ONE ANOTHER... (Part 2)

"You shall LOVE the LORD your God

with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. 

And the second is like it:

You shall LOVE your neighbor as yourself!"

Jesus response to the Pharisees & Sadducees testing him in Matthew 22:15-40

ONE ANOTHER (Part 1) is a bit of an introduction to this key principle that is found many times in scripture! In that post, the focus is primarily on LOVE ONE ANOTHER, as that is mentioned 15+ times in the New Testament. It is also the principle behind the command to Love our neighbor as ourselves...

So how do we live out this LOVE for ONE ANOTHER?

By following the commands of Jesus. The "ONE ANOTHER" is often a reference to fellow believers. They will know we are Christians by our love. Some key evidence that we are a follower of Christ is a deep love for our spiritual family. “He has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister” 1 John 4:21

By Our LOVE; King & Country (3 minute video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEwb51LawAI

In John 13-15, Jesus tells us that loving Him and keeping His commands are synonamous. Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength expresses our love for Him by loving ONE ANOTHER, including our brothers and sisters in the LORD in mutual partnership, our neighbors, and whoever God puts in our paths and on our hearts, sometimes even when the relationship isn't mutual/reciprocal!

Scripture gives us about 60 "ONE ANOTHER" commands! As mentioned before, at least 15 of these commands are specifically LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

LOVE. One third of the ONE ANOTHERs instruct Christians to love ONE ANOTHER.

1. Love ONE ANOTHER (Jn 13:34, 15:12, 17; Ro 12:10, 13:8, 14:13; 1 Th 3:12, 4:9; 1 Pe 1:22; 1 Jn 3:11, 23; 4:7,11,12,21; 2 Jn 5)
2. Through love, serve ONE ANOTHER (Ga 5:13)
3. Tolerate ONE ANOTHER in love (Ep 4:2)
4. Greet ONE ANOTHER with a kiss of love (1 Pe 5:14)
5. Be devoted to ONE ANOTHER in love (Ro 12:10)

So what about the rest of the ONE ANOTHER commands?  

Unity. One third of the one-another commands deal with the unity of the church.

1. Be at peace with ONE ANOTHER (Mk 9:50)
2. Don’t grumble among ONE ANOTHER (Jn 6:43)
3. Be of the same mind with ONE ANOTHER (Ro 12:16, 15:5)
4. Accept ONE ANOTHER (Ro 15:7)
5. Wait for ONE ANOTHER before beginning the Eucharist (1 Co 11:33)
6. Don’t bite, devour, and consume ONE ANOTHER (Ga 5:15)
7. Don’t boastfully challenge or envy ONE ANOTHER (Ga 5:26)
8. Gently, patiently tolerate ONE ANOTHER (Ep 4:2)
9. Be kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving to ONE ANOTHER (Ep 4:32)
10. Bear with and forgive ONE ANOTHER (Co 3:13)
11. Seek good for ONE ANOTHER, and don’t repay evil for evil (1 Th 5:15)
12. Don’t complain against ONE ANOTHER (Jas 4:11, 5:9)
13. Confess sins to ONE ANOTHER (Jas 5:16)

Humility. About 15% stress an attitude of humility and deference among believers.

1. Give preference to ONE ANOTHER in honor (Ro 12:10)
2. Regard ONE ANOTHER as more important than yourselves (Php 2:3)
3. Serve ONE ANOTHER (Ga 5:13)
4. Wash ONE ANOTHER’s feet (Jn 13:14)
5. Don’t be haughty: be of the SAME mind (Ro 12:16)
6. Be subject to ONE ANOTHER (Ep 5:21)
7. Clothe yourselves in humility toward ONE ANOTHER (1 Pe 5:5)

Here’s the rest:

1. Do not judge ONE ANOTHER, and don’t put a stumbling block in a brother’s way (Ro 14:13)
2. Greet ONE ANOTHER with a kiss (Ro 16:16; 1 Co 16:20; 2 Co 13:12)
3. Husbands and wives: don’t deprive ONE ANOTHER of physical intimacy (1 Co 7:5)
4. Bear ONE ANOTHER’s burdens (Ga 6:2)
5. Speak truth to ONE ANOTHER (Ep 4:25)
6. Don’t lie to ONE ANOTHER (Co 3:9)
7. Comfort ONE ANOTHER concerning the resurrection (1 Th 4:18)
8. Encourage and build up ONE ANOTHER (1 Th 5:11)
9. Stimulate ONE ANOTHER to love and good deeds (He 10:24)
10. Pray for ONE ANOTHER (Jas 5:16)
11. Be hospitable to ONE ANOTHER (1 Pe 4:9)

Jesus and His apostles give many more instructions to the church; these “one another” passages are a good start, though. The above information has been adapted from: https://overviewbible.com/one-another-infographic/

My heart and prayer is for mutual edification, especially in the Kingdom Church! Romans 14:19 is a verse that is usually not included in the ONE ANOTHER lists because it's not a command, but it is a verse that epitomizes the concept of ONE ANOTHER/mutuality to me... So I will close this post with this prayer...

Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. (KJV)

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. (NIV)

So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. (ESV)