#40.

We are Commanded to Serve One Another in Fellowship

John 13:1415 If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought
to wash one anothers feet. 15 For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did
to you.

Matthew 25:3740 Then the righteous will answer Him, Lord, when did we see You
hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see
You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick,
or in prison, and come to You? 40 The King will answer and say to them, Truly I say to
you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them,
you did it to Me.

Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom
into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

We have concluded our survey of the fruit of the Spirit, and noted that without exception,
God commands us to use the fruit produced in us so that the whole church may benefit. As
we turn our attention to some of the other gifts God gives (which are often the subjects of
the "one another" texts in Scripture), it would be surprising to find that the same principle
did not apply here also.

In this meditation, we will see that we are commanded to use the gift of service by serving
one another in the church. Jesus, our Savior, could not have made it clearer that He was
giving an example of service for us to follow when He washed the feet of His disciples. Even
the least service, He said, is something His disciples ought to do for one another - in other
words they are under an obligation to do it, they owe it to Christ to behave towards each
other as He has behaved towards them.

Matthew paints a picture of service rendered in the context of fellowship, and helps us to
understand that even menial service rendered to brothers and sisters in Christ (because
they are intimately joined with Him) is service rendered to Christ Himself, even though we
may sometimes fail to see it in that light. It is also clear that even the simplest act of
service, done from right motives, does not go unnoticed by Jesus. This should serve as a
powerful encouragement to us to serve one another, as should the image of Christ we see
being formed in our fellow saints.

Lastly, Paul, in writing to the Galatians, adds to the aspect of indebtedness that Jesus
highlighted, and to the level of incentive that Matthew supplied, by elevating our service of
one another to the level of a command. But he also talks about the proper impetus for
service which is acceptable to God - it must be done through love for Him and for our
brothers and sisters in the Lord.

We are not to clench our teeth and serve each other with a bitter and resentful spirit. All the
fruits and all the gifts of the Spirit of God are given in love, and are to be used in love and
out of love for God and for one another. Accordingly, note also that the command to serve
one another is not something new that Paul is introducing here. On the contrary, it flows
from one of the two great commands we have had practically from the beginning - to love
God with all our heart, soul and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

When God gives us a command, our sinful nature is inclined to rise up in rebellion against it.
Think, though, how foolish this is. You are commanded to love the most lovely of beings,
Who has showered good gifts upon you and has patiently borne with your rejection of Him
and your continual sin. Yet you have said, "I won't love Him!" Can this be rational? Can it
be a logical or reasonable reaction? Likewise, you are commanded to love your neighbor
and seek the best for them (which is what God has done for you) and your neighbor is
commanded to do the same for you. Yet you have said, "I won't love my neighbor as I love
myself!" So the goal of God's commandments is that we live in love for Him and in love for
one another, but we take delight in our disobedience to Him. The result is that we live in
hatred, fear and all manner of self-inflicted misery. It is not clear how we can believe that
we are thinking clearly when we make such choices. How thoroughly sin has blinded our
minds!

We could go on to think of how proud we are of our independence, living in the "self-
service" age, when God has designed us to live in a "mutual-service" manner. We could
talk about how this spirit undermines true service in the church after the model Jesus left
for us. However, we will leave the reader to meditate on these ideas for himself and
herself. We will close by saying that a church in which the members only serve themselves
is no true church. Rather, it is a mutant, a hideous counterfeit of what God intends. In
contrast, a church in which all the members joyfully and lovingly serve the body is a joy to
behold and something that is very hard to stay away from.

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