The one another commands

Instruct One Another

A command of Christ for his church · Romans 15:14

Instruct one another is the call for ordinary believers to teach and counsel each other from the truth of God. Paul tells the Romans he is confident they are able also to admonish one another. Wisdom and the Word are not the property of the few; every believer, filled with goodness and knowledge, has something to give to the others.

And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.Romans 15:14 (KJV)

What this command means

The word Paul uses, admonish, means to counsel, warn, and instruct, to put truth into someone's mind for their good. He says the believers are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. This is a high view of the ordinary Christian: not merely to be taught but to teach, gently and wisely.

This is not a license to lecture or correct harshly. It is the loving work of helping each other think rightly and live wisely by the Word. It flows from goodness and knowledge together, truth carried in a kind heart, so that the counsel builds up rather than wounds.

Why it matters for the church

A church is meant to be a community of mutual instruction, not just an audience for a weekly sermon. When believers speak truth to each other all week, faith is fed constantly and error is corrected early. The health of a body depends on truth flowing through all of it, not just from the front.

This also guards against drift. Left alone, any of us can wander into error or foolishness without noticing. A brother who lovingly admonishes, a sister who speaks a needed word, keeps us on the path. Mutual instruction is one of the ways God preserves his people in the truth.

Mutual instruction is one of the marks of a mature church rather than an infant one. The writer of Hebrews rebukes believers who, when for the time they ought to be teachers, still needed to be taught the first principles again. God's design is that we grow to the place where we can feed each other, not remain forever dependent on being fed. A church full of members able to admonish one another is a church come of age.

How we fail at it

We fail on both sides. Some never speak truth to a brother out of timidity, thinking it is not their place, and so let each other drift. Others speak truth without love, correcting harshly, showing off knowledge, or lecturing where they should serve. Neither goodness alone nor knowledge alone can do this work.

We also fail by refusing to be instructed. Pride makes us unteachable, unwilling to receive counsel from an ordinary brother. But if we are all to admonish one another, we must all be willing to be admonished, humble enough to learn from anyone God sends.

How Christ enables it

Christ is the great teacher, the one who taught as no man ever taught, and he gives his Word and his Spirit to his people. He promised that the Spirit would guide us into all truth and bring his words to our remembrance. The truth we share with each other is his truth, entrusted to us.

Because the word of Christ dwells in his people, any of us can be a channel of his wisdom to another. We do not instruct in our own name or by our own cleverness, but from the fullness Christ has given. He is the source; we are simply passing on what we have received from him.

Christ is the great teacher, who taught as no man ever taught, and he has not left us to instruct each other in our own wisdom. He gives his Word and his Spirit, and he promised that the Spirit would guide us into all truth and bring his words to our remembrance. So the truth we hand to one another is his truth, entrusted to us and made alive by his Spirit. We admonish not in our own name or by our own cleverness but from the fullness he has given, simply passing on what we have first received from him.

How to live it

Grow full of the Word yourself, so you have something true to give. Let Scripture dwell in you richly, and let your knowledge be soaked in goodness and love. Then, when a brother needs a word, you will have one worth giving.

Speak the needed truth in love, gently and humbly, aiming at the person's good and not your own standing. And stay teachable: invite others to speak truth to you, and receive it without defensiveness. A church where everyone both gives and receives loving instruction stays healthy and true.

Fill yourself with the Word so that you have something true and worth giving, letting Scripture dwell in you richly and soaking your knowledge in goodness and love. Then, when a brother or sister needs it, offer the needed truth gently, humbly, and with their good in view rather than your own standing. Encourage a doubter with a promise, remind the discouraged of what is real, and warn a wanderer kindly before they drift too far. Just as importantly, stay teachable yourself, inviting others to speak truth into your life and receiving it without defensiveness. A healthy church is a community where everyone both gives and receives loving counsel, so that the truth of Christ flows through the whole body and no one is left to wander alone.

Related commands: Teach and admonish one another · Build up one another · Encourage one another · All the one another commands