The Church is the Ekklesia, the gathering of the called-out right…so?
January 312010
since the church is a gathering of the called-out congregation, should we feel bothered about not "gathering’ together with the church for fellowship? Is it okay for us to "forsake the assembling" together?
I ask this for those of us who prefer to gather alone or who do not gather with others, even in the twos or threes. Its just a question of curiosity on my part, no judgement. This does not apply to brothers and sisters who, due to illness or physical limitations are unable to, but to those of us who chose to.
Thank you for taking the time to participate in this question.
In Christ
sandy
Just to put to rest any questions.. I do gather together with the saints for fellowship in the twos, threes, and also all together to break the bread, drink the wine each week and to be built up.
I was thinking about this the other day. Some people complain about not sensing God’s presence in their lives, yet when you observe how much they connect with the Body of Christ it’s easy to see why they don’t sense God’s presence! If I want to enjoy someone’s presence I had better get around their body!
Now I know we have the Blessed Holy Spirit in us and without Him, ALL is lost. I don’t mean to diminish His presence and fellowship in our lives in anyway! But Christ also brought us into His Body. We need both the Spirit and the Body.
Obviously there are extraordinary examples where people can’t gather together with other believers – "Joseph in prison" type of situations or like you mentioned (severe) illnesses. In those cases, God provides grace to endure until there is a "reunion" or He brings others to that person.
But as you are aware Sister, 1 Cor. 12 speaks of the church being a body and within that body is MANY parts. If those parts are disconnected they will cease to live and the body suffers.
We cannot fully function if we cut ourselves off from the Body of Christ, let alone grow in God. There is this false idea among many followers of Jesus that if they want to grow spiritually then they need to go find a convent somewhere and isolate themselves. Many when under stress have said things like, "Well I just need to get alone with God and I’ll feel better." While there are times for "retreats" and one on one time w/God this isn’t a Biblical lifestyle. The Christians in the New Testament, lived together, ate together, worshiped together, witnessed together, bore each others burdens together, ministered together, were thrown to the lions together, died together. When they came to Christ, they came to His Body made up of MANY members!
Yet here in the West in this age, we are such an individualistic people. Some of it is personality. (I have a lot of Melancholy in me so I prefer being alone frequently). Some of it is the nature of living and working in a culture that demands long hours at the office. We must make an effort to connect with the Body of Christ on a regular basis.
I am disturbed at how many Christians in the West are SO proud of their nationality and focus on connecting with their fellow patriots yet when it comes to the Body of Christ, they have such a casual, non-committed, loose connection and relationship. If my pancreas decided to connect with the rest of my body the way some connect with other believers, I’d be dead!
No! We need each other! We need lots of each other and lots of others in the Body. Many members and each bring Christ in an unique to the others.
Of all things we are given when we come to Christ – salvation, the Bible, The Blessed Holy Spirit, a cross, grace, a gift, each other and one of the most important of these things is each other.
We need each other like our mouths need our hands and vice versa.
January 31st, 2010 at 7:31 am
I would say people do this only because they have not found a church that truly teaches God’s word, is alive with the spirit of Christ, and is a joyful experience. There are churches that are all these things, and I encourage believers to find one.
References :
January 31st, 2010 at 7:49 am
I have felt called to join large numbers in fellowship before. My calling is now one on one and small numbers.
I don’t judge people on whether they speak God’s word. I only get the message to shake the dust off my feet and go.
References :
January 31st, 2010 at 8:32 am
It is very important to maintain regular Christian fellowship as a means of maintaining your spiritual hedge. That fellowship does not have to include going to a particular building on a particular day at a particular time, IMHO. However, if one seeks to serve God in any meaningful way, associating with a particular congregation does tend to make such service simpler to perform. God bless you.
References :
January 31st, 2010 at 9:07 am
I was thinking about this the other day. Some people complain about not sensing God’s presence in their lives, yet when you observe how much they connect with the Body of Christ it’s easy to see why they don’t sense God’s presence! If I want to enjoy someone’s presence I had better get around their body!
Now I know we have the Blessed Holy Spirit in us and without Him, ALL is lost. I don’t mean to diminish His presence and fellowship in our lives in anyway! But Christ also brought us into His Body. We need both the Spirit and the Body.
Obviously there are extraordinary examples where people can’t gather together with other believers – "Joseph in prison" type of situations or like you mentioned (severe) illnesses. In those cases, God provides grace to endure until there is a "reunion" or He brings others to that person.
But as you are aware Sister, 1 Cor. 12 speaks of the church being a body and within that body is MANY parts. If those parts are disconnected they will cease to live and the body suffers.
We cannot fully function if we cut ourselves off from the Body of Christ, let alone grow in God. There is this false idea among many followers of Jesus that if they want to grow spiritually then they need to go find a convent somewhere and isolate themselves. Many when under stress have said things like, "Well I just need to get alone with God and I’ll feel better." While there are times for "retreats" and one on one time w/God this isn’t a Biblical lifestyle. The Christians in the New Testament, lived together, ate together, worshiped together, witnessed together, bore each others burdens together, ministered together, were thrown to the lions together, died together. When they came to Christ, they came to His Body made up of MANY members!
Yet here in the West in this age, we are such an individualistic people. Some of it is personality. (I have a lot of Melancholy in me so I prefer being alone frequently). Some of it is the nature of living and working in a culture that demands long hours at the office. We must make an effort to connect with the Body of Christ on a regular basis.
I am disturbed at how many Christians in the West are SO proud of their nationality and focus on connecting with their fellow patriots yet when it comes to the Body of Christ, they have such a casual, non-committed, loose connection and relationship. If my pancreas decided to connect with the rest of my body the way some connect with other believers, I’d be dead!
No! We need each other! We need lots of each other and lots of others in the Body. Many members and each bring Christ in an unique to the others.
Of all things we are given when we come to Christ – salvation, the Bible, The Blessed Holy Spirit, a cross, grace, a gift, each other and one of the most important of these things is each other.
We need each other like our mouths need our hands and vice versa.
References :
January 31st, 2010 at 9:43 am
"Do not forsake the gathering together of yourselves." This was written by Paul I think. Although it applies to us, to an extent, in a broad context – it was written to a specific group of people.
This verse has been used by some pastors as a scriptural basis to "encourage" (more like "force") confused and frustrated Christians to be part of their "religious show". PATHETIC!!!
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