One Rockin' Body
- If Jesus loves his little followers, that means they should love each other.
- Christians have a special bond with each other because of Jesus. That means they need to be humble, gentle, patient, loving, and peaceful with each other. Easy, right?
- They're all united in one body because of Jesus. The church isn't just a group of random individuals. There's one Holy Spirit, one God, one way of believing in him, and one baptism. So act like it, says Paul.
- Christians may be one body, but they all have different and individual gifts.
- Some folks are apostles or prophets. Some are evangelists, pastors, or teachers. It's a mixed bag.
- But in the end, all these jobs have the same purpose: making the church stronger. People can't really do anything on their own. But together, they're unstoppable.
- Basically, Christians shouldn't act like kids who change their minds about everything every day. Kids are also really gullible and will pretty much believe anything. Kids these days…
- Believers need to act like adults. Like the parts of the body they are. If they do the right thing, the body will. But if they decide to stop contributing one day, the whole body will collapse. Yikes.
What Not to Do
- Followers of Jesus shouldn't live like non-believers.
- The Gentiles out there don't have a clue. They do what they want and they really love sinning. It's so delicious to them…but that's not what Jesus would do.
- A Christian doesn't live the same way everyone else does. If you believe in Jesus, you need to toss aside your old life and embrace your new one. The new life involves way less selfishness and way more holiness.
- That means you shouldn't lie. It's okay to be angry, but don't let it fester too long.
- Don't let the devil into your life. He's always looking for an opening.
- Don't steal. Instead, work hard so you have something to share with those who need it.
- Don't say mean and nasty things. Be kind (and always rewind).
- Christians have been marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit. So don't tick the Spirit off. He's easily annoyed.
- In short, just dump all the bitterness, wrath, anger, fighting, lies, and bad intentions and be excellent to each other.
- Oh, and don't forget to forgive each other. After all, Paul says, God has forgiven you.