Paradigm of the Greatest Commandments

By Henry Lew

How can the greatest commandments form the paradigm for our lives? How can these two commandments inform and transform our worldview to help us face the challenges of life? What do these commandments tell us about relationship with God, ourselves, and others? This book studies these questions, arriving at many counterintuitive conclusions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 28, 2024
• ISBN: 9798385017331

Henry Lew

A layman meditates on Jesus’ comment on the greatest commandments: “All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.” That contemplation led to a profound change in his worldview that freed him from the outlook that is socially and culturally established.

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Copyright © 2024 Henry Lew.

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ISBN: 979-8-3850-1731-7 (sc)

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2024901297

WestBow Press rev. date: 02/23/2024

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

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CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1    The Purpose of Life

Chapter 2    Highest ethic, highest good

Chapter 3    Two commandments or one

Chapter 4    Loving God more than we love ourselves

Chapter 5    Loving self and neighbor

Chapter 6    What is loving God

Chapter 7    Conclusion

Addendum

INTRODUCTION

The late Stephen Hawking once said: A few years ago, the city council of Monza, Italy, barred pet owners from keeping goldfish in curved bowls...saying that it is cruel to keep fish in a bowl with curved sides because, gazing out, the fish would have a distorted view of reality. But how do we know we have the true, undistorted picture of reality?¹ This is a good question. How would we know what the truth is? The fish in the bowl would not know whether they saw a distortion of reality. It takes someone outside of their constraints to know that. So, it is with spiritual reality. Philosophers over the ages have tried to come up with answers on why we exist—what our purpose is. But since they come from within the fishbowl, there is no way they can know if their perception is accurate. However, if the Bible is inspired by our Creator as it claims, we don’t need to wonder about the nature of reality. I am not talking about the physical world. I am referring to the questions of who we are, why we are, and how we relate to God, ourselves, and others.

The Bible is a big book. Is there a summary that gives us the core of that reality? Yes! The passage in Matthew 22:34–40 encapsulates the nature of that reality. It says: Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: ‘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.

The more I have thought about it, the more I see how central these commandments are to my faith. Jesus’ comment that All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments is critically important.² It means these commandments are central to the message of the Old Testament and by extension to the entire Bible. Such a significant statement deserves closer examination. Pondering what Jesus said has convinced me that these commandments must shape my worldview. It has become a paradigm shift for me.

Paradigm is a standard, perspective, or set of ideas that impact how you look at something. Jesus said that the Bible hangs on these commandments. If so, they should be the paradigm for our interpretation and application of the Bible. Since the Bible is God’s revelation of the truth about Himself and the nature of our reality, this paradigm is also the basis on which we can interpret life.

My grade ten Math curriculum was about geometry. The first things we learned that year were a few simple axioms. Axioms are statements or propositions that are established, accepted, or self-evidently valid, not requiring proof. They serve as premises for further reasoning and arguments. Throughout the year, we used these axioms to prove theorems. Most of these theorems were relatively straightforward and somewhat intuitive. Nevertheless, one can verify a theorem’s validity through a logical step-by-step process using the axioms. Near the end of that year, the teacher showed how to use these simple axioms to prove something much more complex, i.e., the Pythagorean theorem! I was amazed. I never saw that coming. It was so unexpected that I sat back and marveled at the result. Similarly, Jesus tells us these commandments are the axioms upon which we are to understand and interpret scripture and life! Is this what Jesus meant by his comment? I’m convinced that it is. That’s the reason for this book.

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CHAPTER 1

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE

T he first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is this: Q. 1. What is the chief end of man? A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. ³ This first question is foundational. It deals with life’s purpose. Purpose is vitally important to the meaning of life. What are we here for? Why do we exist? Without a sense of purpose, life is meaningless. I agree with the answer given to this question about purpose but find it impractical. This answer leaves me asking: What does it mean to glorify God? How do we enjoy him forever? Thus, I prefer to substitute that answer with a passage of scripture that provides a more practical answer to this question. That passage is in Matthew 22:34–40 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: ‘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.

How do these commandments replace the answer given in the catechism? We can answer that by asking these two questions. What better way to glorify God than to do what he tells us are the most important things? What better way to enjoy God forever than to have a love relationship with him? These commandments answer the first catechism question more concretely.

These words are coming from our Creator (John 1:1–3). We were created to obey these commands. When heeded, life will be what God intended it to be. Obedience to these commands must lead to the greatest sense of identity, fulfillment, and meaning. These commands define what it means to be human. Horizontal relationships with people must follow a primary relationship with God. God designed life to work like this. We were made by a God, who is love, to bear his likeness (1 John 4:8; Genesis 1:26–27). It makes sense the majority of popular songs have relationships as their theme. It is central to our created nature.

God did not give these commands to make life miserable. He does not intend to imprison us or hamper our enjoyment of life. Those who think otherwise do not have a complete picture of the God of the Bible. Instead, God wants us to experience life as he meant it to be! There is no worthier goal for us to aim for. Living these commandments is the ultimate yardstick by which to measure our lives. These commands should override all other pursuits in life. They impact all areas of life. If we choose not to obey these commands, there will always be a sense that something is missing.

It does not mean obeying these commands will lead to a life without problems. Jesus told his followers that life would not be easy. In John 16:33, he says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Examples include Job and John the Baptist, who loved God but suffered greatly. If these things happen to those who love God, then what are the benefits of obeying these commandments? That question will be answered as we go along. For now, we can say this: keeping these commandments means doing what we were created for. They are the best thing we can do no matter our circumstances.

I heard this verse, John 10:10, often quoted in my younger days: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. For a long time, I did not understand what Jesus meant by having abundant life (KJV) or life...to the full (NIV). The teaching was never clear on what a full life meant. I assumed it had to do with the pursuits most people seek after. Perhaps it’s like having God on my team; things should work well. But, as I matured, I realized this was not true. I concluded that either Jesus’ statement was untrue, or I misunderstood it. I dismissed the first possibility and instead redefined abundant life. I’ve concluded that abundant life" is living according to the greatest commandments. That is life to the full.

This is, of course, countercultural. Most people would not define "abundant life that way. But these commandments are the greatest because obeying them leads to our best lives. He made us. He knows what makes us tick. He tells us what we should strive for to live to the full."

People have been searching for a fulfilled life throughout history. Their endeavors have led some to become successful in many different areas. But without a relationship with God, people will not experience a "full life. John D. Rockefeller was, for many years, the richest man in the world. Someone once asked him, How much money is enough money? He replied, Just a little bit more."⁴ Though wealth was his passion, being the wealthiest person in the world was not enough to satisfy him. Philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote:

All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.

And yet after such a great number of years, no one without faith has reached the point to which all continually look. All complain, princes and subjects, noblemen and commoners, old and young, strong and weak, learned and ignorant, healthy and sick, of all countries, all time, all ages, and all conditions. A trial so long, so continuous, and so uniform should certainly convince us of our inability to reach the good by our own efforts... What is it then that this desire and this inability proclaim to us, but that there was once in man a true happiness of which there now remains to him only; the mark and empty trace, which he in vain tries to fill from all his surroundings, seeking from things absent the help he does not obtain in things present? But these are all inadequate, because the infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable Object, that is to say, only by God Himself.⁵

What Pascal says is what Jesus was indirectly saying in the greatest commandment. God created us primarily for a relationship with him. Pascal says that all people strive to find happiness but won’t find it without faith. Faith is necessary to have a relationship with God. He made us with an abyss that only he can fill. Adam and Eve did not have this abyss when they were created. Before the fall, they had a perfect relationship with God. They were experiencing life as it was intended to be. It was their sin that caused separation from God. It left a yearning that many try to fill with various pursuits. But God alone can fill that hole because he created us for himself. No amount of money could sate Rockefeller’s need for more. It’s like giving someone water who is starving for food. It is like trying to put a square peg in a round hole. If God is not our main pursuit, then we can be sure that at the end of that road, we will experience emptiness.

Because of our inherited sinful nature, we are not born with the inclination to love God. That is why these commandments are needed. It is not something we intuitively know. We need to shift our worldview in that direction. We need our assumptions and values to change from that of the culture we live in. Pascal said our natural inclination is to do things that make us happy. What this culture values most is centered around self, making oneself happy. Paul describes this as "gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts." (Ephesians 2:3).

The greatest commandments have a different orientation. They are oriented outside ourselves, first and foremost to God, and then to our neighbors and ourselves equally. Revelation depicts heaven as a place where the center of attention is not on ourselves but on God. Worldly pleasures will not be a part of that reality. Instead, it is where God’s love for the world will be reciprocated by the adoration and praises of those who have repented, believed, and accepted the gift of eternal life. Since God made us for this, it will be a place of complete wholeness, joy, contentment, and peace.

Einstein’s theory of relativity caused a significant paradigm shift in the physics community. While Newtonian physics was somewhat intuitive, Einstein’s physics added some counter-intuitive, mind-boggling ideas. As the scientific world has had to adjust its view of the physical universe through the new lens of Relativity, we must also change how we view life. The difference is that this view of life is not new but rather a return to the basics. Who would have thought that the way to fulfillment in life is not to seek after it actively but by loving and living for God? Who would think that loving others as much as we love ourselves would fulfill us in a way that seeking to satisfy our desires fails to do? Who would have thought these were the keys to living life to its fullest?

Relativity is a theory deduced by an astute scientist who worked it out through thought experiments. It is a step in understanding the physical realities of this universe. When it comes to our purpose in life, we don’t just have a theory. The Creator tells us what he made us for and how life works best. We need to look no further. We live life to its fullest when we obey these commandments.

One may well ask, if these two commandments represent our purpose, why do we need the 66 books of the Bible?

A simple analogy will help here. We can liken these two commandments and the 66 books of the Bible to an instruction manual that comes from the manufacturer. Often, they have a quick start version of the instructions, which gives the bare basics. There ought to be enough in the quick start instructions to tell what the product was made to do and how to get it going. However, one must consult the complete User’s Manual for more details. That is how we can view these commandments. They summarize what we are about as human beings, and the rest of scripture fills us in on the details. That is how I understand Jesus’ comment that "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

One of the factors that has shaped the North American mindset is this statement in the US Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.⁶ Using the Creator in this declaration may lead people to believe that the Bible endorses it. While scripture may agree with the first two rights listed, I do not see the pursuit of Happiness being taught.

Solomon had the means to do whatever he wished. He took full advantage of his position and resources. He wrote about his pursuits of happiness. Nothing he desired was out of reach for him. Yet he concluded that they were all empty. He said this about his pursuit: Ecclesiastes 2:1, 4–11, I said to myself, Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good. …I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

When all was said and done, the only thing not empty was the pursuit given in the last two verses in Ecclesiastes 12:13–14, The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. The pursuit of happiness only leads to emptiness and disillusionment. In North America, more than most other places on earth, we have had the means and freedom to pursue happiness. Such a pursuit, though, does not guarantee happiness. The rates of divorce, depression, and general discontent are not lower than in other countries and are often higher. In the 2022 ratings, the US ranked 16th in the world for happiness.⁷ Pursuing happiness is the wrong pursuit. Listen to Solomon’s life experience and wisdom; "fear God and keep his commandments," especially the greatest commandments. They won’t ultimately disappoint; they are what we were created for.

Just how important is it to obey these commandments? We find out early in the first book of the Bible. We read in Genesis 6:5–13, The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them…. Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth…" The good creation of God was entirely changed by sin. His image in humans was utterly corrupted. Instead of loving God, they disregarded him. Instead of love for their neighbor, there was violence.

In Genesis 4:23–24, we read about Lamech, from the generation just before the Flood: Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times. Not only was violence common, but here Lamech seems to be boasting about it to his wives, boasting about killing a man! Plus, instead of appreciating God’s grace extended to Cain (see Genesis 4:15), Lamech felt entitled to getting more from God than Cain did. Instead of submission to his Creator, he treated God as a servant. When society had broken down to this sad state, so far from what God had intended, he was "deeply troubled" (v 6). He was troubled because he deeply cared for his creation. Otherwise, it would not have disturbed him to wipe everything clean and start anew. But this state of affairs was so far from what God intended that the best thing to do was to wipe out the human race. He saved only Noah and his family. The evil in society was like cancer that would continue spreading from one generation to the next. It had to be stopped. To God, death is better than living the opposite of what he made us be.⁸

This is why Paul wrote in Philippians 3:7–11, I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s