Relational Life

Relational Life Guide

All the "One Another" Commands in the New Testament

"Love one another." "Bear one another's burdens." "Forgive one another." The New Testament gives Christians a lot of "one another" instructions: things that we should all do on behalf of our family in Christ.

"One another" is two words in English, but it's only one word in Greek:

ἀλλήλων

(ah-LAY-loan)

Here's an overview of how it's applied to the church in the New Testament.

It's used in 100 times in 94 New Testament verses.
47 of those verses give instructions to followers of Jesus.
Paul wrote 60% of those "one another" commands.

Unity

One third of the "one another" commands deal with the church getting along.

1. Be at peace with one another (Mk 9:50)
2. Don't grumble among one another (Jn 6:43)
3. Be of the same mind with one another (Ro 12:6, 15:5)
4. Accept one another (Ro 15:7)
5. Wait for one another before beginning the Eucharist (1 Co 11:33)
6. Don't bite, devour, and consume one another (Ga 5:15)
7. Don't challenge or envy one another (Ga 5:26)
8. Gently, patiently tolerate one another (Ep 4:2)
9. Be kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving to one another (Ep 4:32)
10. Bear with and forgive one another (Co 3:13)
11. Seek good for one another, and don't repay evil for evil (1 Th 5:15)
12. Don't complain against one another (Ja 4:11, 5:9)
13. Confess sins to one another (Ja 5:16)

Love

One third of these commands instruct Christians to love one another.

1. Love one another (Jn 13:34, 15:12, 17; Ro 13:8; 1 Th 3:12, 4:9;
1 Pe 1:22; 1 Jn 3:11, 4:7, 11; 2 Jn 5)
2. Through love, serve one another (Ga 5:13)
3. Tolerate one another in love (Ep 4:2)
4. Greet one another with a kiss of love (1 Pe 5:14)
5. Be devoted to one another in love (Ro 12:10)

Humility

About 15% stress an attitude of humility and deference among believers.

1. Wash one another's feet (Jn 13:14)
2. Give preference to one another in honor (Ro 12:10)
3. Don't be haughty: be of the same mind (Ro 12:16)
4. Serve one another (Ga 5:13)
5. Be subject to one another (Ep 5:21)
6. Regard one another as more important than yourselves (Php 2:3)
7. Clothe yourselves in humility toward one another (1 Pe 5:5)

And Here's the rest:

1. Don't judge one another, and don't put a stumbling block in a brother's way (Ro 14:13)
2. Greet one another with a kiss (Ro 16:16; 1 Co 16:20; 2 Co 13:12)
3. Husbands and wives: don't deprive one another of physical intimacy (1 Co 7:5)
4. Bear one another's burdens (Ga 6:2)
5. Speak truth to one another (Ep 4:25)
6. Don't lie to one another (Co 3:9)
7. Comfort one another concerning the resurrection (1 Th 4:18)
8. Encourage and build up one another (1 Th 5:11)
9. Stimulate one another to love and good deeds (He 10:24)
10. Pray for one another (Ja 5:16)
11. Be hospitable to one another (1 Pe 4:9)
12 Teach and admonish one another with songs. hymns. and spiritual songs (Co 3:16)-
this is a bonus: the "one another" is actually a different Greek word, but as one reader points out, it really does fit with this list.

Impact Groups

Growth in Christ happens best together!

Impact Groups are small gatherings of spiritual friends who come together to support and encourage one another in their journey with Christ.