There is a famous Indian story about six blind men who went to see
an elephant. The first man went, put his two hands against the elephant's side and said, "It feels like a wall." The second reached his hand up and felt the sharp tusk of the elephant and said, "Oh no, this is like a spear." The third man walked up to the front of the elephant and felt the elephant's trunk. He boldly said, "I know, this is like a snake." The fourth man felt the elephant's knee and said the elephant was like a tree. The fifth man felt the elephant's ear and said it felt like a fan. The last man felt the elephant's tail and thought it was a rope. These six men all touched the elephant and from their experience thought they knew what it was. They went away with strong opinions of what they had seen. They argued with each other. Each one of them was partly right and all of them were wrong.
If you were to ask, "What is the Church?" you could get many different answers. Some people say the church is a building, the place they go to every Sunday. But 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" If you are a real Christian, you are the church. The church is people - God's people. And when the church meets the people are to be connected to each other.
Sometimes people like to go to a big church where no one knows them. They don't talk to anyone. They just come ... and go. There is no relationship. But that is wrong. If you are a real Christian you are a part of a body. The hand cannot separate itself from the arm and do what it wants to. We all need each other. And the main thing I want you to understand in today's message is that the church is a relationship - a relationship with you and other Christians. It is where your needs are met. And it is where you can meet the needs of others.
During the next few minutes I want to talk with you about the "one another" principle. Romans 12:4 says,
Romans 12:4 |
"For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have same function, so we being many are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another." |
Here Paul is also talking about the human body. He says that our bodies have many "members" or parts: legs, feet, arms, hands, head, eyes, nose, ears, teeth, etc. And every part has a different function or job. The hands are for grabbing and holding. The eyes are for seeing, the teeth are for chewing and talking, the feet are for walking. And then he says that just like these body parts are connected and need each other in the church as believers we are connected and need each other.
1. Be Devoted to One Another
Look at verse 10, "Be kindly affectionate," The NIV says,
Romans 12:10 |
"Be devoted to one another with brotherly love." |
Paul compares this to a human family where there is love or affection between the children in a family. Now in the church we are brothers and sisters in Christ. And we are to have this kind of devotion and commitment to each other.
2. Honor One Another
Look at the end of verse 10,
Christianity is focused on Jesus first, others second and ourselves last. I am to honor others. I am to lift them up. The world says, "me first." But Christians say, "you first." The world says, "that is crazy. If you always say, "you first, you will lose, you will be last." But Jesus says, "The last will be first."(Matthew 20:16). So honor one another. Put others first.
3. Be of the Same Mind With One Another
Look at verse 16,
Romans 15:5 says, "to be likeminded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." That's what happened in the early church. Acts 4:32 says, that "all the believers were of one heart."
4. Accept One Another
Romans 15:7 says
Daniel 15:17 |
"receive one another, just as Christ also received us." |
The NIV says, "Accept one another." Jesus did not say, "I'll accept you ... if you're good enough ... if you're religious enough ... if you have enough money ... if you are popular ... if you are talented." In the church God wants us to accept each other like Jesus accepts us. So don't just be friends with the good looking, the talented or those with money, accept everyone, like Jesus does.
5. Greet One Another
Romans 16:3 says
In the Ancient Near Eastern culture when people greeted they would embrace and kiss each other on each side of the face. Sometimes people go to church and don't even greet each other. How can we know each other or connect with each other if we don't even greet each other? Proverbs 18:24 says, "A man who has friends must himself be friendly."
6. Serve One Another
The next "one another" I want to show you is found in Galatians 5:13. It says,
The basic concept of serving is found over 300 times in the New Testament. We must follow the example of Jesus in Mark 10:45 who "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." The greatest leaders serve the most.
7. Bear One Another's Burdens
Galatians 6:2 says,
Galations 6:2 |
"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." |
There is a similar instruction given in Ephesians 4:2. It says to be "longsuffering, bearing with one another in love." We are to help others carry their burdens. And we are to be patient with one another, to tolerate one another. Whose burden can you carry today? This week?
You see, the church is a relationship - a relationship with you and other Christians. It is where your needs are met. And it is where you can meet the needs of others. In the church as brothers and sisters we must be involved in the lives of one another.
We are to be devoted to one another, to honor one another, to be of the same mind with one another, to accept one another, to greet one another, to serve one another and to bear one another's burdens.
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by Steve Nicholes
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