Edify One Another

The Body

Paul names both comfort and edification here, together, as the ongoing task of genuine community, even as also ye do, acknowledging this church was already, genuinely practicing this, not starting from nothing but continuing and strengthening a pattern already present. This is worth naming as encouragement, not merely instruction toward something entirely new.

Notice edify, meaning to build up, construction language applied to relational, spiritual growth. Genuine community is not static, merely maintaining existing connection, but actively building, constructing something ongoing, each interaction potentially contributing toward genuine edification rather than remaining merely neutral or socially pleasant.

This is worth examining against whether your own community interactions are genuinely edifying, actually building something, or whether they have settled into pleasant but ultimately neutral social exchange, present together without much actual construction happening, comfort without the accompanying edification this verse names together.

Consider today one specific interaction where you could genuinely edify, building up rather than merely maintaining pleasant neutrality. Comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, both named as the actual, ongoing task, even as also ye do, continuing and strengthening what may already be genuinely present.