I fellowship with other Christians to accomplish God's purposes in my life, others' lives, and in the world.
"All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he 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 favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Acts 2:44-47
Believers were not created to go through this life alone. His Church is a perfect expression of this reality. Though we are each individual members of Christ’s Body, we are not whole unless we are integrated with the other parts. Beyond these theological truths, we also find that Christians flourish when they are part of a small group of committed believers who are intentional in their spiritual formation together. This is what we call Biblical Community.
In Acts 2:44-47 we see the early Church providing us a model of what Biblical Community can be:
“All the BELIEVERS”
Now, this is not to say that you cannot invite your unbelieving friend to join you for your weekly community gatherings. However, it is important to note that as you journey through all of life’s ups and downs together, you are going to want other brothers and sisters in Christ, who hold fast to God’s Word as authority, to lean on.
“were TOGETHER”
This is a pretty obvious one—you have to meet together to have Biblical Community. Unfortunately, too many times, people become distracted with the busyness of life, and they place Biblical Community on the back burner. It is important to find a group of people who recognize that life can get busy, but that will fight for regular time together (Hebrews 10:25). I’ve always known this to be true: You make time for the people who are important to you.
“everything in COMMON”
People are naturally drawn to others who are in similar stag-es of life or have similar interests. But the key thing to have in common with others in Biblical Community is the love of Christ and a heart for the gospel to saturate every area of life. This is why diversity in Biblical Community can be so healthy—we keep the main thing the main thing and look to learn from others who may have a different experience from our own.
“selling/giving to anyone in NEED”
One of the greatest joys of being a part of a Biblical Community is when you get to bless or are blessed by the generosity of others in your group. To know that needs can be brought to your community from within provides amazing opportunities for generosity to be expressed.
“They BROKE BREAD…with glad/sincere hearts”
Think back on your life. So many times when great things have happened, food was probably involved. Eat together. Be nourished together.
“PRAISING God”
Now it’s not much of a Biblical Community if you never spend time growing closer to God. Center your time together around approaching his throne in prayer. Open his Word together. Serve together. As you do, God will use the members of your group to strengthen one another (Proverbs 27:17) and cause you reflect his image more and more.
The importance of Biblical Community cannot be emphasized enough. Believers were not created to go through this life alone. Search hard for community. When you find it, fight for it. Give of yourself and watch the Lord bless your understanding of what it means to dwell in unity (Psalm 133:1).
PRAYER
Father, thank you so much for providing me with others to journey alongside in this life. Help me to never take this gift for granted. Spur me on to ways to bless those around me. Use me to draw others closer to you. We want to be a light in our communi-ty that reflects your glory day to day. Amen.