John 14:15

Teaching on the Holy Spirit

14:15 “If you love me, you will obey ¹  my commandments. ² 

John 14:21

14:21 The person who has my commandments and obeys ³  them is the one who loves me. ⁴  The one ⁵  who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal ⁶  myself to him.”

John 15:10

15:10 If you obey ⁷  my commandments, you will remain ⁸  in my love, just as I have obeyed ⁹  my Father’s commandments and remain ¹⁰  in his love.

John 15:14

15:14 You are my friends ¹¹  if you do what I command you.

Romans 13:8-9

Exhortation to Love Neighbors

13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 13:9 For the commandments, ¹²  “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet,” ¹³  (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁴ 

Galatians 5:13-14

Practice Love

5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; ¹⁵  only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh, ¹⁶  but through love serve one another. ¹⁷  5:14 For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, ¹⁸  namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁹ 

Galatians 5:1

Freedom of the Believer

5:1 For freedom ²⁰  Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke ²¹  of slavery.

Galatians 5:3

5:3 And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey ²²  the whole law.

Galatians 5:15

5:15 However, if you continually bite and devour one another, ²³  beware that you are not consumed ²⁴  by one another.

[14:15]  ¹ tn Or “will keep.”

[14:15]  ² sn Jesus’ statement If you love me, you will obey my commandments provides the transition between the promises of answered prayer which Jesus makes to his disciples in vv. 13-14 and the promise of the Holy Spirit which is introduced in v. 16. Obedience is the proof of genuine love.

[14:21]  ³ tn Or “keeps.”

[14:21]  ⁴ tn Grk “obeys them, that one is the one who loves me.”

[14:21]  ⁵ tn Grk “And the one.” Here the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated to improve the English style.

[14:21]  ⁶ tn Or “will disclose.”

[15:10]  ⁷ tn Or “keep.”

[15:10]  ⁸ tn Or “reside.”

[15:10]  ⁹ tn Or “kept.”

[15:10]  ¹⁰ tn Or “reside.”

[15:14]  ¹¹ sn This verse really explains John 15:10 in another way. Those who keep Jesus’ commandments are called his friends, those friends for whom he lays down his life (v. 13). It is possible to understand this verse as referring to a smaller group within Christianity as a whole, perhaps only the apostles who were present when Jesus spoke these words. Some have supported this by comparing it to the small group of associates and advisers to the Roman Emperor who were called “Friends of the Emperor.” Others would see these words as addressed only to those Christians who as disciples were obedient to Jesus. In either case the result would be to create a sort of “inner circle” of Christians who are more privileged than mere “believers” or average Christians. In context, it seems clear that Jesus’ words must be addressed to all true Christians, not just some narrower category of believers, because Jesus’ sacrificial death, which is his act of love toward his friends (v. 13) applies to all Christians equally (cf. John 13:1).

[13:9]  ¹² tn Grk “For the…” (with the word “commandments” supplied for clarity). The Greek article (“the”) is used here as a substantiver to introduce the commands that are quoted from the second half of the Decalogue (ExSyn 238).

[13:9]  ¹³ sn A quotation from Exod 20:13-15, 17; Deut 5:17-19, 21.

[13:9]  ¹⁴ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

[5:13]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.

[5:13]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “as an opportunity for the flesh”; BDAG 915 s.v. σάρξ 2.c.α states: “In Paul’s thought esp., all parts of the body constitute a totality known as σ. or flesh, which is dominated by sin to such a degree that wherever flesh is, all forms of sin are likew. present, and no good thing can live in the σάρξ…Gal 5:13, 24;…Opp. τὸ πνεῦμα…Gal 3:3; 5:16, 17ab; 6:8ab.”

[5:13]  ¹⁷ tn It is possible that the verb δουλεύετε (douleuete) should be translated “serve one another in a humble manner” here, referring to the way in which slaves serve their masters (see L&N 35.27).

[5:14]  ¹⁸ tn Or “can be fulfilled in one commandment.”

[5:14]  ¹⁹ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

[5:1]  ²⁰ tn Translating the dative as “For freedom” shows the purpose for Christ setting us free; however, it is also possible to take the phrase in the sense of means or instrument (“with [or by] freedom”), referring to the freedom mentioned in 4:31 and implied throughout the letter.

[5:1]  ²¹ sn Here the yoke figuratively represents the burdensome nature of slavery.

[5:3]  ²² tn Or “keep”; or “carry out”; Grk “do.”

[5:15]  ²³ tn That is, “if you are harming and exploiting one another.” Paul’s metaphors are retained in most modern translations, but it is possible to see the meanings of δάκνω and κατεσθίω (daknw and katesqiw, L&N 20.26 and 88.145) as figurative extensions of the literal meanings of these terms and to translate them accordingly. The present tenses here are translated as customary presents (“continually…”).

[5:15]  ²⁴ tn Or “destroyed.”