war spear, went by a bowl of pigs blood and baptised his spear in the pig’s blood. That changed the ordinary spear into a war spear. In other words, one thing was so identified with another thing that there was a change, and he used the word baptizw.

 

Though the last two examples involve an immersion and water baptism is an immersion, not all baptisms are immersions. The heavy importance put on water baptism in certain denominations distorts the true baptism that changes a totally degenerate and depraved, fallen creature to a brand new creature that is in union with Christ. A dunk in a tank is not going to do that.

 

There are actually seven baptisms in the Bible. Four of them are dry.

 

 

Baptism of Moses:

1 Cor 10:2

and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

 

Baptism of the cross:

Mark 10:38

Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"

 

Baptism of the HS:

Acts 1:5

for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. "

 

Baptism of fire:

Matt 3:11

"As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

 

The other three are John’s baptism of repentance, the unique baptism of Jesus, and the baptism of the Church before the canon of scripture was completed. These three involve water and each one is a ritual, meaning they represent something but are not the substance of what they represent.

 

All of us have been baptized into Christ. This is positional truth; RPT and CPT.

 

No one is excluded.

Baptism of the Spirit:

CA only                        Prophesized by Christ

Unifies bels                  Equality to bels (EP/EO)

Begins CA          Not emotional/not tongues

 

The baptism of the Spirit did not occur in the OT. It was prophesized by Jesus in ACT 1:5 and John 14:20. It unifies believers, brings the only equality which is short lived, it began the Church-age and it has no emotional component whatsoever, nor is it identified with the temporary spiritual gift of tongues.

 

1 Cor 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.

 

1 Cor 12:15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.

 

Brother Hand is the choir director and is always out front, getting atta-boys, and is always seen. Brother Foot has an administrative gift in which he always works behind the scenes, always performing his responsibilities in an unseen way. He never gets asked for his bragamony/testimony and never is recognized. The danger is that Brother Foot may get an inferiority complex because he is not noticed.

 

The truth is that Brother Hand who is out front and Brother Foot who is behind the scenes are both needed for the function of the local assembly and both have a danger; superiority complex for one and inferiority complex for the other. If that occurs then both of them are lacking doctrine or not using the doctrine they do have. An understanding of the baptism of the HS reveals that you should really get over yourself (inferior or superior) because we are all placed in the body just as He willed, and that willed by grace to those who believed.

 

1 Cor 12:16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.

 

Same principle.

 

1 Cor 12:17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?

 

What if everyone had the same spiritual gift and the body was one big eye? This debater’s technique shows the absurdity. The church would grind to a halt. What if everyone who had the same gift functioned in the exact same way? There would be no diversity of gifts much like multiple generations from the same gene pool.

 

1 Cor 12:18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.

 

 

Spiritual gifts are distributed by God the Holy Spirit just as He willed, therefore a certain gift doesn’t make anyone inferior or superior.

 

 

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