Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Togetherness

Okay, let me see if I can get through the rest of these verses about "one another", the body of Christ, and "together". I love actually looking them up and typing them here because it's so easy to just skim over them otherwise...

Ephesians 4:2 (NKJV)
"...with lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love."

Ephesians 4:32 (NJKV)
"And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

Ephesians 5:21 (NKJV)
"...submitting to one another in the fear of God."

Colossians 3:12-17 (NLT) -> I love this passage of Scripture, so even though he cited two of the verses separately, I'm going to put the whole thing here...
"Since God chose you to be the holy people whom He loves, you must clothe yourself with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. And the most important piece of clothing you wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts and make you wise. Use His words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, let it be as a respresentative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through Him to God the Father."

I Thessalonians 5:11 (NKJV)
"Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing."

Hebrews 10:24 (NKJV)
"And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works."

1 Peter 3:8 (NKJV)
"Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous."

1 Corinthians 12:12-26 (NKJV) -> Okay, I copied and pasted this one! ;)
"For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.

If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.

And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need.

But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it."

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