Twenty-Three Ways to Facilitate Living in Peace with One Another

[The following post first appeared on the Elder Blog at gbcaz.org.]

Our Smallgroup has been studying the “one another” commands of the New Testament. We recently discussed First Thessalonians 5:13, “Live in peace with one another.” Since Christ’s death reconciled us with God and other Christians, maintaining peaceful, loving relationships in the local church is now a nonnegotiable requirement. One of the exercises that helped us think carefully about how to fulfill this command involved scanning the rest of the letter in search of the example set by Paul and his companions as well as the Thessalonian church. We discovered that there were many practices mentioned in the book that, if practiced at Grace Bible Church, would facilitate living in peace within the body. The following list includes twenty-three ways to maintain and promote peaceful relationships with others in the church.

1. Dwell often on God’s grace and peace toward believers (1 Thess. 1:1; 5:28)
2. Thank God for our church in prayer (1 Thess. 1:2; 2:13)
3. Constantly consider what is commendable in members of the body (1 Thess. 1:3; 2:13)
4. Remember God’s election of believers (1 Thess. 1:4)
5. Recall past fruits of gospel ministry (1 Thess. 1:5-7)
6. Recall current fruits of gospel ministry (1 Thess. 1:8-10)
7. Recall the unity that believers will have at Christ’s coming when he rescues the church from wrath (1 Thess. 1:10; 3:13; 4:17; 5:5b, 8-10)
8. Resolve to please God rather than men (1 Thess. 2:4-6)
9. Meditate often on God’s omniscience and justice (1 Thess. 2:4)
10. Maintain evangelistic boldness (1 Thess. 2:1-2)
11. Maintain personal integrity (1 Thess. 2:3, 10)
12. Practice gentleness and loving affection toward other members of the flock (1 Thess. 2:7-8)
13. Impart not only teaching, but your very life to the church (1 Thess. 2:8)
14. Prioritize people’s walk with the Lord (1 Thess. 2:12; 4:1-8)
15. Be willing to exhort and implore and encourage others as the occasion may require (1 Thess. 2:11; 4:1-8, 10b-11)
16. Consider the endurance of members who experience persecution (1 Thess. 2:14)
17. Maintain a desire to see one another in person (1 Thess. 2:17-18; 3:11)
18. Call to mind the future realization of current ministry labors (1 Thess. 2:19-20)
19. Prioritize the faith of others (1 Thess. 3:2-8, 10)
20. Communicate to others your thankfulness for them and the joy that they bring you (1 Thess. 3:9)
21. Abound in love for one another (1 Thess. 3:12)
22. Avoid sexual immorality (1 Thess. 4:3-6)
23. Lavishly tell others where you see them excelling in obedience to the Lord (1 Thess. 4:9-10)