“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7 KJV).
God has given the body of Christ two key commandments. The first is to love God with all of our being. The second is to love our neighbor as yourself. While it seems impossible to love some people, with God all things are possible.
He will not require something of His people that He did not equip us to do. We are able to get along with and fellowship with each other because of the blood of Jesus. As we walk in the light of the word of God, the blood of Jesus daily cleanses us from all sin.
When we fight with each other we don’t realize what we are doing. We forget that the same blood that was shed for us was shed for them. The same Jesus that loved us loves them.
When you really think about it, we are fighting over something quite insignificant compared to what Jesus did for us. Think about it. Where would we be if God had not come to our rescue? What would have happened to us if God had stayed mad at us?
With that in mind, we must quickly settle our disputes with our brother before we can go before our Lord in prayer. Jesus said, “Don’t come to the altar and offer your gift while you have strife with your brother. Lay your gift down and go back to your brother and get it fixed. Then come back and offer your gift, and it will be received.”
When the strife is settled, we can now have fellowship with our brother, because the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. That is not referring exclusively to our initial salvation. It is talking about our daily walk. In other words, there is a daily cleansing of the blood.
We can get along with our brother and have fellowship with him because we are daily cleansed by the Word.
Scripture References: Matthew 5:23-25; Ephesians 4:25-27
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Keith Butler has been an ordained minister since 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds diplomas from Canada Christian College and Rhema Bible Training Center.
He serves in ministry with the support of his lovely wife, Pastor Deborah L. Butler, and their children: Pastor Andre Butler (granddaughters Alexis, Angela, and April), Pastor MiChelle Ferguson and husband Pastor Lee (grandson Lucas), and Minister Kristina Jenkins and husband Pastor Joel (grandsons Andrew and Austin, and granddaughter Alyssa).