2 John 5–6, “And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but
that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after his
commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.”
In these verses, the apostle continues his letter by beseeching the saints to have Christian sacred love toward
one another. This is not a new commandment, for God’s people have always been called to love one another.
We need to show evidence in our life of our sincere, Christian love, and we do this by keeping God’s
commandments and encouraging one another to walk in holiness. We must not become complacent but
always strive to continue to grow in this Christian virtue of love. As we go through the following study, may
we discuss and learn more about how to manifest love throughout our daily life.
- What is love? (Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 1, pp. 148-153, Colossians 3:14)
- We are commanded to “love one another”. With whom are we to establish the fellowship of love? (Ephesians 4:2–6; 1 Peter 1:22; I John 3:10–11; I John 4:7–8)
- With whom can the fellowship of love not be established? (Deuteronomy 7:2–4; Ezra 9:2–4,
2 Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 5:6–8)
- Why are we commanded to love one another? (John 15:17; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 John 3:16;
1 John 4:19-21)
- What is the relationship between love and walking in God’s commandments? (Psalm 19:7–11; Matthew 22:36–40; Luke 10:27; Romans 13:8–10; 1 John 5:2–3)
- How is our love manifested? (John 15:12–13; Romans 12:9–10; 1 Corinthians 13; Ephesians 4:31–32; Ephesians 5:1–2; I Peter 3:8–9; 1 Peter 4:8; I John 3:18)
- We cannot be ashamed to walk in love for we are commanded to love one another. Discuss how we are able to show evidence in our life of this fruit of the Spirit. (John 13:34–35; Galatians 5:22–23)