Why Community?!

You were made for it. 

Pull your Bibles out and turn to Genesis.  Right there in the first chapter (vv26-27) is a reference to the Trinity.  God is three in One.  Throughout the Bible, we see God in three active forms:  the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.  In the Trinity, we see Community.  And since God has always existed, Community has always existed.  Also of note, as Genesis 1:27 says, we were made in God’s image.  As image bearers, we were made for Community.

One could argue that the Trinity is a lofty ideal…difficult concept to grasp.  Okay…what about Jesus when He was here on Earth.  What did He do??  He spent time in Community.  His 3 years of public ministry were spent in close relationship with 12 other dudes.  In other instances, He was hanging with many more people.  Yes, He took time to away from the 12, but that time was spent in prayer communing with the other members of the Trinity.  

Jesus is Jesus…He is God.  Great example and the One we need to mimic, but (some would argue) can it be obtained in our busy American lifestyle?  Let’s look at the disciples after Jesus ascended and their influence in and on the Early Church.  The end of Acts 2 is a great view into what they were doing.  They were devoted to the disciples’ teaching, fellowship, praying together, sharing meals and possessions, and worshipping together.  They were not walking alone.  They were walking together.  In the busyness of surviving in a Rome conquered province, early believers knew that they could not walk the Christian life alone.  

Romans 8:14-17 shows us, that as believers with the Spirit of the Living God in us, we are children of God.  We are heirs…a family.  In Romans 12 and I Corinthians 12, Paul describes the “church” as a body.  The gathering of God’s people is a living organism.  God gives gifts to His children so that the body, Christ’s bride, is healthy.

How is it healthy?

• Each member should have equal concern for each other (I Cor 12:24-25).  
• Honor each other, Love one another with brotherly affection, Help each other, & Live in Harmony (Romans 12:9-18)
• Help and Share burdens with confession and prayer (Gal 6:1-3; James 5:16-20)
• Devote themselves to teaching, Fellowship, Sharing with each other, & worshipping together (Acts 2:42-47)

Jesus is our Bread of Life and Living Water.  Our soul is healthy when He fills us up.  That filling can happen in many ways, one of which is the Spirit’s work in and through other believers around you…Community.  Get in, you were made for it!!