Does Being in Community Really Matter?
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10
In sanctification we not only “participate in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) but also allow God to restore our true nature as human beings. The true nature of humanity is realized in Christian community. An individual becomes fully human only in relationship to God and His people. It is clear from God’s statement that “it is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18) that we as humans were not designed to live in isolation from others. To be human is to be co-human.
Our community nature as humans is also evident from the fact that we were created in the image of God, who is Triune. The Trinity is a fellowship of three persons, making God a social being. The Father would not be the Father except for His relationship to the Son and the Spirit. The Son would not be the Son without being related to the Father and the Spirit.
We exist, then, not as separate entities but as a part of humanity. The Bible’s often-used metaphor of the Church as a body makes this apparent. If we were to find a part that was separated from the rest of the body and we have no knowledge of its relation to the body, we would be unable to identify what it really was—its nature, purpose and function. A toe or kneecap by itself would appear to serve no useful purpose. We would simply identify it as a useless blob of flesh. It acquires its identity only in relation to other parts of the body. We not only have a personal relationship with God but, being part of the family of God, we also have a corporate relationship with our heavenly Father.
We require community to know fulfillment as humans, and our Christian growth also requires community for us to reach our full God-designed potential as born-again humans. To accomplish this, God “gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-13). We absolutely need God, and we necessarily need each other.
When we come to Christ, we come with all the others who are alive in Christ. Paul wrote, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). This oneness is expressed repeatedly in the book of Ephesians. We are all “fellow citizens” (2:19). We are “joined together . . . to become a holy temple in the Lord” and “built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (2:21-22). The gospel has made us all “heirs together,” “members together,” and “sharers together” (3:6).
Solitary sainthood is unknown to the New Testament. Sanctification is not just a matter of I or me. The New Testament commonly speaks of holiness using the terms “we” and “our.” The word “saint” is used 60 times in the plural, but only once in the singular. Therefore, dear Christian, welcome to the family of God.
A few questions to ponder:
Can a believer have a good relationship with God in exclusion of other believers? Explain.
How does fellowship in the family of God affirm our true identity in Christ?
In what ways are we in need of each other?
How is your relationship with God being helped or hindered by other believers?
Do you presently sense that you are part of the family of God? Why or why not?
Neil T. Anderson is the founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He began the ministry in 1989 and continues to spread the message of freedom to this day.