By Amber Bruce
The gospel is the heart of Christianity. It is the power of God to those who are being saved (1 Cor 1:18). When we look at the One Anothers within their context, we often see the gospel behind the command. The gospel is given as the motivation and the means for obedience – the why and the how go hand-in-hand with the what. We do it because we have life in Christ. We do it in the confidence that his righteousness has purchased for us.
Throughout the four weeks of the “How Do We Influence Our World?” series, follow along with us as we look at some of the “One Another” commands and find the gospel within them.
[15] And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. [16] Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
(James 5:15-16 ESV)
Two major elements of a GROW Group meeting are accountability and prayer. When we confess our sins, we can have confidence they will be forgiven because of the blood of Christ (Eph 1:7; 1 John 1:9). Because of that confidence (v. 15), we can confess our sins to one another. When we do that, we bring the sin out of hiding into the light and it begins to lose its power over us. The sin becomes light as we awake from our sin-induced slumber and Christ shines on us (Eph 5:13-14).
Our motivation to pray for one another is the great power that the prayer of a righteous person has. We know that in ourselves we are not righteous, but in Christ we are clothed in righteousness (Rom 5:19; Phil 3:9). We can have confidence because of Christ’s work on our behalf to pray with power for one another (Hebrews 4:16).
By his death Jesus bought for us the right to become sons of God (John 1:12) with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 4:6). By the Spirit’s enabling, we can become better at constant repentance and daily prayer. Because of Christ’s blood that was shed for us, we can be forgiven (Ephesians 1:7) every time we dismiss prayer and walk in sin. We can confess our hard-heartedness and faithlessness and fully expect God to keep his promise to forgive us and cleanse us (1 John 1:9) again and again.
By Amber Bruce
The gospel is the heart of Christianity. It is the power of God to those who are being saved (1 Cor 1:18). When we look at the One Anothers within their context, we often see the gospel behind the command. The gospel is given as the motivation and the means for obedience – the why and the how go hand-in-hand with the what. We do it because we have life in Christ. We do it in the confidence that his righteousness has purchased for us.
Throughout the four weeks of the “How Do We Influence Our World?” series, follow along with us as we look at some of the “One Another” commands and find the gospel within them.
[23] For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, [24] and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” [25] In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” [26] For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
[27] Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. [28] Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. …
[33] So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another—
1 Cor 11:23-27,33
At Bethel we practice communion as a whole body four times a year, and the rest of the time we practice communion in our GROW Groups. It is a time to come together to eat a feast symbolizing the fellowship and unity we have with one another and with God in Christ. In New Testament times, this was an actual feast where the local church came together to eat dinner. The problem in the Corinthian church was that the rich Christians were segregating themselves from the poor during the feast. While there was a literal famine going on in the city, the rich were gorging themselves and the poor were starving. Even among Christians. When we partake of the body and blood of Christ, we proclaim that he died for our sins and we have a part in him. We also proclaim that you are part of me and I am part of you, for we are each part of Christ. Therefore, let each of us look to one another’s interests and consider one another before ourselves (Phil 2:3-4) rather than putting ourselves first.
By his death Jesus bought for us the right to become sons of God (John 1:12) with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 4:6). By the Spirit’s enabling, we can become better at putting others first. Because of Christ’s blood that was shed for us, we can be forgiven (Ephesians 1:7) every time we think of ourselves before others. We can confess our selfishness and greed and fully expect God to keep his promise to forgive us and cleanse us (1 John 1:9) again and again.
By Amber Bruce
The gospel is the heart of Christianity. It is the power of God to those who are being saved (1 Cor 1:18). When we look at the One Anothers within their context, we often see the gospel behind the command. The gospel is given as the motivation and the means for obedience – the why and the how go hand-in-hand with the what. We do it because we have life in Christ. We do it in the confidence that his righteousness has purchased for us.
Throughout the four weeks of the “How Do We Influence Our World?” series, follow along with us as we look at some of the “One Another” commands and find the gospel within them.
[14] I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. [15] But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God [16] to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. [17] In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.
(Romans 15:14-17 ESV)
Paul has instructed the Roman church boldly although he knows they are capable of instructing one another. Why? Because of the grace of God given to him in Christ Jesus. He places no confidence in his great learning (Acts 26:24; Phil 3:4), his vast knowledge, or his own merit as a teacher. Yet he is very bold and even proud of his work for God because he has acted in the power that comes from the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We likewise are able to instruct one another, not with embarrassment or apologies or vague statements about “some people see it this way…”, but with confidence in the grace we have through Christ. Not with self-confidence or pride or smugness, but with the humility that comes from knowing my own knowledge and learning and accomplishments are rubbish (Phil 3:8) yet God has chosen me in Christ and empowered me with the Holy Spirit and given me a job to do because of the grace that is in Christ.
[16] Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
(Colossians 3:16 ESV)
The “word of Christ” refers to the teaching about Christ as well as the words of Christ. In other words, the “word of Christ” is everything that is now written down in the four Gospels. What Jesus taught, what Jesus did, how Jesus died, that Jesus rose again and ascended into heaven – let those things dwell in you richly. From that, you will be able to teach and admonish your members in all wisdom. And you’ll be able to do it joyfully and thankfully because you will be constantly thinking about the love and grace of God that are revealed in Christ Jesus.
By his death Jesus bought for us the right to become sons of God (John 1:12) with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 4:6). By the Spirit’s enabling, we can become better at teaching and admonishing. Because of Christ’s blood that was shed for us, we can be forgiven (Ephesians 1:7) every time we miss a teaching opportunity, or grasp at one in pride. We can confess our feelings of inadequacy and our feelings of superiority and fully expect God to keep his promise to forgive us and cleanse us (1 John 1:9) again and again.
