If WHO loves Him? They will keep WHAT commandments?

Many have heard people quote Jesus as saying, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" But what did Jesus say next? He said "and.." That means the oft quoted "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" isn't even a quote of the full sentence Jesus spoke! Here it is with the "and" in tact:

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments AND I will ask the Father, and He will give to you another Comforter, that He might be with you forever the Spirit of truth. He will be in you." (John 14:15-17)

Seeing this together causes us to beg the question of who the "you" Jesus is speaking to is. It cannot refer to us today because:
1. The Spirit of Truth has already been sent/given.
2. The Spirit of Truth is already in us who know God.
3. We are not saved by keeping commandments (works) we are saved by trusting in God.
4. Salvation occurs not because we loved God but because He first loved us.

If this were to us today it would mean Jesus only sends to Holy Spirit into us after we first love Him & work to keep His commands. That is the total opposite of the gospel! By now it should be obvious that we now have no business throwing this broken sentence around trying to get people to keep commands.

But this still makes no sense because Jesus did say this to someone yet it seems to be against the gospel itself. Now let us consider the greater context. Jesus said this to His disciples shortly before He was arrested & sent to the cross. This was a short & unique time in history were Jesus could be known before He finished redemption.

Jesus was saying "Do you love me Peter? Do you love me John? Do you love me Matthew?... If you love me you will keep my commandments.." Jesus had even just specified the commandments. In John 14:1 Jesus says, "Trust in God. Trust also in Me." This was Jesus' appeal to the human relational love they had for Him which was built in the time they were with Him so they would trust Him through the devastating time where He goes to the cross and even to the grave. Jesus foretold them of His death and resurrection numerous times. John 13:1 says that everything Jesus did this night was to love His disciples because He knew He was going to be arrested and die soon. Jesus wanted His disciples to trust Him so they would see Him risen & receive the Holy Spirit of Truth.

He did still love them first. They just lived in the unique time where they could love Him before they were redeemed. They were still saved by trust (faith/belief) & not works because Jesus' commands were to "Trust in (have faith in/believe in) God. Trust also in Me."

So be free my friends. God does not require us to prove our love for Him by our works. Continue to trust in Him & His love for you. When you know His love for you then you'll never doubt your love for Him.

Related Posts:
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments † I Will Love You So You Will Trust Me
"This is love for God: to keep His commands" Uh oh! ...there goes grace!
Trust and Love, Everything We Need

Galatians 5 Paraphrased for us Gentiles

Christ Jesus set us free from laws. Laws are burdensome obligations that have punishments for not keeping them. Jesus set us free so that we could stay free. Stand firm, don't let anyone convince you to burden yourself by laws which shackle you & make you a slave. If you put yourself under laws the amazing experience of knowing Christ will be nullified. That's right, because even if you only try to keep one law you'll eventually feel compelled to keep as many as you can think of or as many as people tell you that you should. If you think you can make yourself approved in the eyes of God or make yourself feel righteous by keeping laws you've just about completely lost sight of Jesus & His love for you.

We trust Jesus through our spirits. The flesh, by itself, is valueless to God & us. The only thing of value is trust in God expressing itself through love. While the flesh is good for manifesting that love, the source of that love & trust is the spirit. Even thinking there are a few mandatory laws can mess up your whole life concerning your view of yourself & your view of God. You live in the true reality of knowing God when you walk by the spirit instead of by laws & fleshly desires. God will never persuade you to put yourself under laws. Someone doing that type of thing isn't doing it because God told them to. What happened on the cross is only offensive to those who tell you that you should keep laws. Christ nailed God's old law to the cross & left it there & He's not making any new laws.


Brothers and sisters, you were called to be free. But don't use your freedom to give the flesh the opportunity to control you; instead, serve one another humbly in love. While it is true that God's entire old covenant law is fulfilled by keeping the one command to “Love your neighbor as yourself,” remember, by the flesh no one could keep that law. So instead of being under laws & trying to keep the command to “Love your neighbor as yourself,” walk by the spirit. When you do that you will not gratify the desires of the flesh, one of which is to keep an external set of laws to make yourself feel better. The flesh & the spirit don't desire the same things. If you try to walk by both they will start a war inside you keeping you from doing anything you would want to do. If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law & you aren't led by permanent universal rules that weigh you down. The flesh has a much harder time gaining ground when the law is not involved.

You are heirs to God's kingdom because you belong to Christ Jesus. He has separated your identity from the flesh & its deeds, passions, & desires. Instead you are in the spirit which bears the fruit of love. Love consists of joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, & self-control. Love is so good no one can make laws against it. Love is unstoppable. The fruit of the spirit is love so if you want to love your neighbor forget about laws & rules. Instead walk by the spirit & watch God's love flow into your heart & back out of your heart into the world.