So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.
Parallel translations
- WEB So then, let us follow after things which make for peace, and things by which we may build one another up.
- KJV Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
- BSB So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
- NKJV Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.
- NASB So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Therefore pursue the things that make for peace and that build one another up. Mutual edification, not self-assertion, is the goal in disputable matters.
Overview
Paul gives a positive command summarizing his argument: actively seek peace and the upbuilding of fellow believers. The church's health, not the vindication of personal rights, is the aim. This pursuit requires intentional effort to strengthen rather than stumble the weak. It reflects the Spirit's work of knitting believers together and anticipates the mutual care Paul will keep urging.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 22
- Eph 4:29Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.
- Rom 12:18If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men.
- Ps 34:14Depart from evil, and do good. seek peace, and pursue it.
- Rom 15:2Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, to be building him up.
- Heb 12:14Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord,
- 2 Cor 13:11Finally, brothers, rejoice. Be perfected, be comforted, be of the same mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.
- 1 Th 5:11–12Therefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as you also do.
- Mark 9:50Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
- Matt 5:9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
- Col 3:12–15Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance;
- Phil 2:1–4If there is therefore any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion,
- 1 Cor 14:26What is it then, brothers? When you come together, each one of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has another language, has an interpretation. Let all things be done to build each other up.
- Jas 3:13–18Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of wisdom.
- 1 Cor 14:12–17So also you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek that you may abound to the building up of the assembly.
- 1 Pet 3:11Let him turn away from evil, and do good. Let him seek peace, and pursue it.
- Eph 4:3–7being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
- 1 Cor 10:33even as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved.
- Ps 133:1A Song of Ascents. By David. See how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in unity!
- 1 Cor 7:15Yet if the unbeliever departs, let there be separation. The brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us in peace.
- 2 Tim 2:22Flee from youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
- 2 Cor 12:19Again, do you think that we are excusing ourselves to you? In the sight of God we speak in Christ. But all things, beloved, are for your edifying.
- 1 Tim 1:4and not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes, rather than God’s stewardship, which is in faith —
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 14:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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