Question 93: How are these commandments divided?

 

Question 93: How are these commandments divided?

Answer: They are divided into two parts. The first part teaches us how we should live in relationship with God, and the second part teaches us how we should live with our neighbors.

 Most believers connect the two commandments of the New Testament to the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament. The first commandment connects to the first five commandments of the Ten Commandments, while the second commandment connects to the second five commandments. They make this simple connection without even understanding the true meaning of the commandments God gave.

The Ten Commandments teach us that people are sinners who have turned away from God, but Jesus' two commandments speak of the life-giving resurrection. The Ten Commandments of the Old Testament foreshadow Jesus' death on the cross, while the two commandments of the New Testament foreshadow Jesus' resurrection. Therefore, the old self, the sinner, must die, and we must become new, righteous people (sons of God), and return to God.

In Matthew 22:35, a lawyer tested Jesus by asking him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” Jesus said to him, “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. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

First, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

Sinful humans are beings who have turned away from God. However, the command to love God, from a worldly perspective, is inappropriate for sinners. God's love is to seek the lost lamb. Therefore, for humans to love God means to return to Him. Being crucified with Jesus Christ is an act of loving God. Only by denying oneself (the old self) can the spirit in darkness shine forth. This is what it means to love God.

So, a new person is born from heaven, clothed in the garments of Christ (the new person). This is the image of resurrection. The old person suffocates the spirit, but the new person gives life to the spirit. Resurrection, as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:44-45, means the death of the physical body received from our parents and the adoption of a spiritual body received from heaven.

Second, love your neighbor as yourself.

By God's mercy, believers have been united with Jesus Christ, received salvation, and been resurrected. They must also save the dead spirits of others. Only then can the spirit receive light. Salvation is the salvation (resurrection) of the spirit. Love is the work of reviving the dead spirit.

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