How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.
1 Corinthians 14:26 NKJV
Let all things be done for edification. That’s a great idea. Edify is a fascinating word. It’s used many times in the New Testament. The Greek word is oikodomeo. It’s a derivative of the word for a house or an abode of some kind. It means to build a house or to be a house builder or to construct. One of the truly remarkable things about being a Christian is that we get to be both builders and part of the building!
- I can build myself up: “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. (1 Corinthians 14:4 NKJV)”
- I can build up others: “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. (Romans 14:19 NKJV)”
- When we each do our part, the whole church is built up: “from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:16 NKJV)”
- When we gather we are the building where God dwells: “in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:21-22 NKJV)”
Let’s head for church today with a mind to build, be built, and be a part of the building. See you there.
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