Thomas, how are the new and old commandments different? Does one contradict the other? Or, do they envision and enjoin the same thing?

well, my brother, i could be wrong, but im assuming thomas is speaking of the new commandment given by Jesus Himself.

it is an extension of the old commandment. but perhaps thomas is speaking of something else.

Seing that this is the thread for the SS lesson, I have taken inspiration from there, the wednesday page to be more specific. It referes to Johns first letter and to Johns gospel. There Jesus says: 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
And John writes:
22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
and
20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
in the third and fourth chapters respectively.

The "new commandment" was not really new, since Jesus gave it earlier in His ministry, and He gave it much earlier than that through Moses. But it seemed new because the people had misunderstood the "old" commandments.

What we need to focus on is walking in the light as He is in the light, then His blood cleanses from all unrighteousness. It's impossible to walk with Jesus and be unloving at the same time.

Exactly, Arnold.

It is my belief that the "new commandment" phrase may actually be a mistranslation. That may have been how the grammar was arranged in Greek, but it is not how we express the same concept in English. It might have been worded like this: "I give you a commandment anew...." The word "new" in the text, carries the meaning of "renew," "anew," "fresh" or "again". Other examples of a similar nature would include "new moon," "new wine," "new heart," or "new earth." Each of these things is well known to have pre-existed, they are just remade.

If, on the contrary, the word "new" here meant that this commandment had not previously been given, then Jesus would have been a liar (see text below). So this is obviously not the case.



Nor would the commandment have been new if we include the "love to God" portion.



These commandments were as old as the hills. They were not "new" in the typical sense of the word. Jesus gave them "new" in the sense of "fresh," or "anew."

The "New Covenant" is likewise just a refreshing, a reviving, or a recommitment to the "Old Covenant."

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

Every translation I looked up had the translation "a new commandment," so it seems unlikely it's a mistranslation. I looked at a number of different languages as well, and all were "new." The lexicon says the word "new" is "new" especially as in "fresh," so I was interested in if any translation would go with "fresh." "A fresh commandment I give unto you..."

Even if it were translated like this, I think the meaning would be the same. It would be like "A fresh commandment I give unto you, fresh out of the oven," which conveys the idea of a new idea, a new thought.

Interestingly, the "new light" given in 1888 falls in this category. There were those who complained against the message being brought as nothing new, that it was already in Scripture. It was also said it wasn't needed, for this reason (other sources had the message). We hear the same ideas today (no need to consider the 1888 messengers; just read the Bible and the SOP). Ellen White tried to answer these arguments as best she could, (but, unfortunately, her words were not heeded then, nor today) in explaining:



I knew there was some reason I was connecting these two things together! The quote says it all, I think. God sent "new light" that was light which had been lost sight of.

Regarding the Old and the New Covenants, that's a different story altogether, as these are two completely different things.



This brings out that the "new" covenant is "not according" to the other one (not called "old" here, but so called elsewhere).

The SOP comments:



However, while the New Covenant is very different from the Old Covenant, the point about "new" here referring to something which had already existed before is certainly true, as the "New Covenant" is the same as the "Everlasting Covenant" or "Abrahamic Covenant."

hmmmmm, well it took me awhile to get it myself.

Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

the pioneers started off in "brotherly love" and spreading the message with Christ as the center. but as time went on and they were bringing the law back into prominence Jesus got left behind.

it is still a problem with many that think the prominence given to the gospel somehow "does away" with the law.

I have now added the comparison of the Law as used in the KJV vs the NIV to the Bible versions thread as I promised I would. Here is a direct link. There are several posts in succession. The last couple of posts deal more specifically with the concept of the Law and our ability to keep it.

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

So it wasn't a new idea, but an old idea that had been forgotten. Hence, it seemed new.


I agree on both points.