Build Up One Another
“Therefore… build one another up, just as you also are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11b)
We need each other! This is God’s design not just for us as individuals but for us as disciples and believers united together as Christ’s Church. Everything stated in God’s Word needs to be tested to see if it is applicable for you as an individual person or to us together as a community of believers, i.e., The Church…or to both, which is often the case.
If we apply things only to ourselves then even good things can turn selfish. If we apply them to the whole or The Body…all of us together, we may very well miss the application for our personal lives. We need both and God’s Word gives us both so we can grow as individual people and disciples without failing to grow together as The Bride and Family of Christ…His Church!
This is why we are back-tracking a bit to pick up where we ended last week in this “one another” series to talk about how and why we are to “build up one another.”
Paul continues in the same verse as our last “one another,” 1 Thessalonians 5:11, after instructing believers to encourage each other he adds, “…Build each other up…” This is ultimately what encouragement is for, remember, to literally infuse or inject courage into another. He also practices what he’s preaching as he encourages and builds them up by closing this verse stating…”as you are also doing.” He was excited that they were already doing this and wanted to help them continue in this kind of love!
This “one another” is based on the concept of actually building as in constructing a house or other structure. It takes planning, time, effort and patience to build a house properly and the same is true when we build each other up in The Lord.
We are to take the time to help construct and build each other up in The Holy Spirit to form a spiritual “house” in one another and together as The Household of Christ, The Church. We are to help one another build on a solid foundation which is Christ and the apostle’s teaching and doctrine (Ephesians 2:19-22) and also to “build up one another” or help to mature in Christ.
What do your words and actions toward others accomplish? Do they build up on a solid foundation and help to mature…or do they build on a sandy foundation and/or tear down.
We need each other and we are called and commanded to bless, encourage and build up one another in our faith so that each of us is stronger in Christ and together His Church is strengthened to carry His message to those who are lost.
Food for Thought…What does it look like for you to be comforted, encouraged or built up? How do you comfort, encourage or build others up? Find the strength to do so in God’s Word through Christ and The Holy Spirit and allow others to share with and encourage you as well.
Action Steps…
- Spend time with God and in His Word and prayer every day…begin with the Scriptures in this episode.
- Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
- Recall a time when you were struggling and someone came alongside you and built you up. What did it mean to you?
- How can you do the same for someone else to “build them up” individually and/or as a part of Christ’s House…His Church?
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