Meeting Together

In the letter to the Hebrews the author implores us "not to give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25 NIV)

The Greek word Paul most often uses to identify a community of believers is ekklesia (church). He also often uses the phrase ekklesia kyriou (church of God). The word ekklesia also emphasizes the gathered community, and can refer to a local gathering or refer universally to all who gather together in the name of Jesus Christ.

Paul often refers to the gathered assembly of believers in Jesus as the body of Christ. It is not know nor agreed upon by scholars as to how Paul came up with the idea of the church being the body of Christ, but all agree on its importance. For it is the gathered believers who can best carry out the instructions of Jesus. Feeding the hungry; visiting those in prison; caring for the sick; clothing the naked; comforting those who sorrow; spreading the Good News of the Gospel and teaching the lessons of Jesus. Of course all of these things can and should be done by individual believers in Christ. But as Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, the group of believers make up the different parts of the Body of Christ, just as the human body is a collection of different parts that all fit and work together. And just as the human body cannot work effectively if one or more of its parts are missing, so the Body of Christ, the church, cannot be as effective as it should be if the believers are not combining their skills, knowledge and efforts. For as Paul states in 1 Corinthians, each member of the church is given special gifts (talents) by the Holy Spirit to use for the benefit and glory of God. This is, no doubt, part of the grand plan and purpose of God to bring together those he has called into one family; the family and kingdom of God. It, therefore, logically follows that those who do not gather with the other parts of the Body of Christ are limiting their inclusion in the family of God. And, by limiting your inclusion in the family, you limit the benefits you can receive from the family. For Paul exhorts the members of the family to build each other up, comfort each other, pray for each other, and keep each other spiritually on track. These are aides to Christian living that everyone needs; and they make life in the Spirit much easier and just more fun.

So, as Paul says, let us all continue to meet with other Christians for worship, service, comfort and assistance, and fun. And as the body of Christ gets larger and stronger, each of us will benefit from the growth and strength of the whole.

May the grace of God, the love of Jesus, and the peace of the Holy Spirit be with you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Faithless Church-Goers

Scripture reference: Acts 3:1-10 The pews across America are filled every Sunday with people who autonomically go to church. They do it like breathing or going to the bathroom. They do it without thought. They do it in the same way at the same time with the same mind set. It is a routine function of their life, just like eating and sleeping. These are the sort of people depicted in our reference scripture. These friends of the lame man who bring him to the same Temple gate at the same hour of every Sabbath. They do it autonomically without any conviction or faith. It is just something they have gotten used to doing. Just like so many church-goers of today. Who were these men who brought this lame man to the Temple and just left him outside the gate every week? Why did they do this? Why did they not take the man into the Temple? What, if anything, were they expecting to result from this activity? These are the same questions we could ask of people who just go to church on a
Read more

Jewish Resistance to the Gospel

If you carefully study the book of Acts, as well as study the early history of the Church and the last years of Jewish Jerusalem, you will discover that the greatest threat to followers of Jesus were orthodox Jews. Just as the Pharisees, Scribes, and members of the Priesthood clan opposed Jesus during his life, and then persecuted his disciples (to the point of death were Stephen and James the Just were concerned) after Christ's death within the scope of Israel, they then persecuted Paul and tried to destroy the young Church in Asia. The orthodox Jews saw the young Church of the gospel of Jesus Christ as a threat to their power and favored lifestyle. Its message of equality of all in the eyes of God, and its emphasis on humility and service, was in complete opposition to the view taught and tightly held by the Jewish ruling class. As a result, the orthodox Jews sought to assure the teachings of Jesus were completely excluded from Jewish life. If you closely study the society of
Read more

The Navigator

Many of us know the type. The kid who starts reading at age three. The child who is doing algebra and geometry at at five. The wunderkind who graduates from high school with honors at the age of twelve, and goes on to graduate from some prestigious university with multiple degrees five years later. This was the scholastic history of Claudius Abraham Dexter. By his eighteenth birthday, he was celebrated, honored, famous, and way too impressed with himself. If you looked up the phrase obnoxious conceit online, you found C. A. Dexter's picture. And he did not care. Upon entering into Star Fleet Academy in 2238, cadet Dexter was warned by his advisory officer that he needed to practice polite humility rather than pained condescension when dealing with his fellow cadets. He was told to remember that Star Fleet in general, and a Starship in particular, are a team. And, if Dexter was to be a successful member of that team, he would have to play nice with all the other team member
Read more