From elementary school to middle and high school to higher education, your academic life was all yours. You read. You studied. You took quizzes, tests, and exams on your own. You did projects and wrote papers. You received your scores, marks, and grades. But every so often, you were required to participate in a group project. Yes, you remember those. The group project—two or three or more of your classmates joining with you to put together a project for your teacher or professor. Each member did a piece of the whole to submit it. You had to agree on everything from the topic to the content to how you were going to present it. And then, you all received the same letter grade, regardless of who did what or how much. Of all the things you were supposed to learn by doing the group project, you probably learned that you never wanted to do a group project again. They just rarely seem to work well, do they? Either you had to do most of the work yourself, or a “weak link” dragged down your grade. Who came up with this form of academic torture, anyway?
In the Christian life, God invented the group project. By the power of the Spirit and the grace of God, believers are transformed individually as we are also transformed together. Just like the academic group project, this can be challenging, frustrating, and difficult. We can be tempted to think that it is easier to walk alone in our faith or that we are responsible only for our own growth in Christ. Worse than that—often because of being sinned against in the past—we may see other Christians as more of a hindrance to our ongoing sanctification. But throughout Scripture, we are told again and again that we are connected to one another with a definite aim and purpose: to become more and more like our Savior.
The Apostle Paul, in nearly every one of his epistles, beautifully describes this truth that sanctification is both an individual task and a group project. In Romans 12:2, he writes, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” Then, just two verses later, he shows how we are many members of one body, given gifts and graces to build one another up in this calling. In 1 Corinthians 12, he speaks of spiritual gifts as given to the individual but also for the common good (1 Cor. 12:7). He then gives a vivid, detailed description of how all the members of the body of Christ are essential to care for one another and suffer with one another (vs. 1 Cor. 12:25–26). In Colossians 3, Paul again begins with the individual responsibility of putting on and acting out of the new self that is being renewed and sanctified (Col. 3:10). Then, in verses 12–17, he gives several essential “one-anothering” commands to demonstrate what we are to “put on” as a body that is being sanctified in Christ (Col. 3:12–17).
Another fascinating passage that teaches sanctification as a group project is 1 Thessalonians 4–5. These two chapters together form the last section of Paul’s first letter to the church at Thessalonica. He begins with this exhortation: “Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more” (1 Thess. 4:1). And then in verse 3, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thess. 4:3). This section is a plea to the individual to continue to walk in the Lord to be sanctified in Christ. Yet, over the course of these two chapters, Paul peppers in ministry activities that we must do for one another. It is as though Paul is saying, “Your sanctification is your own lifelong project (by the work of Christ), but it is accomplished in lifelong group projects with other believers.” When we arrive at the end of these chapters, we read this bookend: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely” (1 Thess. 5:23). We will be sanctified more and more as God works to sanctify us completely—and this sanctification is assisted greatly by other Christians as we are transformed together.
Between 1 Thessalonians 4:1 and 5:28, there are at least nine “one-anothering” activities that will greatly enhance our sanctification. Here are just five to consider:
- Love one another (1 Thess. 4:9). Sacrificial, brotherly love transforms our hearts.
- Encourage one another (1 Thess. 4:18; 5:11). To encourage is to give or inspire courage in another. How important is godly courage in our sanctification?
- Build one another up (1 Thess. 5:11). In a world that tears us down, we need building up to grow in grace.
- Esteem others highly in love (1 Thess. 5:13). Gaining high self-esteem is the world’s view of growth and maturity. But we are actually sanctified as believers as we esteem others more highly than our selves.
- Admonish others who are idle (1 Thess. 5:14). Admonition is the hard work of the group project. But how can we grow in Christlikeness if we are never admonished by others—especially when we are being lazy and passive in our Christian walk? Finally, in 1 Thessalonians 5:15, Paul tells us to “do good to one another.” This summarizes the essential work we need to do for each other in our sanctification. Passing on the goodness of God to one another will certainly aid us in our growth as believers.
Three different times in 1 Thessalonians 4–5, Paul writes these words: “Just as you are doing.” He commends the believers at Thessalonica for already doing the essential activities that aid their sanctification. Yet he quickly follows up with the words “Do so more and more.” There is an “always” to the group project of sanctification, as we are transformed together. These one-anothering activities are not one-time efforts. They are not boxes to check every so often. We are only to increase our togetherness as believers as we are connected to Christ and one another. In the television series Lost, the motto for the group became “Live together or die alone.” For believers in Jesus Christ, I offer this reality: Be transformed together or languish alone. We should never underestimate our need for other Christians to be used by God in our sanctification.
There is one more essential verse in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5 that must not be overlooked. It is the exclamation mark at the end of Paul’s exhortation on sanctification: “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” (1 Thess. 5:24). It is Christ who sanctifies us, using others as His instruments. Other believers will not always be faithful to encourage you in your growth into the image of Christ. You will not be faithful in your group project either. But Jesus is always faithful. He will surely do it. He is always at work to sanctify you and to use you to sanctify others in your life. So don’t grumble and complain about your lifelong spiritual group project. Don’t avoid it at all costs. Embrace your calling to do the one-anothering activities that will produce great growth in your life and in the lives of the other group members.