One Another Commands (Oct. 1)

Read: Ephesians 4:25-32

The mutual fellowship among believers is lived out in the ‘one another’ commands.

I was sitting on my bed feeling very lonely and overwhelmed. I felt the buzz of my phone and looked at it. One of my friends had been thinking of me. She wrote me a kind text at just the moment I needed it.

Another time, I was going through a very challenging year. As a teacher, I was struggling daily with my students and didn’t know each day if I could make it through the next one. I felt lower than I ever have before. I was insecure as a person and a teacher. My sister left flowers and an encouraging note on my desk at work one morning. I think of that gesture to this day.

I was going through the interview process to become a teacher. I was doing interview after interview and experiencing rejection after rejection. Person after person told me and sent me texts telling me they were praying for me.

I was moving into my own place for the first time after college. I owned very little and had very little money. People at our church cared for me by giving me different pieces of furniture they no longer needed.

I could keep going and going. A friend who forgives you even though you don’t deserve it. People who have served me through the years in the different ministries at church. I see many brothers and sisters in Christ who have lived out the “one another” commands in Scripture. This has impacted my life in a lot of different ways. But one extremely important way is that it has provided me with a fellowship that can only be found in Christ.

What is fellowship? According to Oxford Languages, fellowship is “friendly association, especially with people who share one’s interests.” Fellowship among believers is a friendly and kind togetherness because of our shared interest in Jesus Christ. We create fellowship, closeness, and positive and friendly interactions through the “one another” commands. Through doing these different things.

There are many “one another” commands in Scripture. The stories I shared above focused on a few of these. Be kind to one another (Ephesians 4:32). Pray for one another (James 5:16). Care for one another (1 Corinthians 12:25). Serve one another (Galatians 5:13). Encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Forgive one another (Ephesians 4:32).

As believers when we live out these commands, we create fellowship. This fellowship has been something that has kept me coming to church in my adult life. It has been something that God has used when I am in some of my lowest moments. It’s important as believers that we seek to live out these commands in other people’s lives.


Action Step: Get out your journal or a piece of paper. Pray and ask the Spirit to bring individuals to your mind who you can live out the “one another” commands with. Look up each of the verses below. Write down the “one another” command and journal about one person you could do that command for this week.

  • Ephesians 4:32
  • James 5:16
  • 1 Corinthians 12:25
  • Galatians 5:13
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Prayer: God, I know that as a believer You have commanded me to live out the “one another” commands with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Please help me to listen to Your Spirit as He speaks to me today and this week, showing me who I might live out these commands with. Show me people I can forgive, pray for, encourage, care for, show kindness to and serve. Thank you for the closeness and fellowship that can be found not only with You but with people in the family of God. Amen.

Author: Maria Tschetter