Mainstream Evangelicals understand the universal need to be born again –which is, of course, important.  Those of the Reformed persuasion understand the awesome sovereignty and majesty of God –which is important.  Mainline denominations understand our obligation for social responsibility –which is important.  Mission minded denominations understand the urgency of the Great Commission –which is important.  Bible churches understand the primacy of Scripture –which is important.  Charismatics understand the need to be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit –which is important.  Each of these paradigms is Biblical.  And certainly most churches understand that all of these are necessary to one degree or another in a healthy, Biblical church.  Nevertheless, no church that I know of considers all of these things equally important.  We all have a theological bent -a specific way we look at Scriptures and assign varying degrees of importance to each of the areas.  Each of these theological paradigms becomes a lens through which we look at life and interpret Scripture.  But, maybe there is a bigger target than most of us realize, and maybe the bull’s-eye is something else altogether.

Before I go further, let me clarify what I believe about Jesus Christ because this will help you understand the lens through which I am looking at life and interpreting Scripture.  I believe that Jesus is part of the Triune God –the Three-In-One God comprised of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  I admit that I don’t completely understand how that all works, but I have no problem believing that what Scripture teaches is correct.  I don’t have to understand something completely in order for it to be so –I don’t completely understand how electricity is generated or how it works, but I know that it is real.  So, I believe that Jesus is the Son part of the Three-In-One God.  I believe that He was with the Father in eternity, and willingly chose to lay His deity aside as He took on flesh and blood and came to His creation.  He left eternity and stepped into time and space and lived among us.  I believe He lived a perfect human life and died for our sins, clearing the way for us to have a right relationship with God.  I believe Jesus rose again from the dead and returned to God the Father.  I’m hoping that we are on the same page with this –this is basic Christianity.

Now, if Jesus came from the Father and returned to the Father and is, in fact, part of the Godhead -if He is, as Scriptures clearly teach, God –then I think it is safe to assume that what Jesus taught, and what He focused on, and what He modeled for us is incredibly important.  If anybody in the history of the earth had His priorities straight and understood how things really are, it has to be Jesus.  I know that the Old Testament is Scripture.  And I know that the writings of Paul and Peter and John and the rest of the New Testament are Scripture.  But if God became man and made His dwelling among us and explained to us how things really are, that has to become the lens through which we interpret the rest of Scripture.  The actual teachings of Jesus, who was and is God, must be the key to unlocking the rest of Scripture.  We can’t do it the other way around.  We can’t take the writings of Paul and interpret Jesus.  We can’t take the prophets and interpret Jesus.  We must use Jesus to interpret everything else –because Jesus is God.

 With that in mind, lets look at some of what Jesus taught:  “The world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.”  (John 14:31)

"If you knew me, you would know my Father also." (John 8:20)

“I speak of what I have seen with my Father.”  (John 8:38)

"I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19)

“Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.’” (John 8:28)

“Whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." (John 12:50)

So, basically Jesus said that He only did what He saw the Father doing and He only said what He heard the Father saying because He and the Father are one.

If we are anywhere near being on the same page here, let’s move ahead.  One day, a man asked Jesus which commandment was the greatest commandment –what is the most important thing of all-and Jesus didn’t even hesitate in His reply.  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."(Matthew 22:36-41)

In other words, Jesus said that the most important thing is love.  First, to love God –and then to love one another.  This is so important, according to Jesus, that it supersedes the entire law.  If we actually learn to love, everything else takes care of itself.

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” (John 15:9)

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

"Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."  (John 13:34-35)

This is clearly the heart of God.  This is the bulls-eye of the target.  This is what makes Christianity different than any man-made religion.  This is it.  Jesus taught and modeled love.  Authentic Christianity is not religion, it is relationship.  The mark of Spiritual maturity is not how much of the Bible we have memorized, it is not how many people we have led in the “sinner’s prayer,” it is not how much spiritual power or anointing we operate in.  The only authentic mark of Christian maturity is how much we love God and how much we love others.  This is what Jesus taught.  This is what Jesus modeled.  This is the bulls-eye of the target.  Other things are certainly important, but they are secondary to learning to love God, accepting His love, and sharing His love with others.

-Written by Steve Pennell, By His Stripes Ministries-

Questions To Consider: 

Why do the teachings of Jesus have to be the lens through which we interpret all other Scripture? 

Being born-again, being filled with the Spirit, understanding the sovereignty of God, participating in world missions, being involved in social justice and grasping the importance of Scripture are all necessary to spiritual health -but what is the ultimate goal and the only legitimate mark of spiritual maturity?