“DO UNTO OTHERS”

“The Law of Reciprocity”

AND YOU SHALL BE MY DISCIPLES – Lesson #18

“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12).

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

The opening of this verse is read at plain face value, “treat people the same way you want them to treat you”. 

The interesting word in this verse is “treat“.  It comes from the same Greek word as “make“.  As in Matthew 4:19, Jesus said to Peter and Andrew, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

TREAT and MAKE. as used here, is translated from the Greek word “poieo”.  “Poieo” is a CREATIVE word.  It means to make something according to what it is called.  This is the New Testament Greek word equivalency to the Old Testament Hebrew word CREATE, or “Bara”.   As in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

“WHAT IS VISIBLE COMES FROM THAT WHICH IS UNSEEN”

Please, proceed intentionally.  What comes next, is a game-changer for most Christians and particularly for a Disciple of Jesus:

In other words, when you TREAT others the same way you want to be TREATED you, are MAKING (creating) a relationship by the way you think and behave, from what is unseen, the Spiritual realm, which manifests itself into the natural world!

To wit:

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.  By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” Hebrews 1:1-3

To reinforce the fact that this teaching or command rests on a Spiritual basis, Jesus finishes with the profound remark “for this is the Law and the Prophets“.

“The Law and the Prophets“. is another way of saying “the entire Old Testament”.  The night before his death, Jesus meets with Moses (the LAW) and Elijah (the greatest of the prophets) and talks with them at length. This is important because Jesus was clearly not on Earth to oppose the law and the prophets but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17)

In other words, as a Disciple of Jesus,

1. How you TREAT people reveals your true relationship to Jesus
2. How you TREAT people allows Jesus to CREATE or MAKE a relationship come to pass which is according to His Righteousness.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” Ephesians 2:10

We must remember that it is Jesus Who prepares the Works ahead of time so that we should walk in them.

It is both an awesome responsibility and the highest honor to Walk in Works of Jesus, (and in His own Words), and even greater Works than these, because He is with the Father.  So, it is no wonder that Jesus said,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.  Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:12-15

Now it is your turn:

HOW MUST YOU DO IT? _______________________________________

HOW YOU MUST TEACH IT? ____________________________________

He Who is in us, is greater than he who is in the world, and He has overcome the world!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young