In the lesson on the Gifts of the Spirit, I included 1 Corinthians 13, what’s known as the love chapter. It calls love the greatest gift. We are commanded to love God. We are also commanded to love others. These are called the greatest commandments.

Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

If we would just do these things, we’d be obeying all the Bible teaches us to obey. Later in the course we’ll talk about the different “one another” commands and how we are to show love to one another more specifically. I put this here as a foundation because love truly is a foundational principle of Christianity. If God’s Spirit has been given you, people should see love in your life.

John 13:35 “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Later in the Bible, we’re repeatedly told that loving others is the one thing we need to do.

1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Galatians 5:14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

We also have warnings of the opposite.

1 John 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Loving others goes hand in hand with forgiveness. Read these verses and take them to heart!

Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Lesson Point: We are not Christians if we aren’t loving each other.

Challenge Question: Is there anyone you are not forgiving or not loving? Confess, ask God to cleanse you from your unrighteousness, and ask for His help to love and forgive.