PURPOSE TO BUILD UP OTHERS by steve johnson
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uilding up others means to edify, encourage, and uplift them so they will be strengthened inwardly to persevere despite difficulty. Encouragement seeks to infuse difficulty with meaning. Without that sense of meaning, hope and the will to go on fades. In John 16:33 Jesus told His followers “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows,” so we are to encourage and build up one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11). While purposing to build up others is essential, sincere and effective encouragement is founded on particular knowledge, truths, and beliefs such as the following. Realizing that one reason the Lord saved me was to be His ambassador to a hurting world by being a Spirit-filled encourager (2 Corinthians 5:20). I must realize I have been blessed with all the richness that being in Christ brings in order to be a blessing and encourager to others. I need to commit to being an
encourager because it is what God desires and people need. Good knowledge of God’s Word. Believers are to build each other up by speaking appropriate truth from God’s Word. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11 Paul was writing to persecuted believers seeking to encourage them by reminding them of the truth of the Lord’s return. Persecuted believers needed to hear this truth so they would have hope and courage to stay faithful. Knowing God’s Word gives me encouraging truth to share. Being encouraged from belonging to Christ. “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ…then…value others above yourselves” (Philippians 2:1–3 NIV). Belonging to Christ is the truth that overcomes every defeat and discouragement. In Him I share the victory won at the cross. That victory overcame my enemies: the world, the flesh, the Devil, and death.
