WHAT DO THE WORDS “AS YOURSELF” MEAN FOR BELIEVERS

IF YOU LOVE GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE BEING AND LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF, YOU ARE A SELF-GIVING LIVING SACRIFICE!

LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF INVOLVES COMPASSION AND MERCY, WHICH ARE QUALITIES OF GOD. TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF IS TO BECOME LIKE GOD IN HIS COMPASSION.

THE WHOLE LAW IS FULFILLED IN ONE COMMAND, “YOUR SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

JAMES 2:8: IF YOU REALLY KEEP THE ROYAL LAW FOUND IN THE SCRIPTURES, “LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF” YOU ARE DOING RIGHT.

EVERYONE IS EQUAL UNDER THE ROYAL LAW OF LOVE.

THE ROYAL LAW OF LOVE MEANS WE TREAT OUR NEIGHBOR AS IF, HE OR SHE WERE, YOURSELF.

NOTICE: THE WORDS “AS YOURSELF” MEAN THE END OF MYSELF. THERE IS NO MORE “ME” WHEN THAT “ME” HAS BECOME “YOU”. TO TEAR DOWN THE BARRIERS BETWEEN MYSELF AND SOMEONE ELSE, I MUST BE WILLING TO DIE TO SELF.

THE LOVE OF NEIGHBOR MEANS THE DEATH OF THE SELF, THE TOTAL DENIAL OF THE SELF.

TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF HAS NO LIMITS AND REQUIRES TOTAL SELF DENIAL. THIS IS RELATED TO JESUS’ TEACHING ABOUT TAKING UP THE CROSS AND DENYING ONESELF.

TO LOVE “AS YOURSELF” MEANS TO LOVE MORE THAN MYSELF. THE TERM “AS YOURSELF” IS NOT AN EQUAL SIGN BUT A GREATER-THAN SIGN, IN THAT YOUR REGARD THE OTHER PERSON’S WELFARE AS BEING MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR OWN.

NOTE: WE LOVE OURSELVES WITH ALL OUR HEARTS, ALL OUR BEING AND ALL OUR STRENGTH.

NOW IN ORDER TO LOVE GOD WITH ALL OF OUR MIND, ALL OUR BEING, AND ALL OUR STRENGTH; AND TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELVES MEANS WE HAVE TO DIE TO SELF; NO LONGER ACTING WITH SELF LOVE AS OUR GUIDE, BUT LOVING GOD AND OUR NEIGHBOR MORE THAT WE LOVE SELF.

IT IS HUMANLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYONE TO LOVE THEIR NEIGHBOR AS THEMSELVES. WE NEED GOD’S TRANSFORMING POWER TO ENABLES US TO FULFILL HIS COMMAND TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELVES. TRUE AND SELF-GIVING LOVE REQUIRES GOD’S GRACE.

WE NEED TO REALIZE THAT ANY ACTION THAT DOES NOT STEM FROM LOVE KILLS. THIS MEANS WE ARE NOT TO SAY ANYTHING OR DO ANYTHING THAT IS NOT OF LOVE!

TO HAVE A CLEAR ASSURANCE OF SALVATION IS TO OBEY THE COMMAND TO LOVE OTHERS AT ALL TIMES. A NEIGHBOR IS SOMEONE WHO IS IN NEED OF LOVE AND CARE. IT IS A LOVE BASED ON PRACTICAL REALITY.

WE ARE ONLY ABLE TO LOVE AS GOD COMMANDS US TO DO AS EMPOWERED TO BE ABLE TO DO SO BY GOD’S INDWELLING SPIRIT IN US.

NOTE: GOD IS NOW CREATING A NEW COMMUNITY MADE UP OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE BECOME NEW CREATIONS ATTACHED TO THE LORD JESUS WHO IS THE BEGINNING OF GOD’S NEW CREATION, THUS ENABLING THAT NEW COMMUNITY TO LIVE BY THE NEW COVENANT AS A PEOPLE BONDED TOGETHER BY A COVENANT OF LOVE. WE ARE ENABLED TO DO THIS AS BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT OF YEHOVAH AND OF HIS UNIQUELY BEGOTTEN SON JESUS.

THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE RULE IN MY LIFE; GOD OR SELF!

WORDS OF THIS ARTICLE ARE FROM ERIC CHANG'S BOOK, "TOTALLY COMMITTED" AND EDITED BY BRUCE LYON.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

The Kingdom of God fundamentally means the Kingship of God. It declares God as King. The traditional word kingdom may confuse us in this modern age because we understand it in terms of territory ruled over as in the United Kingdom. However, that is not the fundamental meaning of the word kingdom in the New Testament.

The Kingdom of Gold fundamentally means the Kingship of God - His reign, His rule, His government, and is not primarily concerned with territory. The Kingship of God simply means that God is King in your life. In practice it means it involves total commitment to God will, plan and purpose in your life!

This commitment will automatically move you from a self-centered way of life to a life in which God is King. Commitment is inseparable from Grace, for without commitment we cannot use or take advantage of God's Grace and Power, whether it is the power to understand His word or to fulfill HIs commands.

God's never asks anything of His own that He does not provide them with the power to carry out what He asks them to do. He has made the ultimate commitment to us by enabling his uniquely begotten son to carry out His will to become a sin-offering sacrifice that we could be reconciled to Him through His anointed one Jesus. He expects us to make a total commitment to Him in return.

When we do make a total commitment to obeying the words He gave His son Jesus to give to us He will give us the enabling Spirit power to be able to do so! Without the enabling power of God's indwelling Spirit we are unable to obey what He asks of us and totally helpless to be delivered from the bondage of sin!

God's want our all. Jesus said: Revelation 3:16: So then because you are lukewarm - not 100% committed to obeying his words, and neither cold - unbelieving nor hot - totally committed to obey his words God gave him to give to us, I will spue you out of my mouth. Take heed, and ask God to give you a heart that is totally committed to Him in all you say and do! It's you life that is at stake!

The choice is ours to make. God will not force you to do anything against your will, but will assist you to be totally committed to Him if you ask Him to help you to do so!!! If we make this commitment to obeying God is all we say and do, then He will make sure we enter into the coming territorial Kingdom with his son Jesus ruling over this earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. May that Kingdom soon come to replace this sin-sick world with a rulership of righteousness led by God's son Jesus.

In the meantime let us all submit with total commitment to the Kingship of God now! Many believers have not experienced God's transforming power! But if we let God change us, we will experience His power and know Him as the Living God. We will then be moved from darkness to light: "You were once darkness but now you are light in the Lord. LIve as children of light (Ephesians 5:8).

SPEAKING FORTH THE MESSAGE OF THE LORD JESUS

When we speak forth the message of the lord Jesus we have to be honest with people and tell them that God made a commitment to us by sending His uniquely begotten son to become a sin offering sacrifice in order that we could be reconciled to Him. He now asks us to make the same total love commitment to Him which means that we give up our selfish way of life and become completely selfless as a ditifull bond-servant to Him.

The narrow path we are called to walk on through this sin-sick world is not an easy journey but it leads to entrance into the coming glorious Kingdom of God and will allow us to co-rule and co-inherit all with the lord Jesus when he takes his place on the throne of David at Zion. May the lord hasten that day!

Most of Christendom today does not preach a message of the total commitment necessary in order to love God with all our being and love our neighbor as ourselves, let alone realize that they are bought and paid for by the blood of God's anointed one and therefore should no longer exercise their own will, but be subject as slave of God and His uniquely begotten son Jesus and in doing so become the slaves of righteousness!

Most who hear that message will consider it too hard to act upon and will do so condemning themselves to the judgement of the White throne as the end of the millenium [thousand year rule of the lord Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords!

WHAT IT MEANS TO TAKE UP YOUR CROSS

To take up our cross means to we continually reaken self as dead, and realize that all we do as member of the body of God's anointed one, the called-out Assembly is be completely subject to the will or our God Yehovah and His uniquely begotten son Jesus.

Romans 6:11: Even so reckon you also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in God's anointed one Jesus. Indeed when we do that we are taking up our cross daily because if we reckon ourselves as dead then we have decided to live as bond-servants - slaves of the lord Jesus as bought and paid for by his shed blood.

1 Corinthians 6:20: for you were bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 7:23: You were bought with a price; become not bondservants of men.

Hebrews 9:14: how much more shall the blood of God's anointed one, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Indeed as we are cleansed from dead works and are now enabled to do good works as bond-servants of the lord Jesus - we do so as taking up our cross - reckoning self will as dead - and go forth as totally committed servants of the lord Jesus doing his will!

Jesus has told us that he expects a total commitment to carry out his commands. Revelation 3:16: So because you are lukewarm - not totally committed, and neither hot - totally committed nor cold - unconverted, I will spew you out of my mouth.

If we have not decided to be totally committed to doing God's will and live out the word He gave to His son to give to us then Jesus says he will spew us out of his mouth. He requires 100% commitment, the same 100% commitment God has made to mankind in giving His uniquely begotten son to be crucified and shed his blood on the cross in order to allow Him to be reconciled to Him in His anointed one Jesus!

We need to realize that whatever God asks of us He will provide the enabling power of His Spirit to assist us to obey Him and carry out His word and work. Without His enabling Spirit in us we are helpless to accomplish His will in our lives, with His enabling Spirit in us we can be totally committed to walk in the Spirit fulfilling as of He has commanded us to do in His anointed one Jesus.