God’s Promises

The four Gospels contain many wonderful promises of Jesus, but before we claim these for ourselves it is important to ascertain to whom each promise was given. The Gospel writers make a clear distinction between words that Jesus spoke to His disciples and those He spoke either to multitudes or to individuals who were not disciples. There are more than 900 verses recording words spoken to disciples and about 860 addressed to non-disciples.

The distinctive mark of true disciples was commitment. They had made an unreserved commitment to obey and follow Jesus, regardless of personal cost. Jesus Himself laid down this condition:

Whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. … Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. (Luke 14:27, 33)

Obviously we who are alive today were not present when Jesus was actually speaking. Before we apply any of His promises to ourselves, we need to ask: Am I the kind of person to whom Jesus was speaking? Do His promises apply to me? Do I have the right to claim them?

For example, John 14 contains glorious promises, such as:

Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. … Because I live, you will live also. … Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (vv. 13, 14, 19, 27)

But these beautiful promises were given only to a group of committed disciples. Peter spoke on behalf of them all when he said, "See, we have left all and followed You" (Luke 18:28). To claim these promises without fulfilling this condition is not faith, but presumption. We each need to ask ourselves: Am I a disciple—or just a church member?

God’s Commandments

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 John 2:3–4)

Our response to God's commandments reveals our true spiritual condition. Obeying them is proof that we know God.

The Bible contains many commandments covering various areas of our lives, but Jesus sums them all up in one that takes precedence over all others:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34–35)

By obeying this commandment we fulfill the entire law: "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Galatians 5:14). Love is the end purpose for which all other commandments were given:

Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk. …(1 Timothy 1:5–6)

It is on this basis that we must assess our obedience to God's commandments. We need to ask ourselves: Is my

Forberedelse til at regere med Kristus

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