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Is there a life, a living in Christ without meetings? Oh No! And what could/should any meetings “in Christ” look like?
The New Testament has very little to say concerning gathering together as believers of Jesus Christ, at least in the manner most Christians today have experienced. Since most people today who do believe consider their meeting time (usually on Sunday morning) the most important act of faith each week, it seems odd that God doesn’t have more to say about it.
I’ve asked other Christian believers where the Bible says we should/must gather together in a church building every Sunday. Here’s a verse many go to:
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:25
The word for “assembling together” is sunagogia, from which we get the word “synagogue.” It indicates a smaller, intimate gathering. Obviously, in order to exhort one another, as is encouraged by this verse, we’re going to have to be in the presence of one another. The verse before this also indicates that people gather together, in order to “consider one another, to provoke unto love and to good works.” There is no indication as to a number of believers that needs to be involved in this assembling together. Two? Four? A dozen?
I Corinthians 14 is an entire chapter devoted to behavior in a gathering of the saints, some verses of which we will be taking a look at. Romans 16 spends a lot of time talking about gatherings of the saints (“churches”) which were meeting in people’s homes, as do portions of Colossians 4 and I Corinthians 16. No mega churches there! At the end of every one of the “general” epistles of Paul (Romans – Thessalonians), time is spent addressing individual believers, or addressing believers in an individual way, encouraging each believer in their relationships with one another.
And that is the main thrust of the truth of Christ which lives and grows in the hearts and lives of individuals; not that large gatherings are important or necessary, but rather that intimate, personal interaction is necessary and important. What happens if there is no specific weekly meeting which claims to be supplying your need to connect with others in Christ? Why then, the whole week can supply that need!
One man esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regards the day, regards it unto the Lord; and he that regards not the day, to the Lord he does not regard it. Romans 14:6
Do read the entire context of the above verse. This indicates that though it is not wrong to have a specific day in which to draw close to Christ and to one another in a group meeting, it is not necessary; and not only so, but that it is possible to draw closer to Christ through interactions with other believers every single day!
It is easier, when a specific day and a specific time and a specific place for meeting with others becomes central to one’s faith, to begin to relegate all spiritual interactions with others to that time and place. I have spoken of Christ to others during the week – Christians – and had them look at me like, “Why are you talking to me about Jesus… this isn’t church?!” When there is not one single day or time or place, then it becomes easier to seek that relationship and those interactions whenever and wherever they can be found.
I have had people who I am in conversation with about the things of Christ tell me, “Well you really ought to go to church. The Bible says not to forsake the assembling of ourselves,” to which I reply, “What do you think we’re doing right now?!”
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth, as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father Who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:19, 20
Two or three! Two or three! Not ten or twenty or thirty or a thousand! Two or three! The greater the number, the more challenging it is for it to be an intimate gathering, where each can receive and give as the Lord directs.
I encourage you to read I Corinthians 14 and to imagine yourself in it. In verse 5, the word “church” is used. “Church” is better understood today as a “gathering” or “assembly.” It’s a meeting of believers., with absolutely no indication of a large number.
How is it then, brethren? when you come together, every one of you has a psalm, has a doctrine, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. Let the prophets speak, two or three, and let the other (prophets) judge. If anything be revealed to another that sits by, let the first hold his peace. For you may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
I Corinthians 14:26, 29, 30
If everyone can have a chance to speak, the gathering can’t be very large in number. These “meetings” weren’t in order to accomplish a specific task, or to carry out a weekly duty to God, but rather were a result of growing spiritually in Christ, and in order to grow even more! They occurred because people got filled to overflowing during the week by their interactions with Christ, directly and via one another, and they wanted to share in the exciting life which was blossoming within them. The gatherings were for mutual spiritual encouragement, but they were never to take the place of the individual growing up into Christ; rather, they were a celebration of that very thing. You live each day in a growing appreciation of how the spirit of Christ is growing in your understanding and being expressed in your mind, heart and life, and you want to share that with others who are going through a similar experience! That is the assembling of ourselves together.
I am a part of several different “churches” or meetings, on a weekly basis. To each of these gatherings I bring the life of Christ which has grown within me, which has been experienced by me during the week. Likewise, I look for the opportunity to grow in Christ by hearing of how others have experienced God’s spirit in them. One of these meetings generally has three of us, one generally has six of us, and one generally has fourteen – eighteen of us. And with each one… there is Christ in the midst!
I know many believers who “don’t have a church they go to,” or who “haven’t found a fellowship.” My encouragement is to seek Christ throughout the week, in prayer, in Scripture reading and meditation, in interaction with friends and anyone you interact with (check-out clerks, fellow walkers, neighbors, the doctor, etc.). Seek one or two others with whom to get together on a regular basis in order to share how Christ is working within you (you singular and you plural); others who are open to your loving encouragement, and to whose hearts you are open. Seek the revelation of the Christ within together. Where and how often you get together is totally between you and Christ. Enjoy the freedom, the challenge and the reward of connecting with others in Christ, as you are led and filled by his spirit within.
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Other related studies:
Do I HAVE to go to Church? | Give Me Christ
Greet the Saints | Give Me Christ
How to love other Christians | Give Me Christ
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