Thursday: Character and Community
A song goes like this: “I am a rock, I am an island.” Have you ever felt like that — wanting to stand alone? You may even have heard people say, “Well, my walk with God is a private affair. It’s not something I want to talk about.”
Read Ephesians 4:11-16. What’s the point Paul is making here? What role does he give here for community?
Image © Rolf Jansson from GoodSalt.com
When Paul writes to the Ephesians, he describes the church as a body. Jesus is the head, and His people make up the rest. If you look at Ephesians 4:13, you will notice the ultimate purpose of living in such a community — it is to experience “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (NIV). And for that we need each other!
It certainly is possible to be a Christian all alone. Indeed, like for many people through the centuries who have been ridiculed or persecuted, standing alone is often unavoidable. It is a powerful witness to the power of God that men and women do not buckle under the pressures that surround them. However, while this is true, Paul is wanting to emphasize a critical truth: ultimately, we experience and reveal the fullness of Christ when we are working together in fellowship with each other.
In Ephesians 4:11-16, what does Paul say must happen before the fullness of Christ may be revealed in our Christian community?
In what way is the witness of a community that is revealing the fullness of Christ different from an individual that is revealing the fullness of Christ? What are the implications of this in the context of the great controversy? See Ephesians 3:10.
| It’s easy to be nice when you are by yourself or with strangers, but it is much harder being nice to people you either know really well or don’t like. This means that when we still show these people grace and kindness, we provide an irresistible witness to the truth about God. |
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One of the computer projects I worked on in research was based on the notion that computers should be considered independent and collaborative. In other words, a computer should be able to work on its own and yet collaborate with other independent computers in such a way that they can understand one another and cooperate to their advantage. My particular area of research was the mechanisms for concurrency control so that two computers could work on the same set of data without interfering with one another.
Nowadays, most computers have multiple processors on one chip but the problem is essentially the same: how to ensure that the individual processors work together without interfering with one another.
And in life, the problem is essentially the same as the computer concurrency problem. I have mentioned before the highway rebuilding project that took place near here recently. Hundreds of people were employed to essentially dig up the old highway and create a new bigger one while the traffic (50,000 vehicles a day) was still flowing over it. It was an enormous logistical problem and a demonstration of what could be achieved by individuals doing their own job, yet collaborating and communicating with one another when needed.
John Donne, a sixteenth-century poet, wrote this:
In a spiritual sense, we are individuals, responsible for choosing our own salvation, yet as part of that, we are also charged with the commission to interact with others (concurrency) to share the good news of salvation.
Jesus' words on collaborative concurrency control are something that I take very seriously:
Just being a community or part of a community does not automatically guarantee that genuine benefit will result. It is the nature and character of that community that will determine the resultant impact. How many 'secular' people have observed Christian community as, for example, "hypocritical"?
Yes, being part of community is potentially beneficial, for we were designed by a Divine community (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) to also be community (Genesis 2:18; Psalm 133:1) - but only when that community is characterised by other-centred love in action (John 13:35; 1 John 3:18).
1 Corinthians 3:1-4
Last verse...
4 For whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not acting like mere humans!
Unfortunately, That's the smorgasbord we have today..
We will either be in a denomination of our physical birth, or friends and workmates that influence us, or seek a denomination that we see is closer to God's word as we #currently# understand it. !
If we have genuine godly motivation and read the WORD, and make it a personal conviction to follow Christ, the Spirit of Christ will leads us where he wants us to grow or share our gifts he gives us, through his Spirit in us !
Shalom in his peace, that surpasses all understandings, that can flow like a stream from him, through you, to all in its course/way.
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Talking about being a community that witnesses for God, by their actions and words. A man was asked if he was a Christian, and he replied I don't know go ask my neighbor. Go ask the community surrounding your church if your church is a Christian church. Do I say I represent Christ or do my neighbors know I represent Christ because they see him in me?
Priceless !
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This is spot on Myron🙏🙏
so God loved the world ,that he sent is only begotten son, that whoever so loved him shall not perish .This verse shows God belong to community .He is father ,is uncle, is our friend and all in all is our everything
Powerful indeed, "go ask my neighbour"...food for thought.
The Truth of God(doctrine) is important! Not to be compromised.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Matthew 7:21-23 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/mat.7.21-23.KJV
and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
2 Timothy 3:15-17 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/2ti.3.15-17.KJV
Wow, a Simon & Garfunkel quote. That's something different.
But the first paragraph also reminds me of a discussion elsewhere this week. The participants made a fair, but unfortunate, point -- many of our members (and sometimes entire congregations) have a fear-oriented, conspiracy-heavy theology.
There's also a group who loves to argue. There's not much love in any of their discussions, but they sure do like to be "right," and tell you exactly how wrong you are in the most dismissive fashion possible.
I've been surrounded by folks like this much of my life, and I'll be honest: I don't want to discuss religion with them either. Who would? It's not uplifting, it's toxic and a constant beatdown.
I guess my question/comment is: What can we, either individually or as a larger community, do about this? What causes this mindset, and how do we address it? I think they mean well, but it isn't glorifying God, it's magnifying Satan. And I ask because I suspect there are many more who either avoid discussions, or have walked away entirely.
Deuteronomy 4:29-10 words of Moses, after the 40 years of wandering and after God's people's failure to enter Canaan the first time, that they would still fail to show God's love to the world and God would disperse them throughout all the nations as a result but if from there "The latter days," they would seek God with their whole mind, heart, and soul they would find Him. So when did the "latter days" have their beginning since now we seem to be at the very end of these "latter days?"