The following has been adapted from Map 7 of The Map Maker, our first book, written to encourage, edify, and equip leaders in the workplace to become disciple makers and transformation agents. Pursuing such an adventure requires community – particularly in seasons of storms and chaos.
God never intends for His children to live in isolation. In fact, He encourages and commands our living in community – and for good reason. The journey of faith is fraught with trouble and tribulation, affliction and persecution, storms and chaos, and God cares too much to allow us to go it alone. Indeed, His greatest expressions of love occur in community.
As we learned previously in this series:
- God has a way for everything;
- He makes His ways clear for those things which are most important to Him; and,
- His ways stand opposed to the ways man has determined to live.
These principles apply to our living in community. In every worldly system (e.g., sports, business, government), the individual is recognized above the team. The man who is the captain of his own ship is praised and emulated. The “star” gets the big bucks. Life in the world is top-down hierarchical.
This is not the way of God! From the Old Testament (where God pleaded with the people not to desire a king) to the New Testament (where the Body of Christ becomes His wife), God commands His people to live in close community, for the sake of Christ and the advancement of His kingdom. Community living in the kingdom of God is organically centered around the Godhead.
Our living in community is one of God’s eternal purposes – to restore the habitation He lost in mankind’s rebellion. At the end of the biblical account, we find the restoration of His habitation in the community of His people.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.” Revelation 21:3
As with every other kingdom matter, living in community is much more than a sweet-by-and-by, when I get to heaven, promise. As we will discover here, living in community begins the moment we are baptized into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit (1Corinthians 12:13). Indeed, the Father has made this a critical success factor in all of His kingdom endeavors. It is impossible to overstate the importance of our pursuing God’s way for living in community.
The Meaning of Fellowship
Fellowship (koinōnia): Fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation; intimacy; a gift jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution, as exhibiting an embodiment and proof of fellowship. BlueLetterBible.org Outline of Biblical Usage
It is important to recognize that fellowship (i.e., people living in community) is a noun which assumes action. It describes a group of people who are doing something. That something is living together in the way of God for community.
Living in community ordained by God is not sitting or standing around together, though this is a small part. Not talking, playing or working together, though this is more a part. The whole of koinōnia is wrapped up in living… together. ALL living; and ALL together. It is no coincidence more than eighty-five percent of the you/your pronoun usages in Scripture are plural. The value of independence is one of the greatest deceptions and sins of our day.
The Mystery of Fellowship
I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. John 17:20-23
Jesus Christ desires our unity – that we be “made perfect in one”. He has been praying for more than 2000 years that we would be perfectly unified. He gave us the glory His Father gave Him for this very purpose!!
Notice Jesus asked His Father to make us one (versus helping us do it). It is a work which only the Father can accomplish. The Father will answer His Son’s prayer. We participate through active agreement to the prayer, and surrender to the Father’s work.
Recognize, if you can, how important and precious our fellowship with one another is to God. Every purpose of God includes His way for living in community (including the evangelization of the world, v. 23). Therefore, every purpose of God involves more than one person, and will by its nature draw people to it.
It would do us good to mourn with Jesus Christ over the dismemberment of the Body of Christ – His Bride to be. Make no mistake about it: She will be spotless and without wrinkle. The question we must ask ourselves is this: Are we participating with God in His unifying work, or are we allowing ourselves to be pulled apart by our enemies – Satan, our flesh and the world?
If you are pierced to the heart as I am, you will be asking the question, “Lord, what must we do?” If I may be so bold to suggest, I believe He would say:
God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1Corinthians 1:9
Trust your Father in Heaven to complete the work He has begun. Join Him, as the early followers did, by continuing steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers (Acts 2:42). Find and invest in the community He directs you to join. If you already have a close fellowship, ask Him how He might have you minister further into that group and/or connect it with others.
Christ’s Vision for Our Fellowship With One Another
What Christ began, He will complete. He will build His church. He has called us out to participate in the work with Him. But, what will that church look like? We have vision for its completion; namely, the Bride and the New Jerusalem.
But, is there something more tangible to guide our participation with Him? How will He build His church? Amazingly, He will build it through the very people He has come to inhabit. He has given us gifts that we might be edified (aka, built up, made) into His church.
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—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 4:11-16
This is the church Christ envisioned – the church who would be His Bride. We are to be that church; this is our destiny. Every follower of Jesus Christ has a desire in their heart for the church described in this passage:
- Equipped; meaning to be fixed for its intended use (like a bone or net).
- Unity of both faith and knowledge; even unto perfection measured by the full stature of Christ.
- No longer deceived.
- Able to speak the truth in love.
- Maturing in all things.
- Knit tightly together; like a hug instead of a handshake, or a beautiful tapestry.
- Effectively working; the Greek here is energeo; the energy of ministry.
- Every part doing its share; no 20% doing 80% of the work.
- A fellowship building itself up in love.
Are you having the same thought I’m having? How is this possible? We are so far from this; I can’t imagine how we will get there! The work required is more than we can think or imagine. For over 2000 years, we have proven, over and over again, what a mess we can make of it.
Praise God, it is not up to us. In fact, things are moving along in spite of our efforts. Even in this day of apparent decline, we can be encouraged He has not been caught by surprise. Next time, we will explore the attitudes and actions Jesus prescribes for creating and enjoying God’s way for living in community. In the meantime, please consider…
Denominations, and other groups who form around the doctrines of man, are not evil in themselves. Our battle is not against flesh and blood. However, it is time for us to become fierce in our fight against the spirit of divisiveness that has used our rebelliousness to interfere with God’s ways – particularly His way for our living in community.
For many, Christ’s vision for the church has not been seen, much less experienced. They may not know or believe it is possible. God has given you a vision and a desire for the church He is building in your sphere of influence. It is time to start sharing it. You can begin by passing on this article.
God bless you with the courage and grace to step into true heavenly community, right here on earth.
Have a strong day in the Lord and in the community He has given you,
Rob
#iamjustthepen