Topical Bible: Love to God: Commanded

◄ Love to God: Commanded ►

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The command to love God is a central tenet of the Christian faith, deeply rooted in both the Old and New Testaments. This command is not merely a suggestion but a fundamental requirement for believers, reflecting the nature of the relationship between God and His people.

Old Testament Foundations

The command to love God is prominently featured in the Shema, a traditional Jewish prayer found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5. The Berean Standard Bible renders this passage as: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." This commandment underscores the totality of devotion required, encompassing heart, soul, and strength, indicating that love for God should permeate every aspect of one's being.

The command to love God is reiterated throughout the Old Testament, emphasizing its importance. In Deuteronomy 10:12-13 , Moses exhorts the Israelites: "And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD that I am giving you this day for your own good?" Here, love for God is linked with obedience and service, highlighting that genuine love manifests in action.

New Testament Affirmation

In the New Testament, Jesus reaffirms the command to love God as the greatest commandment. In Matthew 22:37-38 , Jesus responds to a question about the greatest commandment by quoting the Shema: "Jesus declared, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." This declaration by Jesus underscores the continuity of this commandment from the Old to the New Covenant.

The apostle John further elaborates on the nature of love for God in his epistles. In 1 John 5:3 , he writes, "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome." Here, love for God is intrinsically linked to obedience, suggesting that true love is demonstrated through adherence to God's will.

Theological Implications

The command to love God is foundational to the believer's relationship with Him. It is not merely an emotional or sentimental affection but a comprehensive commitment that involves the entire person. This love is characterized by reverence, obedience, and a desire to align one's life with God's purposes.

The command to love God also serves as a basis for ethical and moral behavior. As believers love God, they are called to reflect His character in their interactions with others, thereby fulfilling the second great commandment to love one's neighbor (Matthew 22:39).

Practical Application

For believers, the command to love God calls for a daily commitment to seek Him through prayer, study of Scripture, and worship. It involves a conscious effort to align one's desires and actions with God's will, recognizing that love for God is the driving force behind a life of faithfulness and devotion.

In summary, the command to love God is a central and enduring principle in the Christian faith, calling believers to a life of wholehearted devotion and obedience.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Deuteronomy 11:1
Therefore you shall love the LORD your God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, always.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Joshua 22:5
But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to hold to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Whether it is Fittingly Commanded that Man Should Love God with ...
... Therefore it is unfittingly commanded that man should love God with his whole heart. ...
Therefore we ought not to be commanded to love God with our whole heart. ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether it is fittingly commanded.htm

Of the Perfect Stripping of the Soul which is United to God's Will ...
... God commanded the prophet Isaias to strip himself naked; and he ... and then, the time
prefixed by God having expired ... Love is strong as death [435] to make us quit ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter xvi of the perfect.htm

Of the Conformity of Our Will to that Will of God's which is ...
... made David cry out: O Lord, thou hast commanded thy Commandments to ... this divine desire,
wills to please God by observing it; the love of benevolence ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter v of the conformity.htm

That the Love of God Above all Things is Common to all Lovers.
... and in all occurrences, he will prefer the good grace of God to all ... it is the love
of excellence, or the excellence of love, which is commanded to all ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter vi that the love.htm

"God with Us"
... The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God's government; He desires
only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by ...
//christianbookshelf.org/white/the desire of ages/chapter 1 god with us.htm

Obedience: Its Place in Holy Scripture.
... thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that ... is said of faith, or humility,
or love: obedience includes all ... as is the claim and authority of God is the ...
/.../murray/the school of obedience/i obedience its place in.htm

xiv. Upon the Love of God.
... affections; whom we are commanded to love with all our heart, with all our soul,
and with all our mind. And of these regards towards Almighty God some are more ...
//christianbookshelf.org/butler/human nature/sermon xiii xiv upon the.htm

That Divine Love More Excellently Sanctifies the virtues when they ...
... acts commanded or ordained by love. And if, at last, some virtues perform their
operations without his order, yet if they assist his intention, which is God's ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter iv that divine love.htm

That this Divine Commandment of Love Tends to Heaven, yet is Given ...
... according as we are commanded, since this is not only in our power, but is also
very easy; the whole commandment being of love, and of the love of God, who as ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter ii that this divine.htm

How Agreeable all virtues are to God.
... up in liberal knowledge, in the love of their ... that can be done but by God's special
protection ... see that no occasion of practising virtues commanded occurs, they ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter i how agreeable all.htm