The Ten Commandments of God, outlined in Exodus 20, are divided into two sections: the first five focus on our moral duties to God, while the remaining five concern our moral duties to our fellow men.
In the New Testament, these commandments are summarized into two key principles:
🅰 Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength—the greatest commandment.
🅱 Love your neighbor as yourself.
In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to get caught up in daily routines and forget what truly matters.
But at the core of our faith lies this fundamental commandment—to love God fully and wholeheartedly. This isn’t just a rule to follow; it’s an invitation to experience a deep, life-transforming relationship with our Creator.
Let’s dive into what it means to love God with every part of our being, as emphasized in Mark 12:28-30.
Mark 12:28-30 – The First and Greatest Commandment
One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.”
If we start reading from verse 18, Jesus was approached by the Sadducees and started to ask Him about the resurrection. The Sadducees were a group of religious leaders during Jesus’ time who did not believe in the resurrection, yet they were asking Jesus about it. Jesus then went on to correct their wrong notion about marriage at the resurrection. He told them plainly that at the resurrection people will neither marry nor are given in marriage.
Jesus Quoted the Shema
The scribe’s question was significant because Jewish law consisted of 613 commandments, not just the Ten. In response, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:4-5, known as the Shema—the Jewish declaration of faith recited daily. By doing so, Jesus reaffirmed that God’s requirement for His people had not changed.
So, what does it mean to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength?
Loving God with All Your Heart
The heart is the center of our affections and desires.
1️⃣ To love God with all your heart means to desire Him above all else.
Just as a deer longs for streams of water (Psalm 42:1), we should long for God’s presence and be filled with His Spirit.
2️⃣ Make God your top priority.
What do you treasure the most? Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Your heart follows what you value most.
3️⃣ Guard your heart.
Proverbs 4:23 instructs, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” This means being mindful of what we allow to influence our emotions and affections.
4️⃣ Love is an action.
Loving God with all your heart involves intentional acts of worship, service, and devotion, not just emotional feelings.
5️⃣ A divided heart is dangerous.
Jesus warned that no one can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). If we are distracted by worldly things, our love for God becomes compromised.
📍Self-Reflection: What or who is your priority? Do you seek God above all else, or are material things taking His place?
Loving God with All Your Soul
The soul represents our devotion and identity.
1️⃣ To love God with all your soul means complete devotion to Him.
This involves total commitment—even to the point of surrendering your life (Luke 9:23-24).
2️⃣ Obedience is key.
Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” A passionate love for God results in obedience, even in challenging situations.
3️⃣ Spiritual disciplines strengthen our love.
Prayer, fasting, and studying Scripture deepen our relationship with God and help us grow in our faith.
4️⃣ Loving God with your soul involves worship.
Worship is more than singing; it’s living in a way that honors God (Romans 12:1).
5️⃣ Be willing to suffer for your faith.
True love for God is demonstrated through perseverance in trials (James 1:12).
📍Self-Reflection: Are you willing to sacrifice personal desires for God? Do you remain faithful despite trials and persecution?
Loving God with All Your Mind
The mind is the center of our thoughts and intellect.
1️⃣ Submit your mind to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5 instructs us to “take every thought captive to obey Christ.” This means our thinking should align with God’s truth.
2️⃣ Renew your mind through God’s Word.
Romans 12:2 encourages us to be transformed by renewing our minds. This helps us make decisions based on God’s wisdom rather than human reasoning.
3️⃣ Meditate on God’s truth.
Joshua 1:8 reminds us to meditate on the Scriptures day and night so we may live according to God’s ways.
4️⃣ Avoid worldly distractions.
Philippians 4:8 advises believers to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and praiseworthy.
5️⃣ Develop a Biblical worldview.
Loving God with your mind means viewing life through the lens of Scripture and not conforming to worldly ideologies.
📍Self-Reflection: Do you seek God’s wisdom before making decisions? Are your thoughts aligned with His Word?
Loving God with All Your Strength
The strength refers to our physical abilities, resources, and efforts.
1️⃣ Use your talents and resources for God’s glory.
Colossians 3:17 says, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
2️⃣ Recognize God as your ultimate source.
Everything we have belongs to God (Psalm 24:1). Even our ability to generate wealth comes from Him (Deuteronomy 8:18).
3️⃣ Serve God with diligence.
1 Corinthians 15:58 encourages us to be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the Lord’s work, knowing our labor is not in vain.
4️⃣ Be a good steward.
Loving God with all your strength means using your time, energy, and finances wisely to honor Him.
5️⃣ Stay physically strong for His service.
Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), so taking care of our health enables us to serve God more effectively.
📍Self-Reflection: How do you use your time, skills, and resources? Do they reflect your love for God?
Practical Ways to Live Out This Commandment
✅ Daily Devotions
Set aside time each day for prayer and Bible study.
✅ Serve Others
Volunteer, give, and show love in practical ways.
✅ Avoid Idolatry
Do not allow anything—career, relationships, or possessions—to take God’s place.
✅ Fellowship with Believers
Surround yourself with people who encourage your faith.
✅ Proclaim the Gospel
Loving God means sharing His love with others.
Final Thoughts
Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength means total devotion to Him in every aspect of our lives. It’s not just about emotions but a conscious, daily commitment to put God first. It requires discipline, sacrifice, and intentional living.
May we all strive to love God wholeheartedly and live according to His greatest commandment.
Challenge: Evaluate your love for God today. Which area—heart, soul, mind, or strength—needs improvement? What steps will you take to deepen your love for Him?
Recommended Resource:
The Foremost Commandment: How Your Life Changes by Loving God With All Your Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength by Howard Goldwaite
In most areas of life, you start at the bottom and work your way to the top.
But when it comes to obeying God’s commandments, you start at the top and work your way down. There’s something uniquely remarkable about the commandment Jesus called the foremost of all. When you make obeying it your top priority, it helps all your other priorities fall into balance.
Similarly, when you obey the greatest commandment, you’ll find the lesser commandments tend to get obeyed right along with it. Obedience of this ultimate commandment is a Christian’s crowning achievement that you never stop achieving. And you’ll never reach your fullest spiritual potential without embracing it. If you choose to obey it, it requires giving all of yourself and every area of your life up to God.
Hello,
I am a growing Christian and I love everything I read on your page. I really want to grow strong and be a teacher of the Word. It appears to me that I need to be under your tutorage. Please help me, I’m in Nigeria.
God bless you.
Hi Kelechi,
Thank you so much for your kind words. All the more am I encouraged to keep sharing God’s Word through this platform that God has blessed ne with.
I admire your desire to one day become a teacher of God’s Word yourself. All I can say is just keep reading and meditating, keep growing and allow the Holy Spirit to guide and lead you.
I am flattered also that you want me to mentor you. You can always reach out to me should you have any questions or clarifications as I always try to be available. I will try to help you as much as I can but one thing I advice you is to have a good study Bible. Study Bibles, concordances, and other reference materials are not meant to replace the Word of God.
But as one of my mentors said, they are necessary if we are really serious in our Bible study; so much more if we are in the teaching and preaching ministry.
I have one post where I gave my recommended study Bibles. You can check it out here: https://biblical-christianity.com/study-bibles-for-beginners
Blessings indeed!
I agree with you that this is the greatest commandment… but Jesus said that there is another one that is not least… It’s to love your neighbor as yourself.
For me, it’s little bit like John said, it’s not me who loved God, but Him who loved me first. My base on loving God starts there.
My love for Him starts with the great love He had and still have for me.
It’s that love that give me the strength to love Him with all my heart, my soul, my mind and strength. It’s when I realized and believe in that great love He has for me.
It’s also though that love and because of that love that I can love others as well.
Apart from Him, I would be like a dry branch.
Hi Guy,
There are two greatest commandments of God but in my article I only tackled the first and foremost. Needless to say, we should not forget the second one which is “to love your neighbor as yourself.”
I’m so blessed to hear of your love to and relationship with God. His love is truly amazing! We can never reciprocate it but we have to always do our best to love Him. Fallen in nature, we are incapable of loving anyone but because of the love of God that He has poured into our hearts, we are able to.
God bless!
I find your page informational and engaging. I loved your explanations of loving God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. I also love that you are continuing to follow Christ’s instructions to spread his Word and his importance to mankind. To me, and of utmost importance as we go from day to day, we should maintain communion with Christ through the Holy Spirit at all times. Letting the Holy Spirit guide us in every thing we do is essential, but we need to acknowledge that we are helpless and need the guidance. I particularly invoke his presence when I am about to confront someone with a problem. It is helpful to know he is there and that I need to listen and acknowledge his presence and his wishes. The best to you as you continue your work for our Lord.
Shalom Tanya! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, it’s much appreciated.
Maintaining communion with Christ through the Holy Spirit is very essential to every believer as it keeps us under the will of God. There are times in our walk with the Lord that we get sidetracked by the cares of this world and we forget what our business really is for being in this world, which is primarily to love and serve God and to love and serve others by sharing the good news of God’s salvation.
May the Lord bless and keep you always.
Excellent information and a reminder that in obedience to God’s wishes and while keeping our attention on him at all times, we are expected to honor our commitments, to have good work ethics, to take care of our families, to give back to Him and to our community, to maintain those possessions he has bestowed on us–our living quarters, cars, the landscapes we traverse, places we work and visit, etc.–and most importantly to love him and share him with as many people as we can. Thank you for your website.
Hey Tanya, thanks so much for your kind words. It’s truly an honor to love and serve God through the works I do here.
I agree, loving God and obeying His greatest commandment takes commitment; it’s about striving to follow Him even when there will be times that it gets difficult because of the things we may have to give up or sacrifice. However, it’s always comforting to know that loving Him in every possible way we can does not even come close to how He much He loves us. May we be encouraged to keep loving God, serve and glorify Him in every aspect of our live.
May the Lord bless you abundantly!
I will definitely agree that this has to be the ultimate commandment that any Christian should follow. Everything you do should be based out of love and heart, not hate and negativity.
If you put your full faith into your religion, you will lead a fruitful and positive life, full of caring and support for others, that’s for sure. There are hundreds of millions of Christians around the whole world! Did you know that in South Korea, the most prominent religion is Christianity (Protestant and Catholic)? I think there are some 15 million Christians in South Korea alone, which is a relatively small country (about the size of Kentucky)!
Beautiful post, ma’am! I hope you continue to spread your lovely words all over the world!
Hi Heather, I hope you’re doing well by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The 10 commandments outlined in the Old Testament have been summarized into just two in the N.T.: 1) to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength and 2) to love others as yourself.
To love God is the first and greatest commandment which every believer must strive to follow. There will be times when we falter and fail but that does not mean we will give up. We just have to keep on doing our best. I believe that the key here is a submissive heart, a heart that longs to please and honor God in every possible way.
I say that putting our faith in religion is different from putting our faith in Christ and in what He has done for us. Because when religion becomes our focus, everything we do might just become a ritual to make ourselves feel better while if our focus is God Himself who is holy and loving, we always have the sense of awareness that our obedience and good works do not have bearing in our salvation. Instead, we desire to obey and please God because we love Him.
Shalom Heather and God bless!
God has such and amazing love towards us that he give his only son to take away the sins of the world. God love is so great and awesome and His love is a love that we cannot do without. What this world needs more of is to see that greater love demonstrated through us so they can also experience the love of God. Gods love is so great that one day He is coming back to take us to that home he has prepared for us. Thanks again for sharing.
Amen brother Norman! How great is the love of God that He made a way for us to be saved from eternal punishment. It’s the love of God that He demonstrated at the cross of Calvary that impels us to obey the greatest commandment of God to love Him with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and will all our strength, and to love our neighbor the way we love our self.
And yes, Jesus our Lord is coming back to take us to be with Him, what a wonderful promise indeed, hallelujah!
I really appreciate your comprehensive explanation of Mark 12:28-30. It is readable and straight.
I also liked the way you post questions to the readers to analyze their hearts and themselves about their love of God.
I hope many can read this post and think that life is not about existence but it is all about our love in God that matters.
What is life anyway without love?
Hi brother, thanks for your comment.
Loving God with our whole being: heart, soul, mind and strength is something that we as believers and followers of Christ must strive to perfect day after day. It may seem like a great challenge but it should not be that difficult to do. We just have to remind our self everyday what God has done to show how much he loves us. I love the song that goes this way: “Think about His love, think about His goodness, think about His grace that brought us through. For as high as the heavens above, so great is the measure of our Father’s love …”
Yes, it’s our love for God that matters more that anything else because if we truly love God, we are able to obey Him faithfully and we can also fulfill the second of God’s greatest commandment which is to love our neighbor as ourself.
the Jews took the commandment of the Old Testament not imposing laws rather a life style, for them to be distinct from the other nation around them since other tribes was idol worshiper or pagan. This uniqueness serve to them as chosen nation believing and worshiping an unseen God. To love an unseen God are needed some guideline on how they can approach a Holy God.
Hi brother Rey, thanks for your input. I agree, the basis for the Jews’ obedience was God’s covenant with them. Their obedience to God has become a discipline or lifestyle in the way they serve and worship God.