One Response to “BLOG: Relationship Building”

True relationships begin with a faith in Christ. Having believed in Christ, the disciple receives the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13). One of the Spirit’s benefits is the “oneness” that results from His presence; “We were all baptized by one Spirit” Paul says, “into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13). In one place, Paul calls Christian unity “the unity of the Spirit” (Eph. 4:3).

Being Spirit filled results in the believer developing relationship-essential qualities within their demeanor. Ephesians 5:18-21 demonstrates what happens when a person is filled with the Holy Spirit. Contrary to how the NIV would have this passage rendered, in the Greek, Paul is using “resulting participles� to demonstrate what happens when one is filled with the Spirit. A resulting participle is an adjective-verb describing what results from a previous fact just mentioned in the author’s story. In the case of Ephesians 5:18-21, Paul lists five results of the Spirit-filled believer.

“Do not get drunk on wind, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit [which results in] (1) SPEAKING to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs; (2) SINGING and (3) MAKING MUSIC in your heart to the Lord; (4) GIVING THANKS at all times to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; and (5) SUBMITTING to one another out of reverence for Christ.�

Among the “Fruit of the Spirit� passage in Galatians, one observes just how many fruit are essential to relationships with other believers and just how much Paul had relationships in mind:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.� (Gal. 5:22-26)

It is not about “finding our securities� that we become faithful, kind and loving in our relationships. We also don’t experience joy in all relationships simply because we find security within our own “secure feelings� (which are fleeting and conditioned upon what other people give us anyway). True relationships are possible only because of the security and transformation found in Christ and the Spirit we receive by faith in him.

Left by JohnyAutoclub on August 15th, 2005

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