For many Believers a very likely answer to this question can be found in Matthew 22:37-40 where one day Jesus answered a related question posed by an expert in the Law of Moses who was there among the assembled Pharisees. The question was this: Teacher, which is the greatest (strongest or most important) commandment in the Law? Scripture says that the expert was testing the Lord but Jesus answered Him without hesitating:

(37) You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. (38) This is the great and foremost commandment. (39) The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (40) On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.

Jesus answered the expert’s question by giving two clearly stated commandments, (1) to love the Lord, and (2) to love other people. Notice that Jesus repeated the word commandment in His answer so it was clearly His intention that they continue to be commandments instead of becoming just suggestions or guidelines for how to lead a righteous life under the New Covenant He was in the process of creating. Indeed, many other verses in the New Testament refer to the commandments of Jesus and exhort us to obey them (John 14:15, John 14:21, John 15:10, 1 Corinthians 7:19, 1 John 2:3, 1 John 2:4, 1 John 3:22, 1 John 3:24, 1 John 5:2, 1 John 5:3, 2 John 6, Revelation 12:17, Revelation 14:12 and Revelation 22:14).

Note also that He referred to only two commandments instead of the ten or 600+ that Jewish folks were used to hearing about. This declared to those assembled there that day that He had been given the authority to synthesize the Law of Moses down to only two issues which was at that moment a totally new and undoubtedly surprising concept. The essence of what He said was that you can fulfill the whole Law just by carrying out these two commandments.

The other point to bring out is that Jesus said that all the Law and everything the Prophets have ever said depend on, or are subordinated to, these two commandments. In other words, none of the other Laws of conduct in the Kingdom of God will function properly and fully except through love. In fact, the Bible confirms that even our faith won’t work if it doesn’t come out of love (1 Corinthians 13:2). Friend, Matthew 22:40 says clearly to those who have ears to hear that the Laws of biblical prosperity won’t work for you if they don’t come through love. Therefore, if your prosperity is a little on the short side today, it’s time to consider where you are in your love-walk.

When many Christians read these scriptures from Matthew 22, there is a tendency to gloss over the message and go on to something else that’s more relevant and possible for real life. But Jesus stated and restated them as commandments which He would not have done if they were impossible to keep or if they were not important. Jesus would never set us up for failure by giving out commandments we can’t keep. No, heaven forbid! The truth is God is serious about having us obey these commandments and so was Jesus when He said them.

Moreover, Jesus said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love” (John15:10). When it says that you will abide in His love, it means that you will actually dwell together with God because God is love (1 John 4:16). This is an important revelation in the context of today’s topic because Jesus also said that “apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). In sum then, in order to dwell with Christ and receive the benefits of His love, we must be trying to keep His commandments. In other words, if we are sincere about wanting to experience biblical prosperity, we must abide in Christ, which in turn requires that we keep His commandments. It will not happen any other way.

For many Believers it’s time to slow down and study these scriptures a little more closely and seriously. By nature we don’t love others easily, whether God or man, because we are too concerned about ourselves. Nevertheless, when someone in authority has commanded us to do something, he is expecting us to carry out his orders. In fact, in this case the Lord is waiting patiently for them to be carried out so He can advance the work of the Kingdom. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit is working with each of us to overcome our selfish flesh and bring about perfected love in our lives so that by faith we can actually do what has been commanded. And when finally we do submit to the love commandments of Christ, we should soon thereafter find biblical prosperity beginning to overtake us.

To conclude today, our fifth Law of biblical prosperity is this: in order to experience the manifestation of biblical prosperity, you must walk in love. On these two commandments depend all the Laws of prosperity. And when you are trying to walk in them and to bless others through your love, the activation of biblical prosperity will be an unavoidable consequence. The abundance will come as an empowerment to bless others as the Spirit leads; the overflow will be evident spirit, soul and body. There will be nothing missing and nothing broken.

In the next issue of Prosperous Life Newsletter we will talk more about how we can improve our love walk. But for now it is our prayer that God will open up this subject to you and that you will come to agree that by faith you really are able to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself. May the blessings of God overtake you and your family in the name of Jesus. Thank you for reading Prosperous Life Newsletter today.

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