Chapter 4: Interconnected Lives

In Acts 2:42, Doctor Luke says the Christians in the Jerusalem church were “continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” These were the four essential activities of church life—learning, partnership, eating together, and prayer. But just to identify these four activities is insufficient—note also their constancy. The early church believers devoted themselves to these practices “continually.” They didn’t compartmentalize their Christian experience. They didn’t live out the “one anothers” on just one day a week. There were constantly involved in corporate Christian activity.

They learned together. Remember that the New Testament manuscripts hadn’t yet been penned. The saints couldn’t conduct personal Bible study on subjects such as the gospel and the purpose of the church. Instead, they gathered and listened to preaching. They devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching. It was a communal affair. Steve Lawson observes, “These spiritual babies—all three thousand of them—were constantly coming to the apostles to be fed spiritual truth. There was no need for gospel gimmicks or spiritual sideshows to entice them to come, for these starving souls were craving the pure milk of the Word.”[1]

Rather than run to the mountains to discover private spirituality these saints ran to public preaching. They regularly gathered in order to position themselves under the sound of God’s Word and to be transformed by it. They knew the repetitive washing of God’s preached Word was the key to their cleansing. They understood that frequent feasting on hearty servings of God’s preached Word would cause spiritual growth.

Are you following their example? Are you continually being exposed to Bible preaching? While you may remember a handful of memorable sermons that transformed your thinking, it’s actually through the constant, week-in-week-out preaching of God's Word that lasting change really happens. Christopher Ash explains,

The Bible is not designed to give me a series of instant fixes. It is God’s instrument to shape and mould my mind and my character into the likeness of Christ. And that takes time. . . . So we need, not a random series of sermon fixes, but to sit together regularly, week by week, under the systematically preached word of God. And as we are taken through the teaching of the Bible by patient exposition, gradually Christlikeness is worked in our characters, our affections, our desires, our decisions and our lives.[2]

That’s why Peter says, “Therefore, I shall always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you” (2 Pet 1:12). It’s that constant reminder to us of who God is, what the gospel is, and how we ought to live in light of our salvation, that really brings about change. We are forgetful people, and we need those regular reminders. That’s why meeting together often is so essential. We need both the repetition of biblical truth via preaching and the practice of those truths via the “one anothers” in order to keep growing. Joshua Harris writes:

It’s more than listening to preaching on the radio or chatting on the phone with a Christian in another city. Yes, you could get a teaching or fellowship ‘fix’ in those contexts. But none of them can substitute for a local church that displays the distinct qualities of a God-honoring community. None can provide an individual believer with the leadership of a pastor or the care and encouragement of a many-textured, but mutually committed, church family.[3]

According to John MacArthur, “All preaching in the church is meant to create a human fellowship, rising spontaneously out of the divine fellowship.”[4] That’s why the believers in Jerusalem didn’t stop with listening and learning—their fellowship continued the learning process.

Partnership in gospel-living is essential. According to Proverbs 18:1, isolation indicates a person’s selfishness: “He who separates himself seeks his own desire.” The opposite of isolation is partnership—the desire to undertake a joint venture—a devotion to one another. Luke explains that the Jerusalem church devoted themselves to fellowship and describes the practicalities of this Christian fellowship in Acts 4:32–35:

And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales, and lay them at the apostles' feet; and they would be distributed to each, as any had need.

The church looked like a family. The believers cared for one another. They looked out for one another. There was a communal aspect to their lives like that which they had never experienced before. It involved the sharing of money, food, homes, prayer, love, spiritual blessing, and teaching. This partnership was all encompassing.

But don’t miss the fact that this fellowship arose out of church-wide learning. It was the preaching ministry of the Apostles that prompted and facilitated their fellowship. John MacArthur notes, “Fellowship occurs when Christians get together to discuss the Word of God and share concerns in the power of the Holy Spirit.”[5]

Today, it seems some Christians value preaching as an intellectually motivated pursuit of Bible-knowledge and undervalue the kind of Christian fellowship that energizes righteous living in the corporate sense. Surely, our commitment to truth and sound doctrine is very important, but as John Stott recognizes: “The church will flourish and Christians will be strong only when there is fellowship.”[6]

Other Christians enjoy their friends like they enjoy entertainment. They pursue social activity on a purely superficial level. They call it “fellowship” but forget that genuine fellowship is framed and directed by the “one anothers” of the New Testament which are learned in community sermon-listening. J. I. Packer writes: “It is not a good sign when a person sees no difference between sucking sweets and eating a square meal. Equally it is not a good sign when Christians see no difference between social activities in Christian company and what the New Testament calls fellowship in Christ.”[7]

Sadly, some Christians attend church like a visitor. They arrive late so as to avoid personal contact. They sit anonymously in the crowd not wishing to be known. They listen to the sermon with selective ears, hoping they’ll not need to comment on it. They leave promptly at the final “Amen,” rushing to their car so as not to be cornered by an inquisitive church member. And they repeat the routine, week after week, convincing themselves that their “fellowship” is working out just fine. To this, John MacArthur replies: “God never intended the church to be a place where lonely people come on Sunday, sit alone among the crowd, and leave, still lonely and hurting. Rather, in the church warm, intimate fellowship takes place. Fellowship is essential both for the church as a whole and for each individual member.”[8]

Fellowship is that essential partnership in which we share our lives with one another. Devoted believers eat together as much as they can. And they are always praying together. This kind of intense kinship means that we get to know each other very well. It means that we enjoy closer relationships inside the church family than we do with unsaved family members. It means our Christian relationships are the most genuine and transparent we know. It means our spiritual journey is a coach-ride with a group of devoted friends and not a solo parachute jump watched by no one. Are you walking with others? Are you sharing your life with devoted Christians who care for you? Are you also caring for them?

If we are to grow, two things are needed: genuine fellowship and preaching.  Next week’s blog will challenge you to develop a healthy appetite for the latter.

---

[1] Steven J. Lawson, Famine in the Land (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2003), 42.

[2] Christopher Ash, Listen Up!: A Practical Guide to Listening to Sermons (New Maiden, Surrey, England: The Good Book Company, 2009), 16.

[3] Joshua Harris, Stop Dating the Church (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2004), 49.

[4] John MacArthur, Jr., The Body Dynamic (Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Publishing, 1996), 115.

[5] Ibid., 117.

[6] J. I. Packer, God's Words: Studies of Key Bible Themes (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1981), 194.

[7] J. I. Packer, “Body Life,” Tenth 11:3 (July 1981): 63.

[8] John MacArthur, The Keys to Spiritual Growth: Unlocking the Riches of God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2001), 160.