Fellow Workers in Christ

Transcript

GR 1481
10/02/11
Fellow Workers in Christ
Romans 16:3-16
Gil Rugh

We're going to Romans 16 in your Bibles, drawing this great letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans to a close. And as you come to this closing section Paul has greetings to a number of people. And it's a reminder to us that the ministry God has called us to is carried out as each person functions, carrying out the responsibilities God has given to them. And together our service is effective for the Lord, together we are privileged to see men, women and young people come to know Jesus Christ. We are privileged to grow to maturity together.

It's an interesting list. Sometimes you come to this portion of the book of Romans and there has been so much awesome truth unfolded for us. Then you come to the end of the book and there is a list of names. You just say, well, it's not very important. But we remind ourselves that the Spirit of God directed the Apostle Paul even as he wrote this section. And it does remind us of the importance of the various members of the body and the role they play. Paul pulls together a list of names here, I believe there are 33 altogether in the chapter. It's a mixture of men and women. God uses both men and women together in accomplishing His work in building the church of Jesus Christ today. They are not all superstars, most of them are unknown. We're going to be picking up with verse 3 and go down through verse 16. There will be 26 names in this list, again, a mixture of men and women. Out of the 26 names we only know two of them, as far as knowing anything about them. For the other 24, this is the only place they are mentioned in Scripture and they are mentioned briefly. But they are placed here in the Word of God to bring to our attention the importance that each individual plays in the ministry. A reminder of what is important.

We've noted that repeatedly in this chapter Paul refers to these people as those who are in Christ, those who are in the Lord. That is the foundational, essential relationship. These are those who have come to salvation in Jesus Christ and now these relationships supersede all else. It's interesting to me how little Paul has to say about his physical family, really nothing. We know that he had family members beyond his parents. There is a reference in Luke's account in Act of a couple family members of the Apostle Paul, but Paul never talks about them because Paul's relationships with other believers are foundational to everything. And we see that here as Paul unfolds the various ones joined with him in ministry. We noted the things that stand out—those who are his fellow workers, those who worked hard, those who risked their necks for Paul and the gospel, a choice servant in the Lord. These kinds of expressions. We think, wouldn't it be an honor to be so recognized by the Spirit of God, recorded in the Word of God, this servant.

And so he started out with Phoebe and he told us a little bit about Phoebe in the first two verses. She was a servant of the church in Cenchrea. And Cenchrea, remember was the seaport for the city of Corinth. About eight miles from Corinth and when you were leaving Corinth to go by ship, you went from Cenchrea. There is a church in Cenchrea, she was a faithful servant in that church. Paul has a great appreciation for her. She may well have been the carrier for this letter, which would help explain why Paul gives her such a high recommendation to the church and encourages them to welcome her and help meet her needs. We're not told if there is another reason why she is going to Rome at this period of time. But a woman highly commended by Paul and is to be welcomed and honored by the church in Rome.

Then picking up with verse 3 he's going to have a series of people he wants to greet. It's interesting to me, I think 16 times the command to greet is given. You'd think he could have said, I want to give greeting to the following. But he keeps repeating that command. Greet Prisca and Aquila, verse 3; verse 5, also the church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, greet Mary, greet Andronicus and Junias, greet Ampliatus, greet Urbanus, greet, greet, greet. I want greetings to these. And some he mentions by name, some he tells a little bit—they are my beloved, they are my fellow workers, and so on. All people that he knew from the work of the ministry. And now they are at Rome and he wants to give special greeting.

And then this list, there are 26 of them as I mentioned in verses 3-16. But that's not all because he'll refer to those that are with them a couple of times. The church that is in their house, for example, in verse 5; those of the household of so-and-so, a couple of times. So we get the idea the church at Rome is a significant church. We're not given the numbers, but it would be a sizable church when you just see this list of people that stand out to Paul, or have had contact with Paul in ministry and so on.

We're going to talk about just a couple of the people because we only know something about a couple of them. We'll talk about more than two because of issues about them. But really there are only two people we know anything other than their name and what Paul says about them here. They are not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture, but they are well known before the throne of the Lord in glory and singled out by Him as those that the Apostle Paul has a great appreciation for.

But the first two mentioned we do know something about. Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. Prisca and Aquila, or Priscilla and Aquila. Prisca is the more formal name, Priscilla is the diminutive, the more casual name, shall we say, like John and Johnny, perhaps a name like that. Paul always uses the more formal Prisca. Luke, when he writes about her, refers to her in his account in Acts, for example, he always refers to her as Priscilla. We don't know why, there are variations on the same name. Greet Prisca and Aquila.

Come back to Acts 18. We'll be coming to these individuals when we proceed from Acts 15 and get to Acts 18. And in Acts 18 Paul is coming to Corinth. So the chapter opens up, after these things he, referring to Paul, left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. So you'll note Luke who is the writer of the book of Acts, when he refers to Prisca, he refers to her by her more familiar name, less formal name, Priscilla. So Aquila and Priscilla have come from Italy, particularly Rome, as he'll mention in a moment. Why did they come to Corinth? Because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. So now we're told, Aquila and Priscilla, they are both Jews, they resided in Rome. The Emperor Claudius, Roman emperor, we may refer to him later, time permitting. There is a connection with another name that may connect to Claudius. But here Claudius got tired of the problems relating to the Jews so he just gave an edict—all the Jews have to leave Rome, no Jews allowed to live in Rome.

That would be very unsettling. You are a Jew, you have your livelihood, been living there for how many years, perhaps raising you family there now and you have to leave the city. But Priscilla and Aquila have to leave and so they come to Corinth. We see the hand of God in everything. Paul comes there to them so the occasion for their meeting is, verse 3, because he was of the same trade. He stayed with them, they were working for by trade they were tentmakers, leatherworkers. So they are believers but they are also of the same trade as Paul. Remember Paul exercised his trade of leatherworker, tentmaker to support himself when the necessity was there. So he comes to Corinth, it's a natural connection. These two believers of the same trade so he stays with them. And evidently during his time in Corinth he is with them and so in verse 11 we are told he settled there a year and six months. So eighteen months in Corinth, he would have gotten to know Aquila and Priscilla very, very well. They would have shared the ministry there in Corinth together. And then Paul will be free from his responsibility because an offering has been sent to him, verse 5, then he can devote full time to the ministry.

Down in Acts 18:18, after some opposition and so on and Paul is beaten, verse 17, verse 18, Paul remained many days longer and then took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria. Then he returned to Antioch of Syria. Priscilla and Aquila go with him. No details of why or anything, they have evidently joined in a bond of ministry together and there may be other reasons that they are going to travel on. But they leave with Paul. In Cenchrea, he stops at the seaport there, he has his hair cut for a vow. They came to Ephesus and he left them there. So Priscilla and Aquila don't go on, they stay at Ephesus. Here is a couple in the exercising of their trade they have a certain freedom to move. And they have spent time, after leaving Rome, in Corinth and now they are going to spend time in Ephesus and we're going to find them returning to places. And when Paul writes to the church at Rome they are back in Rome. So a couple that has moved around and a very precious couple to the Apostle Paul.

He minister in the synagogue and Priscilla and Aquila would have been part of his ministry to be sure. He leaves and returns to Antioch, verse 22. Pick up with verse 24, now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man came to Ephesus. He was mighty in the Scriptures. Apollos was a man who well knew the Old Testament Scriptures but hadn't come to know of the finished work of Christ. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, being fervent in spirit he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John. So hadn't understood and been taught. So he had responded to the ministry of John the Baptist about the coming Messiah but evidently had left and had not been explained the finished work of the Messiah on the cross—His death, resurrection and so on.

So verse 26, he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. So they had stayed in Ephesus and now they are used of the Lord to bring Apollos to an understanding of the grace of God and that makes him even more effective in the ministry of God's truth. So that's a little bit of the background we know about Priscilla and Aquila. They are faithful servants.

Come over to 2 Timothy 4. This is Paul's last letter, he is anticipating his execution. And in verse 19 he tells Timothy, greet Prisca and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. What is encouraging about this and tells you something about the character and stature of Priscilla and Aquila, here Paul at the end of his ministry Priscilla and Aquila are still faithful. Evidently in Ephesus where Timothy has been left. Paul wants to greet them—greet Prisca and Aquila. That had to be encouraging to Paul. They are with Paul in Rome at this time, so you can see they go back and forth to different cities because they have come from Rome to Corinth to Ephesus. When Paul writes the letter to the Romans, Priscilla and Aquila are back in Rome. Now at the end of his life when he writes to Timothy at Ephesus, Priscilla and Aquila are back in Ephesus. So they made their way around. But they are faithful. How important that is.

Look at verse 10. Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me, gone to Thessalonica. Paul knew what it was like to have those who had been joined with him in ministry wear out and abandon him. Verse 16, at my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me. But Paul was strengthened, there were people, they weren't there with him at this time, they were people really faithful. Prisca and Aquila, they are in Ephesus but they are being faithful to God there. So we can have a great appreciation for this couple.

Come back to Romans 16. Greet Prisca and Aquila. We need to say something. Prisca and Aquila are mentioned six times in the New Testament, four times Prisca or Priscilla is mentioned first and Aquila second. So in four of the six references it's Prisca and Aquila or Priscilla and Aquila, in two of them it's Aquila and Priscilla. The husband mentioned first twice, the wife mentioned first four times. Those who are looking for ways to develop a feminist understanding of the Scripture find this of tremendous significance. They say this obviously means she was the lead in the relationship, she was the prominent one. She probably led in the teaching of Apollos. I take it Priscilla was a very outstanding woman. They are never mentioned separately, it is always this couple mentioned together. Now in no way would minimize the spiritual stature of Priscilla along with her husband, Aquila. But I take it she would function consistently with what the Scripture says her role would be, and was mightily used as a godly woman in carrying out that role.

Remember we talked about hermeneutics, you don't want to come to passages of Scripture and interpret it historically grammatically and theologically. When people have a theological agenda to remake the Bible according to a feminist viewpoint, they begin to look to find things in Scripture. I don't know how many people refer to Marilyn and me as Marilyn and Gil and how many refer to us as Gil and Marilyn. And I don't know how much you can make out of it either way. So I think we ought to be careful and understand this is a prominent couple and as a couple both the man and the wife are godly people and godly examples, pour themselves into the ministry and suffer with Paul in the ministry.

Note what he says about them. They are my fellow workers. You know Paul has a great appreciation for those who are serious about the ministry and he has not time for those who are not. This supersedes everything. They are my fellow workers. He doesn't talk about, we just have enjoyed so many things together, we've relaxed on the Mediterranean together, we've done barbecues together, we've just had a great time together. I'm not saying that any of those things are wrong. But what mattered to Paul was we ministered together, we worked together. For Paul the ministry is work. It's the joy of his life but it is work. Greg talked about some of the opportunities in the ministry and your involvement in the ministry. You'll note, it's work. It's just not something that we do if we can fit it in to our busy schedules. These are people that are being used of the Lord to make a different—they are fellow workers in the Lord, in Christ Jesus.

Who for my life risked their own necks. I mean, these are people who have gone all the way. They put their lives on the line for Paul. They had not developed exactly . . . Perhaps when they were in Ephesus back in Acts and riots came out and Paul's life is on the line, perhaps they came to the fore. We are not given the detail where or what. But Paul says they put their lives on the line to the extent that I owe them a debt and so do the Gentile churches. Note how he puts it, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Why? Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. The fact that Aquila and Priscilla were used of God to be instruments that God used to spare Paul's life, what a blessing to the Gentiles because Paul was enabled to continue on with his life of ministry to the Gentiles and building up the churches of the Gentiles that had been established. So Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers and they put their lives on the line for me. And I owe them a debt of gratitude. But so do all the Gentile churches that benefit from my ministry and the work God has given me.

This is an outstanding couple. They have a trade, they are leatherworkers, tentmakers. That's what they do to support themselves, but their lives are about the ministry. They are willing to die for the Word. A remarkable couple, greatly loved and appreciated by Paul.

They also have a church meeting in their house. Also greet the church that is in their house. Greet the church that is in their house. What about a house church? There is a movement today called house churches. Some people think that since the New Testament talks about churches meeting in houses, churches should only meet in houses today. That's the biblical pattern that we should follow. Well, I'm not sure that's what he is saying here.

Come over to 1 Corinthians 1:2. Paul is writing to the church of God which is at Corinth, the church of God which is at Corinth. Then come over to 1 Corinthians 16:19, the churches of Asia greet you, like the seven church of Asia Minor, that region of the world. Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord with the church that is in their house. Here you see they have a church that meets. Now when Paul writes to a city, he'll write to the church, but he can refer to an individual who has a church meeting in their house. I think what he is saying here is the portion of the church that is meeting in their house. Evidently wherever Priscilla and Aquila went here, he's writing to Rome and the church at Rome and he send greetings to the church meeting in their house. That practice I would think would be consistent. Does that mean every church? So really in Rome there is a variety of churches, not just one church.

I think we understand grammatically what you have here in this expression. It's the same expression used in the other three times where you have a reference to the church meeting in someone's house—Colossians 4:15 and Philemon 2, along with what we just read in 1 Corinthians 16:19 and this reference here. It's all the same expression, kotoikon, translated the church in their house. It can be used what we would refer to grammatically, distributively. In other words this preposition, kota, a Greek preposition, it's referring here in this used, some of you are taking Greek, have taken Greek, it's used with the accusative, it can be used in a distributive way. The portion of the church that is meeting in their house.

So when he says, also greet the church that is in their house, those people associated with them, that portion of the church meeting in their house. There is no reference to church buildings until the third century. So where does the church meet? The church at Rome could be of quite size. I mean, we have a number of people mentioned here and then you have a group meeting in the house of Aquila and Priscilla and then you're going to have those of the household of so-and-so and so-and-so. And how many homes can hold this? The church at Rome has 200 people, where would they go to meet? They didn't have their own building. There would be occasions when they would meet together. The church at Corinth, Paul will later in that letter, we read the first part addressed to them, he'll refer, when you come together as the church. But more often their meetings would be broken down into smaller groups. So a portion of the church would be meeting at the home of Prisca and Aquila, a portion of the church might be meeting at this person's house. Similar to what we do with home Bible studies where the Word is taught there, where ministry takes place, often needs are met. Ministry goes on as people go through different issues. We encourage one another in those settings and so on. That's the portion of the church meeting in their place.

So I think we ought to be careful, we make something that may not be here. So when he refers to the church that's in their house, I think the logical way to take this is that portion of the church that is meeting in their house. And that was a regular meeting place, just like some of you have had Bible studies going on in your home, comprised of a portion of the people of this congregation going on for years. You have an identity. You say, I go to so-and-so's Bible study, I go to so-and-so's Bible study. I've sometimes been to some of your Bible studies, I say, how long has your study been together? You say, anybody remember how long we've been here. And it goes back and back and back. So they have an identifiable group in their home and Paul is familiar with it. He knows that there is a portion of the church meeting in their home and he wants to greet them.

Then he goes on and greets Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the convert to Christ from Asia. We don't know any more about him. He doesn't say, he's my first convert to Christ in Asia, but he is the first convert. So he has the privilege of being identified as the first one converted to Christ in Asia Minor, where the city of Ephesus would be, for example, Colosse, the churches the letters were written to. How he was converted, we are not told but Paul knows him, knows his identity. We met him when he traveled to these regions and has an appreciation for him. He is now in Rome, Paul knows that and gives greeting to him.

Most of these names, like I say, we don't know. If you are interested you can in a good commentary that goes into some detail, they'll go through the interesting things about names in the time that Paul would have written this. Certain people that were of stature would have been given certain names, certain people that were slaves would have been given certain names. So you can get an idea of the mixture that is here in addition to being men and women. There would have been people from different strata of society, what the church is to be. We are united because of our relationship in Christ, not because we all like the same kind of music, not because we are all of the same race or cultural background or status in life, but because we are all in the Lord. So interesting just to look at how these individuals may be represented as well as the way they are addressed.

There are a couple of names I would just mention to you that we may know something about outside the Scripture. There are a couple referred to here. The end of verse 10, the second part of verse 10, greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. You'll note he doesn't say, greet Aristobulus, but greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. It would seem to indicate that Aristobulus is not a believer, perhaps he is dead. But he doesn't give that greeting that would indicate that they are alive, to be sure. Now what is interesting about the name Aristobulus, that name is not a common name. There was a grandson of Herod the Great, the brother of Herod Agrippa I that we have reference to in Acts. He lived in Rome. So he was a well-known figure in Rome because the Herod family had great influence in Rome, obviously. He died in 48 or 49 A.D. In greeting those of the household of Aristobulus, it may be servants who have been converted from this family. No indication that Aristobulus himself ever became a believer, but could be referring to those who would be dead but now are being greeting by Paul who served in that household.

Another reason for that along with the name in the next verse, greet Herodion my kinsman. When Paul refers to my kinsman, he does it here and does it in other places in the New Testament, he's referring to the fact that they are Jews also. He's the apostle to the Gentiles, in a lot of his ministry he has a lot of contact with Gentiles. But these are my kinsmen. He's not talking about necessarily this is my cousin or something like that, but this is a fellow Jew, Herodion by name. This is the only use of this name. Might indicate that he had some connection with the Herods in one way or another which might connect him back to Aristobulus.

You have another greeting like that at the end of verse 11, those of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. He doesn't greet Narcissus. And interesting here, Narcissus was a well-known freedman. He was a man who started out as a slave but had become free. Some of these men became very influential and important. Well, he served the Emperor Claudius. We know this from secular history, just like Aristobulus. So he became very prominent and known through secular history because serving the Emperor Claudius who preceded Nero. Now with the death of Claudius, remember he is the one who gave the edict that the Jews had to leave Rome, we read in Acts 18. When he died, Nero is coming to the throne. So you have a lot of intrigue going on. And in that time Narcissus was forced to commit suicide. And that would have happened just before Paul wrote to the Romans. So he may be addressing a number of those who had been slaves in the household of Narcissus who have become believers. We don't know on Aristobulus for sure or Narcissus because Paul didn't say anything about them, except there are believers in those households. Probably referring to slaves because if it were family members that had power who had become believers, he could address them. So he addressed those of that family.

So other than that, the names are names that God brings. So you see the group here in addition to the individual names. And the spread of Christianity, interesting to see how the church came together—well-to-do, slaves. You can see why Paul had to write to masters and slaves in other letters, to tell the masters how to conduct themselves and how to treat their slaves, to tell the slaves how to serve their masters and so on. Come, have the church meet together and maybe one of the elders of this church is the slave of so-and-so who is one of the well-to-do members. In that sense the master is submitting himself to the oversight and spiritual leadership of the one who is his slave in the day-to-day activities of life. And not different than someone who is well-to-do and owns a business and the people who work for him come, but one of the workers may be an elder and that person submits himself. And it's part of the way the body is to function and come together, that healthy mixture.

Well, you can read through the names. Note verse 15, you just see the greetings to the various individuals and all the saints who are with them. Maybe that group of believers meeting together with them as the church is broken down into various groups. But we don't want to leave without verse 16, greet one another with a holy kiss. That is not an instruction right now, it's just reading the verse. But I am often asked, very often, I don't know if ulterior motives or not, why don't we greet one another with a holy kiss? It is the instruction given, the command given like all the other greetings. And you greet one another with a holy kiss. And all the churches of Christ greet you. So all those churches that Paul has contact with in one way or another, he is comfortable representing them and saying, they send you greetings. And you greet one another with a holy kiss.

That was the regular way of greeting in biblical times. Jump back to Luke 7. This was true among people generally. The Gentiles did it, the Jews especially did it. You see it when you watch the news, and they'll show people from other countries meeting and they give each other that almost ceremonial kind of kiss, perhaps, on each cheek. Jesus in Luke 7, the context here, goes to a Pharisee's house and the Pharisee is not a believer. Then a woman comes, she's a sinner as the Pharisees would have seen here. She was a sinner but they saw themselves as not sinners. And she begins to anoint His feet with her tears, that account, verse 38, kissing His feet and so on. And Jesus knows what the Pharisee is thinking. Why does Jesus allow this dirty woman to touch Him. We're interested in the response, we have to pick up the account. Verse 44, Simon, do you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave Me no water for My feet but she wet My feet with her tears. Verse 45, you gave Me no kiss. I mean, you didn't do what would have been expected for someone to welcome Me into your home. You didn't even give Me a kiss, but she has kissed My feet. You see not even the common, ordinary welcome and warmth, you didn't show that to Me. But she showed a warmth that goes beyond. It was customary, expected. The fact you didn't do it was a discourtesy.

Over in Luke 22. And when Judas arranges to betray Christ, how will the soldiers coming into the Garden tonight recognize who Jesus is? Judas says, I'll give Him a kiss. So verse 47, while He was still speaking, behold, a crowd came. One called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. Jesus said to him, Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? This is to express our warmth, our relationship, and you are using it as a sign of betrayal.

You see that in New Testament times, biblical times it was common, and like I say it is common in parts of the world today. It is mentioned a number of times—five times in addition to this passage in Romans we are instructed to greet one another with a kiss. Peter in 1 Peter 5:14 calls it a kiss of love. It's at the end of 1 Corinthians, the end of 2 Corinthians, the end of 1 Thessalonians in addition.

So believers are the family of God, they are to express their love for one another, their affection, their family relationship. We don't do that today. Should we? I don't know. It's not something we do in our culture generally, although in our physical families we do give each other a hug and often a kiss and sometimes we do in the church but it's not a regular thing. Whether we say that was the practice of the day, it's not something we would do normally today generally speaking. That may be so, but it does express the importance of our relationship together. Understand, this supersedes every other relationship. Jesus said if you love father or mother more than Me, you can't be My disciple. You love your family more than Me, you can't be My disciple. We have a relationship that needs to be recognized and appreciated. We deal with it casually. We break our relationships off with believers over minor things, but there is one relationship that supersedes all others—that's our relationship with Jesus Christ and those who belong to Him. They go together. And we have been joined together in the Lord and so we greet one another with a love and appreciation and a warmth. And in those times the holy kiss expressed that greeting of those that you were welcoming, you were enjoying. Now even in parts of the world where they use that, it can become shallow and empty. And you see people giving that greeting, political leaders from other countries and you know they have no relationship together, no love lost between them at all, as we would say. And so any kind of greeting can become shallow. But the point is that you are to appreciate the relationship you have together.

That's going to become very important because you know where Paul is going to go in the next section when we pick up this study the next time? Divisions and dissensions in the body. So a greater appreciation for why he gives this extensive list of those who are so important in the ministry. And you show your love for one another and the bond you have. And then you be careful about those who would bring in the kind of divisions that would disrupt that bond, that harmony, that unity.

God has done a great work in our lives in bringing us to salvation in Christ, in bringing us together as the church of Jesus Christ in this place. And we are privileged to serve and fellowship together as we meet together in various ways in smaller groups in our service together and fellowship together in ministry. That we appreciate that this is the most important relationship we have. As I mention to you from time to time, this relationship will go on when other relationships are over. We will be brothers and sisters in Christ through the ages of eternity, we will be the family of God. Precious family members who never come to salvation, physical family members, I will not have a relationship with through eternity. But my relationship with believers goes on. We need to appreciate that, appreciate one another, perhaps give more thought to various members of the body, as Paul has expressed here, what they have done, how they have served. I appreciate he is a choice man in the Lord, as he says of Rufus in verse 13. Appreciate one another. Thank you, Lord, for so-and-so who is a fellow worker in the ministry. Thank you for this choice person, Lord. We begin to appreciate one another and the feelings follow as we develop even a depth of bond in realizing what Christ has done and how He is using us together as His servants in these days.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for the precious truths of your Word. Thank you for these faithful servants from long ago. Lord, just a select few that you selected to be a reminder down through the history of the church of the importance of those you bring to be part of the body. Lord, we would not overlook those truths in our own body. Easy for us to take one another for granted, easy for us to become irritated, discontent, unhappy over little things and allow that to affect our relationship. Lord, thank you that we are your family in this place. Thank you for the bond that we have together in the Lord and the privilege we have to be fellow workers. Lord, to recognize each one as beloved and Lord, to honor them. And we desire to continue to be used of you until Jesus Christ comes. We pray in His name, amen.