Healthy Church Relationships: Living in Peace and Spiritual Maturity

Summary

Jesus transforms relationships with God and others. The Bible identifies three kinds of church people: natural, carnal, and spiritual. Conflict and division arise when believers live self-centered lives, while harmony grows among those yielded to God’s control. Spiritually mature believers forgive, serve, and pursue peace. Examine your spiritual condition and take intentional steps toward healthier, Christlike relationships within the church.

Why Relationships Matter to God

Jesus died to transform our relationships with God and with one another. Relationships can be both the building blocks and wrecking balls of life. How can we tune up our relationships with fellow believers?

Healthy Church Relationships

Through Jesus, we can have peace with God and others. Peace with God comes when we confess our sins and failures to God and ask Jesus to take control of our lives. Do you know why healthy church relationships do not honor God?

Three Kinds of “Church” People

It is because two of the three kinds of “church” people are not following God’s agenda. The first are natural people who are not yet believers. Strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, and envy punctuate their relationships.

They are not connected to Jesus. Nevertheless, many of them see themselves as spiritual people.

Marks of Spiritual Immaturity

The second group is carnal believers. They are still wearing spiritual diapers. “Me first” governs their lives.

They are as guilty of strife and jealousy as those outside of Christ. Billy Graham estimated that most professing Christians are in this group.

Characteristics of Spiritually Mature Believers

The third group is spiritual people. They are yielded to God’s control. They seek to know and do His will.

Jesus’ power is evident in their lives. Their faith connection to Him produces Jesus-like characteristics.

They pursue God’s will along with other spiritual people. They are responsive to the needs, joys, and sorrows of other believers. They sacrifice to benefit other believers. They are sensitive to their needs. They rejoice in their successes (1 Peter 3:8).

They avoid relationship-splitting attitudes and ways of dealing with conflict. They refuse to live with a non-forgiving, bitter attitude. They are not perpetually hypercritical, judgmental, or angry.

Choosing Harmony Over Conflict

They break a conflict into smaller issues and consider each. They seek to understand other viewpoints. They compromise so everyone wins and loses something.

They respond like Jesus when others mistreat them. They bless them (3:9). They love, do good, and pray for them.

They do not ask God to punish them immediately. They know He rarely does.

They are glad. If He did, they would be in sorry shape most of the time. God’s graciousness to them motivates them to treat those who offend them as God treats them.

They know that forgiving them is healthier than taking a daily vitamin pill. They pursue happy, harmonious relationships with others.

To which of the three kinds of “church” people do you belong? What is your next step to make your church more harmonious?  

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