For many years I have used the 22 "one-anothering" verses in the NT as the linchpin of my Biblical teaching. They are the bedrock of what Christ is trying to teach us.
We accept Biblical truths, we commit our lives to him, we die to our former self in baptism and rise to a joyous new life. That's a great start to a new life in Christ. It might also be the easiest part of the journey. Like money in the bank, the Christian-walk will get rough and rocky as we journey in fellowship and frequent conflict with other Christians.
We come face-to-face with all the sordid baggage, temptations and unsavory tendencies we all have – pride, arrogance, the need to feel and be important to name a few of our issues with one another. It's a tall order to live in peace in Christian community when faced with this person and that person we don't much care for. Our prejudices toward one another boil over in anger, bitterness and all forms of resentments. Often, these ungodly tendencies [we all have them] are enflamed by deep anxieties that seem beyond our control. In frustration we lash out at the first person available... often an outsider, a new person in the congregation or the person front and center.... like the preacher or the elders. The preacher is such an easy target to attack.... everything he says and does is under constant unrelenting scrutiny. The elders, they're "in charge" so they get blamed for everything. Often... we get embroiled in unexpected situations that quickly spin out of control and we end up hurting someone or being wounded ourselves by a fellow Christian.
Christ knew we would suffer from these potentially destructive situations. Therefore, He provided a strategy based on “accepting each other as we are” and learning to love one another without unrealistic expectations.
Christians today are no different than those of the first century... we are desperately in need of admonishment, forgiveness and unconditional acceptance of one another. Easy? Absolutely not... its one of the hardest things you will ever do in life. Can you do it? You absolutely can. God has given us the foundation... we just have to be humble enough to apply it to ourselves.
The One–Anothering principles set forth by our Lord and championed by the Apostles were demonstrated to be essential for genuine Christian brotherhood as exemplified by the first century Christians. The cornerstone of these principles begin with Jesus saying...
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35
The ultimate living challenge for all professing Christians... is to work through the following list of verses and try and imagine yourself as the catalyst, an initiator among a group of people who above all things seek to demonstrate and practice the art of one-anothering. Our Lord set forth these principles to help us accept one another in-spite of our flaws and faults.
With these principles guiding our relationships, we can overcome the human tendency to be critical of one another. We can accept all persons regardless of the occasional hurt and harm we do to one another, just as God accepts each and everyone who embraces Him as Savior. Here's the LIST of 22 Biblical passages that speak to Christian Relationships...
1. Loving one another (John 13:34)
2. Forgiving one another ((Ephesians 4:32)
3. Accepting one another (Romans 15:7)
4. Bearing with one another (Ephesians 4:2
5. Being devoted to one another (Romans 12:10)
6. Honoring one another (Romans 12:10)
7. Greeting one another (2 Corinthians 13:12)
8. Being hospitable to one another (1 Peter 4:9)
9. Being kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32)
10. Sharing with one another (Hebrews 13:16)
11. Serving one another (Galatians 5:13)
12. Carrying one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2)
13. Building up one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
14. Encouraging one another daily (Hebrews 3:13)
15. Comforting one another (1 Thessalonians)
16. Stimulating one another to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24)
17. Instructing one another (Romans 15:14)
18. Admonishing one another (Colossians 3:16)
19. Praying for one another (James 5:16)
20. Confessing your sins to one another (James 5:16)
21. Being of the same mind toward one another (Romans 12:16)
22. Submitting to one another (Ephesians 5:21)
Committed Christians should desire to make these qualities their natural response in all interpersonal relationships. Learning to love one another as Christ loved us is a monumental challenge... but with a willing heart and the power of the Holy Spirit by whom “we are transformed”... we can come to know what God would have us cultivate so that our relationships with one another might be more mutually edifying.
The benefits for a growing Church family are endless. There is no limit to how much we can grow in personal awareness and spiritual intimacy with one another. We can truly be the bridges to others who seek to know God and be “bound together in the Spirit” with others of like faith. But only if there is peace among brethren. Conflict, divisiveness, divisions... will destroy unity and fellowship.
These “22 one-anotherings” designed by God Himself, His words, from His Word, are not the writings' of men. Therefore, in a community of Christians we need only His counsel, nothing else. It is just you, your brother and your sister in Christ and the purity of God’s own words to lead you into deeper fellowship and love with each other and Him!
