Waverly Church of Christ

Last week we began to look at how Paul calls us to live together as God’s family. Specifically, we examined the way we are to respond to those who lead us, our elders or overseers.  We are to “know” these men, that is, we are to acknowledge them, appreciate them, honor them, show them respect.

All of this is based upon what these men do among us:
a. They “diligently labor among” us.
b. They “lead us” in the Lord.
c. They “admonish” us.

Also, we are to hold these men in the highest regard, or as Paul put it, “. . . esteem them very highly in love because of their work.” (1 Thessalonians 5:13, NASB95) Our love for them is that which is to motivate us. Again, it is because of their work that we hold them in such high regard.  Simply put, the work of our elders is a noble work, given to them by God, deserving of our highest respect in love.  In the final part of our text this morning, Paul instructs us in how we as a church family are to respond to one another. 

Just as our study from last week, this is very important because as Christians we are “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13) and should be our desire that our “light shine in such a way that others see [our] good works and glorify [our] Father Who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). If that which we project to those around us is not good, we will turn them away from the truth. Our influence upon this community is affected either positively or negatively by how we relate to one another.