Genesis 2:18 The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone….’
God intended for us to perform most effectively in community. Even before sin was introduced into the garden, God, the Creator, determined that something was lacking. Upon examining all that He had made and deemed to be good, He became aware of a deficiency. Even though Adam had a relationship with God, he still lacked a companion who could share his life with him on his own terms. God declared that it was not good for Adam to be alone.
God never intended for you and I to be isolated from the rest of the world. During the process of creating Eve and bringing her to Adam, God commanded both of them to have children and to multiply. Why? Because we were created to live in community.
Even as Christians we are called, the body of Christ, a priesthood of believers, and the family of God. All of these descriptions point to community, doing life together with such demonstrative power that a watching world is attracted to Christ by the way we love one another! This became distinctive of the New Testament Church.
Look at how Luke depicts the beginnings of the church:
Acts 2:40-47 “With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Indeed, there is strength in community! That is the kind of church that I hope you are a part of. The New Testament concept of the church has nothing to do with a physical structure, but it has everything to do with the community that takes place within those structures. It is the people of God who have come together in order to carry out the work that God has for our world!
The church is the only organisation that will last for all of eternity! We make up the body of the church, and Christ is the head of the church. As members of the same body, we are united with one another.
When the church was established, they were able to worship together in big groups, gather together in small groups in homes where they did life together, shared meals, and celebrated communion with a great deal of joy and gratitude because of the passion that the New Testament church had for its members.
Luke claims that the entire city of Jerusalem looked favourably upon the church because the sense of community was so appealing. Furthermore, he says that God joined to them all those who were being rescued on a daily basis, not just on Sundays!
If you do not belong to such a community, or have drifted away, I would really encourage you to connect to the Body of Christ soon and allow God to show you the power and impact such a God-centred and God-empowered community can have in your life.