Our text is a lesson in how to see the church of Jesus Christ. Let me ask
you, what do you see when you look around you or across the aisle? You probably just see a person filling a seat. If you were asked to describe them you would point to their age, their gender, their family affiliation, their personality, their particular gifts or intelligence. Those are the categories we would use. But Paul doesn’t “see” his fellow believers like that. He describes them with gospel categories. He uses words like “beloved, sister, fellow worker, first convert in Christ, beloved in the Lord, chosen in the Lord, etc.”. You see? Totally different categories. When Paul looked at the church, he saw a community built by Christ, united in Christ, and engaged in the mission of Christ – and he describes them that way.