Foundations of the First Commandment
37 Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This
is the first and great commandment. (Mt 22:37-38)
I. INTRODUCTION
A. The Vision
1. First Commandment - The highest priority (first) on the heart of God is that we would become wholehearted lovers
of God. The first priority that God has for our lives, families, churches, cities, and nation is that we would love God with all
of our heart, soul, mind, and strength in the present tense (Matt 22:37-38). This is the prevailing will of God for each of
our lives of which every other component of His will serves.
2. Great Commandment - What does it mean that loving God is the ‘greatest commandment’? It means receiving and
reciprocating the love of God is the most powerful, enjoyable, and satisfying relational experience available to us. We
were created, designed, and made to be loved and to love. We were designed to love God wholly, and that is the only
way that we were designed to function properly. Therefore the highest and greatest vision for our lives is to be a lover
of God.
B. The Foundation
1. As critical as proper vision is for the ordering or our lives to grow in love, so also are the foundations that we build our
vision upon.
2. Paul prayed in Eph. 3:17 that the whole of our lives would be rooted and grounded in the love of God so that all
of which proceeds from our lives would be drawn forth from love. In order for us to become a “tree full grown in the love
of God” we must be planted in the proper ‘soil’ or ‘foundations’ conducive for love to mature in our lives.
II. FOUNDATION #1: RELATIONSHIP
A. Growing in love is about growing in a relationship with Jesus (Jn. 15:4-5, Jude 21, Eph. 2:20). Love does not exist
in solidarity, but in relationship. The reason that God is love is because a relationship exists (between Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit). As simple as it is, relationship is the centerpiece of love of which a multiplicity of experiences follow. We will
grow in love for Jesus in as much as we know Jesus. Love from and for God does not occur in a ‘commodity vacuum.”
B. Our vision and foundation of growing in love must be centered on relationship with Jesus. Out of this relationship
many experiences and feelings will follow. We must be careful to avoid making ‘experiences’ the goal, but rather a
relationship that produces experiences.
III. FOUNDATION #2: WE MUST BE TRANSFORMED BY BEHOLDING JESUS
A. The first foundation of growing in love is that we understand that it is centered on a relationship with Jesus.
The next foundation to grow in love is that we must be transformed to grow in our relationship with Jesus because the
primary requirement for relational intimacy of any kind is ‘likeness.’ Apart from a common mutual likeness (unity of heart,
mind, vision, and values) interpersonal relational intimacy is stagnant and cannot progress. Therefore the key to
experiencing deeper relational intimacy with Jesus is that WE become transformed into His image (2 Cor. 3:18).
This process of being transformed into God’s likeness is the journey of holiness. We are commanded ‘be holy as
the Lord is holy’ (Lev. 11:44-45; Eph. 1:4, 5:27; 1 Pt. 1:15-16).
B. Transformation Dilemma: The command to be holy itself is not what changes us. To know that we need to change
does NOT change us . The exhortation to think or do anything does not contain in itself the inherent power to walk it
out. How then are we transformed? We are transformed by beholding (seeing, understanding) God’s heart (beholding
and becoming) toward us.
But we all (this works for everyone), with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being
transformed into the same image (that we behold) from (one degree of) glory to (to another degree of ) glory, just
as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Cor. 3:18)
C. The amazing thing is that God has made the self-disclosure (revelation, knowledge of Himself) of His own heart
the ‘transforming agent’! The wisdom and kindness of God’s heart in this is that we can know Him while we are changing,
not just after we are changed
D. The discovery of the knowledge of God’s love for us is the centerpiece to growing in love for God, self, and others
because it transforms us into His likeness
God’s love → Love for God → Love for Self → Love for Church → Love for Lost.
E. Implications: (1) We will not love God or others more than our discovery of His love for us; (2) We will never love
others more than we like ourselves; (3) We will not love the ‘lost’ more than we love the church;
IV. FOUNDATION #3: LOVE INVOLVES THE WHOLE PERSON
A. Loving God involves the whole of who we are: heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mk 12:30).
B. Growing in love involves our mind (intellect), heart (affections), soul (will), and strength (resources). Loving is not
limited to a feeling a positive-affection-based-inward-emotion (though we will undoubtedly experience this many times).
Relational love is vast in its expression and experience. Paul described this love has having heights, depths, width,
and length (Eph. 3:18).
V. FOUNDATION #4: LOVING GOD WHOLEHEARTEDLY IS PRESENT-TENSE
A. As we pursue to love God with the whole of who we are (foundation #3), we must understand that it is a
present-tense reality, not just a future day when we are finally mature or wholehearted. We can be (and must be)
whole hearted today and not merely view it as a day we will hopefully arrive at in the future.
B. Too often I imagine the day that I will qualitatively become wholehearted in the future, and therefore not
quantitatively pursuing Him in the present.
VI. FOUNDATION #5: SPIRITUAL IMMATURITY & REBELLION ARE NOT THE SAME
A. As we daily pursue to love God with all of our heart we must be prepared for the vast amount immaturity we will
encounter. This immaturity, or stumbling, or weakness in the pursuit of wholehearted living is not rebellion to God.
B. Sometimes, rebellion and immaturity may outwardly look the same, but the heart is very different and God sees
and evaluates by the heart. Many Christians falsely view themselves as rebels before God because they think that
immaturity and rebellion are the same. It is a destructive to write ourselves off as rebellious if, in fact, we are spiritually
immature (sheep & swine example).
C. How can a person know if they are immature or rebellious? First, the fact that they want to know is a tip off . The
sincere are concerned about offending God and injuring their relationship with Him whereas the rebellious are not
(though they may appear to be concerned before the eyes of men, i.e. King Saul). When an immature believer is
struggling in sin a sincere spirit of repentance is seen in that they admit their sin, take responsibility for their sin, and
take sin serious. Whereas a person with a rebellious spirit simply says “no” to God’s commands or control over
categories of our lives. When they sin, they do not immediately plan ways to obey God but rather continue in sin
(Eph. 4:30; 1 Thes. 5:19; 1 Sam. 15:22-23).
VII. FOUNDATION #6: WE HAVE THE ASSURANCE OF GOD’S ENJOYMENT IN IMMATURITY
A. In the fifth foundation we understand that God does not see us as rebels in our immaturity. In this foundation
we see the biblical reality that God enjoys the immature, weak, or struggling believer. This is a massive point and
crucial to growing strong in the love of God.
6 “… the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the
face of the earth. 7 The LORD did NOT set His love on you nor choose you BECAUSE you were more in number than
any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; 8 but because the LORD loves you… (Deut 7:6-8)
B. Many people find it unusual that God out and out enjoys them right now. He actually enjoys us, weak, stumbling us.
We must ask the question; does God enjoy us right now with a smile on His face? Most believers cannot imagine that
this could be true of them in their current state. The following series of questions will help us see this:
C. This concept really troubles people because many falsely believe that if you get a person confident in God when
they are weak, then they will never be threatened out of sin. The only tool that some people have to motivate themselves,
as well as others in the kingdom, is by fear of rejection, judgment, and shame. There is a higher motivation for holiness
than fear of punishment (though, it is real nevertheless). It is the power of meritless love (Jer. 3:14). This is the good
news of the gospel (Rom. 1:16, 5:6-10).
D. The fact of Jesus’ deep affection for sincere yet immature believers is seen with His disciples just before the cross. In
fact, Jesus purposefully anchors their hearts in confidence concerning His love, knowing their weakness. Only a heart
secure and confident in God’s love can survive the painful failings of sin and weakness. At the Last Supper the disciples
were about to face one of the most difficult hours of their lives on many levels. They were about to betray Jesus, be
deeply disappointed, and be faced with persecution. Jesus, therefore, secures their hearts in the assurance and
commitment of His love for them.
9 “As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. (Jn 15:9)
E. Our passion for God comes specifically from the knowledge that when we were totally unlovely the Lord chased
us down, fought for us unto death, and crowns us with glory and honor if we repent and believe with a sincere heart
(Rom. 5:6-10)
VIII. FOUNDATION #7: GOD’S ENJOYMENT OF US ≠ HIS APPROVAL OF ALL THAT WE DO.
A. God’s enjoyment of us is not the same as His approval of everything we do. Some hear the statement that God
enjoys us in our weakness and falsely conclude this means that God approves of everything we think, feel, or do.
B. In the story of the prodigal son we can rightly conclude that extravagant response of the father in clothing him in a
robe,
ring on his finger, and killing the fatted calf is not his father approving of a life of wine and prostitutes (Lk. 15:20-24).
C. Furthermore, God’s disapproval of an area brings loving discipline (Heb. 12:5-6). God’s loving correction is not
rejection, but rather a confirmation that we are His sons and deeply loved by Him (Prov. 3:12 - whom the Lord loves He corrects).
IX. FOUNDATION #8: WEAK LOVE IS NOT THE SAME AS HYPOCRITICAL LOVE
A. It is not enough to only have the knowledge of God’s love for us in our weakness, we must also have the
assurance that our love for God and others is genuine though weak (or maturing). Immature love for Jesus is not false
love. Our love of God is genuine long before it matures.
B. Struggling in weakness is not the same thing as being a hopeless hypocrite. The traditional definition of a hypocrite is
somebody who says one thing and does another, instead of somebody who says one thing, but does not pursue it.
Genuine lovers of God do not attain everything they aim form but they continue to pursue sincerely, diligently and
even at great cost.