Mini-Lesson: Understanding Greater Love (John 15:13)
Lesson Objective
To understand that true Christian love (Agape) is sacrificial, selfless, and extends beyond our comfort zones, demonstrated supremely by Christ and commanded for all believers in their daily lives.
Scripture Focus
John 15:13- “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Supporting Scriptures:
– John 15:12 – “Love each other as I have loved you”
– Romans 5:8 – “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”
– Matthew 5:44 – “Love your enemies”
– Luke 9:23 – “Take up your cross daily”
– Philippians 2:3-4 – “Value others above yourselves”
Part 1: Understanding the Context –Jesus’s final teaching before crucifixion
This verse comes from Jesus’s last discourse with His disciples before His crucifixion. Within hours, He would literally fulfill these words, laying down His life for them and for all humanity. This wasn’t just description; it was prescription. Jesus was establishing the standard for Christian love.
The Ultimate Example
Romans 5:8 – “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Jesus didn’t die for people who: Loved Him back, deserved it, could repay Him, were already righteous; He died for His enemies. For sinners. For the ungodly. This is Agape love: unconditional, sacrificial, costly.
Part 2: Defining “Greater Love” – What Makes This Love “Greater”?
1. It’s Selfless
– Seeks the benefit of others, not self
– Gives without expectation of return
– Costs the giver something significant
2. It’s Sacrificial
– Requires laying down personal rights, comfort, and preferences
– Involves real cost; time, resources, energy, reputation
– Continues even when inconvenient or painful
3. It’s Unconditional
– Not based on worthiness of the recipient
– Extended to enemies, not just friends
– Doesn’t withdraw when unappreciated
4. It’s Counter-Cultural
Humans naturally prefer:
– Taking over giving
– Self-preservation over self-sacrifice
– Conditional love over unconditional
Agape love reverses all of this.
Part 3: The Command to Love Like Christ – Not Optional. Commanded Daily.
John 15:12 – “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” This is the standard: sacrificial, selfless, unconditional.
Daily Application
Luke 9:23 – “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
*Key Truth: Laying down your life isn’t just about literal death, it’s about daily death to self.
What This Looks Like Practically
Sacrificing Your:
– Time- When someone needs you, even when inconvenient
– Agenda – Putting aside your plans for another’s need
– Comfort – Serving when you’re tired, stressed, or busy
– Resources- Giving in ways that actually cost you something
– Preferences – Yielding your desires for another’s good
– Rights – Choosing not to demand what you’re entitled to
Examples:
– Listening fully without checking your phone
– Apologizing first, even when not entirely wrong
– Forgiving without being asked
– Helping someone who won’t thank you
– Serving someone who makes it difficult
– Praying for those who hurt you
Part 4: Who Should We Love This Way? The Uncomfortable Truth – Everyone, even our enemies
Matthew 5:46-47 – “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?”
Loving people who love you back is easy. Everyone does that, Christians and non-Christians alike.
The question is: What are you doing that’s different?
Jesus Expands the Circle
Matthew 5:44 – “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”
We’re called to love:
✓ Our friends and family (easy)
✓ Fellow believers (moderately easy)
✓ Strangers and acquaintances (challenging)
✓ Difficult people (very challenging)
✓ Our enemies (seems impossible)
Romans 5:6 – “Christ died for the ungodly.”
Jesus didn’t die just for His friends. He died for those who rejected Him, mocked Him, and crucified Him. If Jesus is our model, our love must extend to everyone, especially those hardest to love.
Part 5: Why This Feels Impossible. You’re Right—It Is Impossible (On Your Own)
Human love is:
– Conditional (“I’ll love you if…”)
– Transactional (“I’ll love you because…”)
– Limited (“I’ll love you until…”)
Agape love is:
– Unconditional (“I’ll love you regardless…”)
– Sacrificial (“I’ll love you even though…”)
– Unlimited (“I’ll love you no matter what…”)
You cannot produce Agape love through willpower or good intentions.
The Source of Greater Love
1 John 4:10 – “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
God is the source. We are the conduits.
Greater love flows through you when:
– You’re walking in freedom from bondages (selfishness, pride, unforgiveness, bitterness)
– The Holy Spirit is empowering you
– You’re decreasing so Christ can increase (As your bondage decreases, your capacity for love increases.)
This is why deliverance is critical, the strongholds blocking your heart also block the flow of God’s love through you.
Part 6: The Evidence of True Discipleship – How the World Knows we’re His
**John 13:35** – “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Not by:
– Bible knowledge
– Church attendance
– Theological correctness
– Spiritual gifts
– Ministry success…
By your love. Specifically, sacrificial, selfless, Agape love.
What Should Be “Normal” in the Body of Christ?
Philippians 2:3-4 – “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
This should be the default setting for Christians:
– Valuing others above ourselves
– Looking to others’ interests, not just our own
– Humility, not self-promotion
– Selflessness, not self-centeredness
When this kind of love is present, the world notices. They’re stunned, confused, asking: “Why would they do that?”
“Because Jesus loved us that way first.”
Part 7: Practical Application
Self-Assessment Questions
1. Who in your life is currently hard to love? (Family member? Coworker? Neighbor? Enemy?)
2. Why is it hard? (They hurt you? Annoyed you? Don’t appreciate you? Oppose you?)
3. What would “laying down your life” for them look like this week? (One concrete, sacrificial action you could take)
4. What’s holding you back? (Pride? Unforgiveness? Fear? Selfishness? Need for control?)
5. What bondage needs to be broken for you to love more freely? (Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it)
Your Challenge – Choose one person who’s difficult to love and take one sacrificial action toward them:
Examples:
– Pray for them daily
– Extend forgiveness
– Offer practical help
– Send an encouraging message
– Apologize if needed
– Serve them in a tangible way
Remember: You’re not doing this because they deserve it or because you feel like it. You’re doing it because Jesus commands it and Jesus enables it.
In Closing, here are some key takeaways:
1. Greater love is sacrificial, selfless, and unconditional
– Demonstrated by Christ on the cross
– The highest form of love (Agape)
2. It’s commanded, not optional
– “Love each other as I have loved you”
– Must be taken up daily (Luke 9:23)
3. It extends to everyone, including enemies
– Not just friends and family
– Especially those hardest to love
4. It’s impossible in human strength
– Requires God’s power flowing through you
– Increases as bondages decrease
5. It’s the mark of true discipleship
– “By this everyone will know you are my disciples”
– Should be normal in the body of Christ
Reflection Questions for Discussion
1. What’s the difference between human love and Agape love? Give examples.
2. Why did Jesus say loving those who love you back isn’t impressive? (Matthew 5:46-47)
3. What does “laying down your life daily” look like in practical terms?
4. Who are you finding it hardest to love right now, and why?
5. What bondages in your life might be blocking God’s love from flowing through you?
6. How would your relationships change if you truly loved sacrificially?
7. What’s one specific way you can practice greater love this week?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for demonstrating greater love through Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. While we were still sinners, You died for us. We confess that our love is often conditional, selfish, and limited. We love those who love us back and avoid those who are difficult. Break the bondages in our hearts, pride, unforgiveness, bitterness, selfishness, that block Your love from flowing through us. Give us Your heart for people, especially those hardest to love. Teach us to deny ourselves daily and take up our cross. Make sacrificial love our default, not our exception. Let the world see You in the way we love others.
In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Memory Verse: John 15:13- “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Interested in learning more?
If you are interested in learning more then click on the below link to our forward.
Teacher’s Notes
Time Required:30-45 minutes
Teaching Tips:**
– Use real-life examples of sacrificial love (parents, soldiers, first responders)
– Have students identify specific people they need to love better
– Emphasize this is impossible without the Holy Spirit
– Focus on practical, daily applications, not just grand gestures
– Address the connection between deliverance and capacity to love
Follow-Up:
– Have students share testimonies of sacrificial love the following week
– Create accountability partnerships for practicing greater love
– Discuss obstacles encountered and how they were overcome