Partnership One With Another
Chapter 2 Allelon - One Another If we live our life in the light that is God, then we
can be partners with one another. Indeed, God has declared that "we are
one body in Christ and every one of us are members of one another." The
Greek word allelon means "one another." The Greek New Testament uses
this word 100 times.
In the epistles, which are addressed to us in the age of grace, the word
allelon is used over 40 times. In most cases it ties the members of the body of
Christ together in one of the many activities of partnership.
In this chapter we are going to allow the word allelon to lead us
through the epistles to discover how the blessing of our partnership with one
another is manifested. In the following verse allelon is translated in the KJV as mutual. "...that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of
you and me." Rom.
1:12 A more understandable rendering is: I will be comforted by the right
kind of believing that we share with one another. This is "one
another" type of believing. It is only possible when we are in partnership
together. As partners we must be like-minded:
Be of the same mind one toward another. Romans 12:16
Does that mean that I must submit my free will to you or you to me?
Absolutely not! We are to put on the mind of Christ together. We are to think
the thoughts that Christ would think in every situation. Sound impossible? It
is not. We have Christ in us. We need to live in God's light, not in our own
private darkness.
We must learn to live in the light and "be like minded one toward
another according to the mind of Christ." When we are not like minded
there is no partnership with one another. When we are like minded according to
the mind of Christ, there is wonderful, peaceful, explosively productive
partnership.
The first and most basic element of our partnership is what we first
receive from God: Love.
…Owe no man anything, but to love one
another. Rom. 13:8
...abound in love one toward another.
I Thes. 3:12
...ye are taught of God to love one
another. I Thes. 4:9
…the charity of every one of
you all
toward each other
aboundeth;... II Thes. 1:3
...consider one another to provoke unto
love and to good works: Heb. 10:22
...see that ye love one another...
I Pt. 1:22
...we should love one another.. I
Jn. 3:11
…this is his commandment, That we
should believe on the name of his son Jesus Christ, and love one another;... I Jn. 3:23
…Beloved, let us love one another: for
love is of God I Jn. 4:7
…Beloved, If God so loved us, we ought
also to love one another. I Jn. 4:11
…If we love one another, God dwelleth in
us... I Jn. 4:12
…I beseech thee,...that we love one
another II Jn. 5
Jesus said: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one
another. By this (love) shall all know that ye are my disciples, if ye have
love to one another." Think about
that! Christ did not say that we need to wear black, or build great buildings,
or serve a year in lower wild east Baltimore, to prove that we are good
believers. The world has taught us that, not the word.
The key to comprehending this command "to love" is to
understand what this word means. It is not "I love you if you love
me" type of love. We have learned that in the world around us. But! Who is
master of the world around us? Yes! That jerk, the devil is the master of the
world at this time. 1John 13:34, 35 But the right kind of love is
"agape", the love of God, that we received from God when we were both
unable to love and were unlovable. Because of His wonderful gift of Holy
Spirit, (Christ in you) we now can love.
It is in the midst of the explanation of our operation of our holy
Spirit that Paul writes in I Corinthians 13:2 that if he had believing to move
mountains but had not agape love he was nothing.
The crux of our partnership is love. Unconditional love for one another.
All other references to activities involved in our partnership with one another
are information that fine tunes our understanding of the living love. Over half
of I Corinthians 13 is spent on what the love of God is not. The love that we
are to manifest in our partnership with one another is so contrary to our sin
nature and natural knowledge that we have to be taught how to love. God teaches
us by his example. He first loved us. Then we are taught by other's examples as
they shed His love abroad:
...because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by holy Spirit which is given to us. Rom. 5:5
It is the love of God in the renewed mind that causes us to "esteem
one another better than yourself."
We should value each other and defer honor one to another because we are
partners who love one another.
In Ephesians 5:21 we are told to submit ourselves to one another. This
is not what the world has taught us about submitting. Do we have to submit to a
supposed brother when he elevates himself? Do we have to submit to
organizational religion's rules and laws? Twice No! Jesus said, "One is
your master, Christ; and all ye are brethren." In our partnership only one is elevated to a position: Only our brother
and lord, Christ Jesus. The rest of us share in equal partnership with one
another.
We are to put each other first, (by our own free will by love) thereby
submitting to one another. Each time we elevate ourselves to a position better
than our partners, we have stepped outside the bounds of our partnership. As a
matter of truth, to reach out to lead, we must do so by serving one another
through love. In like manner, we must bear one another's burdens. If that is
not enough, we are also to forebear one another in love. Forebear in the Greek
means "to hold up." Not only
do we bear each other's burdens, we hold each other up too. (1 Romans 12:10 2
Also see I Peter 5:5 3 Matthew 23:8 4 Galatians 5:13 5 Galatians 6:2 6
Ephesians 4:2)
In the following verses we are instructed in things to be done in
partnership:
…Let us therefore not judge one
another any more: Rom. 14:13
…Defraud ye not one
another...(husbands and wives) I Cor. 7:5
…take heed that ye be not consumed
one of another. Gal. 5:15
…Let us not e desirous of vain glory,
provoking one another,
envying one another. Gal. 5:26
…Lie not one to another.. Col.
3:9
…Speak not evil one of another,..
Jms. 4:11
…Grudge not one against another,..
Jms. 5:9
However, in partnership we are to forgive one another as God has
forgiven us. We forgive one another because of Christ in us, not because we
deserve it. God forgave us because of Christ, not our works.
We are to be kind one to another: Be kindly affectioned one to another with
brotherly love; in honor preferring one another. Rom. 12:10 "Kindly
affectioned" in the Greek is one word, "philosorgoi," which was
used in New Testament times to connote the mutual love and respect of family
members. This is to be combined with brotherly love, (I like you type of love),
and agape love. (1 Ephesians 4:32 2 Ephesians 2:8-10)
In this vein, in I Peter 4:9 we are exhorted to use hospitality
(literally, to have love of guests) one toward another, and to receive each
other into our homes as equal partners. We are to receive each other as Christ
received us. We did not do anything to deserve our partnership, yet God loved
us and received us through Christ.
Therefore we are encouraged four times in the epistles to greet each
other with a holy kiss. God, through Paul, commanded the members of the church
to "seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church." The
purpose of our assembling together as partners is to edify (build up) one
another.
...follow after the things
which make
for peace, and things
wherewith one may edify another. Rom 14:19
Edification through healing is the reason that James wrote that we are
to confess our faults one to another. When we confess our sins to a true
partner, that partner will admonish us with love by the word of truth, thereby
edifying us. When we operate the love of God in the renewed mind, we comfort
one another in partnership
Link to Chapter 3 By Neil Tolman
1996
