Since Christ so loved us, so we ought also to love the brethren (cf. 1 John 4:11) with that same kind of love--unconditional agape love. The love of God has shed abroad in our hearts (cf. Rom. 5:5) and constrains us to model Christ's love to the world (cf. 2 Cor. 5:14). No matter what good deed you do, if you have not love, it is useless (cf. 1 Cor. 13). This means we must not privatize our faith nor become spiritual Lone Rangers nor lone wolves, thinking we can worship and serve in a solitary manner or in the cornfield--and this will please God.
There are many so-called "each other" passages that command us to build relationships with each other as members of the same body. For example, just as Christ accepted us, we ought also to accept one another (cf. Rom. 15:18). This means putting aside personal opinions and prejudices and to keep the main thing the main thing. Jesus did indeed say that they will know us by our love (cf. John 13:35), not our opinions. We must prefer one another and honor one another, or give each their due respect as brothers in Christ--no one for whom Christ died is unworthy of our love.
It is a sure sign of love to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn--showing empathy as Romans 12:15 commands. Do we put up with each other's faults and idiosyncrasies, or do they bug us? We don't have to respect all differences of opinion on the same level, but the person having that right to disagree, as long as he isn't being disagreeable. We are never to be contentious, divisive, argumentative, nor judgmental either.
When you love someone you are willing to submit to them out of reverence to Christ: Christ was subordinate to the Father, and wives ought to be to their husbands. This means we don't play God and lord it over or domineer fellow believers or the church. Greatness is not how many people serve you, but how many you serve, according to Rick Warren! The only truly happy believers are those who've learned to serve one another, according to Albert Schweitzer.
There are many "each other" commands like being loyal, faithful, harmonious, respectful, accountable, and devoted. We are to pray for one another, admonish one another, submit to one another, forgive one another, teach one another, encourage one another, and serve one another! All the commands are basically a manifestation of brotherly love. Patience is one of the main manifestations of love and is the fruit of the Spirit--this is one of the most useful of virtues!
You cannot be your own church (Jesus promised that, where two or three are gathered in His name, there He is in their midst in Matt. 18:20, because there is only one Rock (cf. 1 Cor. 10:4) and that is Jesus, we are not islands either, but we need each other no matter what our gift or gifts. No believer can survive in isolation or disconnected from the body. Jesus has no hands to help but ours, no voice to spread the Word but ours, no heart to love others through but ours, and no mind to share God's Word with but ours. We are indeed members one of another and our gift is not solely for our personal benefit, but that of the church body. The hand cannot say to the eye that it is not needed, and so we all need each other and can benefit each other. We must recognize our need, not only for Christ but for the body!
We fulfill the law of Christ by bearing each other's burdens. John says in 1 John 4:12, NLT, that "if we love each other God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us." Galatians 5:6, NIV, says, "the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." We are to meet the spiritual and sometimes the physical needs of the body per Gal. 6:2, NLT, says to share our burdens, but carry our own load but Gal. 6:3, NLT, says: "If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important."
The church is more than an institution; Christ was an anti-establishment figure himself and upset the apple cart and threatened the turf of the Pharisees. The church is meant to give us the conviction of believing, belonging, and becoming all God meant us to be. It is not a club, for God demands commitment, service, and devotion. Remember, it's a place for real people, not ideal people, and no perfect people need to apply! It's not a hotel for saints, but a hospital for sinners! We are to have a ministry to our fellow believers as well as a mission to the world of unbelievers, which can be realized in the church.
The church is supposed to be an organism, not an organization (it is alive and active, not static or dead), and it's a family (members are actually closer to you than blood relatives if they're unsaved), and the church is the body of Christ through which the gifts of the Spirit are manifested and put into operation, the church is a place of corporate worship and fellowship, as well as a place to organize and mobilize the church to fulfill the Great Commission--getting the Word out.
We all need a sense of belonging and church is meant to fulfill that need so we don't seek it in worldly clubs or social groups to meet our needs, finally, the church is a place of growth and accountability (for discipleship) and where we hold each other accountable, so that we don't slip away from fellowship, but keeping in touch with God. It's like getting a weekly spiritual checkup or getting a chance to give our self an exam or analysis--how can an isolated believer do this? We don't literally compare ourselves with each other (cf. 2 Cor. 10:12; Gal. 6:4), but learn to interact with our gift in the body and become interdependent, since we are designed and built for harmony and unity per Eph. 4:3 (not uniformity) in the body as the expression of God's love to the world.
The conclusion of the matter is that they will know we are Christians by our love (just like the song goes!), not our vehicle, home, job, hobby, career, calling, stock portfolio or 401(k), personality type, talent, asset, power, riches, fame, celebrity--or any type of prosperity or success, such as achieving the American dream! Soli Deo Gloria!
