Ordained to Love: Building the Church on Jesus’ Teaching
John 15:12-14
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you."
Jesus calls His disciples friends in John 15:12-14 because they know His purpose, God’s redemptive plan rooted in love, and are invited into intimate partnership with it. And Jesus tells them (and us) that they will love one another knowing Jesus’ purpose. His love unites the disciples in a common mission. This shared calling fosters love as they work together, support each other, and reflect Christ’s love in their community. Jesus’ command to "love one another as I have loved you" points to His sacrificial love, ultimately shown on the cross. Understanding this inspires the disciples to emulate His selflessness, loving each other even at personal cost. By calling them friends, Jesus shares His heart and purpose (John 15:15), creating a bond of trust. This intimacy encourages them to love one another as an extension of their love for Him, building a community of mutual care. This is "the church". And so, in essence, they love one another because they are transformed by Jesus’ love, and they are united in His purpose, and committed to living out His commands in His fullness of joy.
When people work toward a common goal, they develop camaraderie and mutual support. The disciples, united in spreading Jesus’ message, would rely on each other, through challenges, persecution, or spreading the Gospel. This interdependence fosters love as they encourage, forgive, and uplift one another. As the disciples internalize this, their hearts align with His, compelling them to love one another as an expression of their commitment to His mission. Love becomes the natural outflow of living for His purpose. This is Jesus' vineyard analogy alive and thriving as his bride the church. And this shared purpose often requires a shared sacrifice, as Jesus exemplified by laying down His life. The disciples, knowing this, would be willing to sacrifice for each other, whether time, resources, or personal ambitions, to advance their collective mission. This selflessness deepens their love.
Jesus explained this to them earlier:
John 13:35
"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another"
And they are his friends when they love one another. And He chose them for this purpose.
Acts 4:32
"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had."
As many as he ordained, he chose them to be his friends. If God didn't choose us then all the rest of this wouldn't even matter.
Acts 13:48
"And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed."
How does that make you feel, thinking about how the choosing is God's doing?
They were appointed by God. This ordination extends to the disciples and believers who, like those in John 15, are chosen to love one another and bear fruit. The early church in Acts embodies this calling, showing how those ordained by God are united in purpose and love, fulfilling Jesus’ command to "love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12). This ordination is tied to God’s sovereign choice to call people to faith and service. This is God’s initiative in drawing people to Himself, forming the church as a community of believers. Just as Jesus chose and ordained His disciples to bear fruit (John 15:16), the believers in Acts are chosen to join His mission. Their faith unites them in the shared purpose of spreading the Gospel, fostering love as they work together.
Their love was practical, sharing possessions, meeting needs, and worshiping together.
They...
"Devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." (Acts 2:42-47)
They were relying on the apostles’ teachings which is key, it highlights their direct dependence on the oral teachings of Jesus’ chosen apostles, which unified them in love and mission. In Acts 2:42-47, the early believers, newly ordained to faith through the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, formed a vibrant community. Without written Bibles, they relied on the apostles’ teaching, eyewitness oral accounts of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and commands, including His call to "love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12). New believers trusted these teachings as the living word of Christ. The teaching provided a common foundation of faith, aligning believers with Jesus’ purpose. This unity fostered love, as they embraced the same values and mission (Acts 4:32: "All the believers were one in heart and mind" ).
Gathering to hear the apostles’ teaching strengthened relationships. Sharing Jesus’ words created intimacy, like the friendship Jesus described in John 15:15, encouraging mutual care. They became a family, a church united in serving the poor, evangelizing, making disciples, or worshiping reflecting the disciples shared purpose according to Christ's teachings. This is "the church" I've always wanted to serve.
How does your church’s mission inspire love among its members?
How has studying Jesus’ teachings with others in your church deepened your love for them?
Where can you grow in showing practical, sacrificial love?
For Extra Credit:
Building the Church Without Bibles
The early church’s reliance on oral teaching, rather than written Scriptures, highlights their trust in God’s Spirit and community. The Holy Spirit guided the apostles to recall and teach Jesus’ words accurately (John 16:13), ensuring the church was built on truth. Sharing stories of Jesus orally, likely in homes and gatherings, created a dynamic, relational faith. This fostered love as believers listened, discussed, and lived out the teachings together. And this is important because the early church’s devotion reminds us that love grows not just from reading the bible but from living out Jesus’ teachings in His community. Faith comes by hearing the word of God, and fruit comes from being doers of the word.
The early church understood this. Their devotion led to "glad and sincere hearts" (Acts 2:46), echoing the "fullness of joy" Jesus promised (John 15:11) when believers obeyed His command to love. The church’s love and unity, grounded in the apostles’ teaching, laid the foundation for Christianity’s spread, showing the enduring fruit Jesus envisioned.
How does your church’s devotion to Jesus’ teachings make it a witness to the world?
What fruit is God producing through your community’s love?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your teachings that guide us in love. Unite my church in devotion to Your words, as the early believers were. Empower us by Your Spirit to love one another sacrificially, bearing fruit for Your glory. May our love draw others to You. Amen.