5 Commands of Jesus to Live an Abundant Life

“If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you” (John 13:14-15).

Does Jesus want us to literally wash one another’s feet? Well, yes, perhaps. The custom of the day was to provide a basin of refreshing water for a guest’s dusty feet. Wealthier homes hired a servant to do this; it was the job of the lowest-ranking slave. But beyond the practical implications of common hospitality, Jesus was teaching on humility and servant-leadership. Jesus was their Master, their Lord. They should have washed His feet. We understand Peter’s hesitation in allowing the One he now knew was the Son of God to perform such an act of humility.

Feet-washing also has greater, spiritual implications. Jesus told Peter, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me,” and in response to Peter’s request to wash his hands and head, He tells Peter that he is “completely clean” and only needs his feet washed. In Christ, our sins are completely forgiven, yet in our daily lives we pick up the dusty habits of the world. We still sin. We’re distracted. We grow complacent. We allow immoral things into our minds and hearts. Just as we would be rude to track mud into our mother’s clean house, we ought to clean up spiritually before sitting down at the table with Jesus!

Jesus promises that if we humble ourselves to serve one another in the most menial tasks and keep each other accountable to live free from sin and distractions, we will be blessed (13:17). Later, in John 17:17-19, He specifically asks the Father to “sanctify them in the truth.” The “truth” is God’s Word. Washing one another’s feet is a practical illustration of the process of our sanctification.

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

What kind of love does Jesus mean? Throughout these passages He uses the Greek word agapaō, the kind of love that goes beyond “friendship” (affection derived from common interests and based on feelings). The love expressed by agapaō is a decision of the will and has the welfare of the one loved as its motivation. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon describes it as “to have a preference for, wish well to, regard the welfare of; to take pleasure in the thing, prize it above other things, be unwilling to abandon it or do without it.”

Jesus calls His disciples to love one another with the same kind of love He has for us – love that lays down its life to accomplish what it necessary and good for the others’ welfare (John 15:12-13). This love does not end when the relationships become difficult or challenging; like Jesus, we are to love one another “to the end” (John 13:1). 

Something very important happens when we love one another in this way. Those outside the body, the unbelieving world, will know that we serve Jesus and belong to Him. Loving like Jesus brings a supernatural unity that gives testimony to the truth that Jesus is alive, and His Spirit indwells us. The love and unity of His disciples was so important to Jesus that He mentions it five times in His prayer in the Garden (John 17:11, 21, 22, 23, 26).

These are astounding verses. Jesus says that we ought to love one another with the same kind of love the Father has for Him, and indeed for us as well.

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“Do not let your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

There’s something in all of us that longs to have a home. Home is our refuge when our hearts are troubled. For many people, home is not the blessed refuge it should be, because of sin and brokenness, but Jesus promises those who believe in Him will one day hear the Savior say, “Welcome Home!”

The Greek word for troubled is tarassō and means to stir up or agitate, to disturb, to cause inward commotion, to make restless, render anxious, or to perplex the mind by suggesting doubts. One version of Scripture says it this way: Let not your heart, ye believe in God; believe also in Me.

Our problem is not that we do not believe in God, but that we waver and hesitate to entrust our lives fully to Jesus. Religion believes in God, but soul-satisfying, hope-sustaining faith is only found in Jesus. Jesus commands us to set aside all doubts as to who He is and why He came and believe.

To assure us, He tells us what He is doing right now. He is preparing us a home, a dwelling place, or a place of abiding. This is the same word used in John 14:23, where Jesus promises to “come to” and “make Our abode” with the one who loves and obeys Him. Here is the promised blessing, what Jesus wants for us. Just as the Spirit of God takes up residence in us today, we will one day take up residence in the presence of Jesus. 

What is the result of obeying Jesus’ command to believe fully and completely in Him and set aside all wavering doubts? Peace. “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27). Assurance of our eternal home is rooted in unwavering faith and is the only thing that brings peace.

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If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; this is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. … He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him” (John 14:15-17, 21).

Obedience and love are inseparable. If we truly love Jesus, we will obey His commands. If we obey Him, we will abide in His love (John 15:10). We obey because we love Him, and delight to please Him. Jesus is our example; He went to the cross not only because He loved us, but because He loved His Father. His act of obedience in giving up His life for the sins of mankind was ultimately a demonstration of His love for the Father (John 14:31; 15:10; 17:4).

What are the commands of Jesus that we are to keep? New Testament scriptures tell us that Jesus fulfilled the demands of the old covenant by His sacrifice for sin. In Him, we are no longer under the Law but are justified by grace through faith (Romans 3:21-26). Still, He upholds the original ten commandments as God’s standard of obedience, and even elevates their authority over our heart, mind and will in His sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7).

The Institute in Basic Life Principles website lists forty-nine specific commands of Jesus found in the Gospels alone, not to mention the many doctrinal truths given by His apostles in the remainder of the New Testament.

Loving Jesus and obeying Him is more than a checklist of do’s and don’ts. It requires knowing His Word. Thus the context is tied to Jesus’ promise of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Spirit reminds us and teaches us, disclosing what God wants us to know and obey (John 14:26; 16:13). A Spirit-filled disciple of Jesus will obey His commands; he cannot help but love the One who has come to abide in him.

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“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).

Abiding in Christ is the secret to every other command. To abide is to remain, dwell, or live. Jesus’ illustration is that of a branch connected to the vine. The connected branch receives its life from the branch. The fruit that it bears is not created by the branch by its own power but is a result of the sap that flows from the vine in which it is rooted. Spiritual fruit is not a product of our own efforts, but simply a natural result that comes from the Spirit (the life) that has come to take up residence in us.

Jesus wants us to experience the same kind of relationship with Him that He enjoys with the Father and the Spirit. He abides in us, so that we may abide in Him. The Father abides in Jesus and does His work through Him (John 14:10). The result of abiding is that God’s work is accomplished through us: much fruit. This fruit glorifies the Father, and proves we are His disciples (John 15:8). 

What Is the Fruit of an Abiding Disciple?

Humility that leads to sanctification and service.

Love that is willing to sacrifice for the good of others.

Faith that is rooted in eternal hope.

Obedience that reveals a deep devotion to Christ.

The result is the abundant life Jesus promised us in John 10:10 – joy and peace that sustains us in the trials of life, unity that testifies to the power of a living God, and confidence that God hears and answers our prayers. This is what Jesus wants for you. 

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Author Sheila Alewine is a pastor’s wife, mother and grandmother. She and her husband lead Around The Corner Ministries, which serves to equip Christ-followers to share the gospel where they live, work and play. She has written several devotionals including Living In Light of the Manger (Advent), Just Pray: God’s Not Done With You Yet, Grace & Glory: 50 Days in the Purpose & Plan of God, as well as Going Around The Corner, a Bible study for small groups who desire to reach their communities for Christ. Sheila has a passion for God’s Word and shares what God is teaching her on her blog, The Way of The Word. Connect with her on her blog, Facebook, and Instagram.