Earlier, emphasis was given that the called-out exists in any given area whether gathered together or not gathered, but that this does not negate the importance of brethren being together. Let’s turn our focus on the emphasis of this pattern, also.
Over fifty times, the Bible uses the phrase “one another” as it describes the interaction of individual Christians in daily life. I have closely observed over thirty years that the congregational pattern does not bring us together by just meeting at the “appointed times” printed on the sign outside a church building. Even in those gatherings, the interaction is often limited to the forms of a public worship service that has us sitting in a pew looking at the back of someone’s head. During these times, a “church building” may be full of people who do not know one another, except for the few friendships that are naturally formed from common interests outside spiritual pursuits.
Making matters worse, we are fully aware of the challenge to minister to one another in a society that is very unlike the middle east where “community” is an essential way of life. American lifestyle promotes privacy where the need to set up appointments rules the day. Unfortunately, brethren apply the same cultural rules with one another. Conforming to the rules and patterns that origínate with men, religious people are blinded to think that they have fulfilled their obligations when meeting in a church building for an hour. All of this reflects a common thread of non-committal membership to an organization instead of offering themselves as slaves to a loving Savior. Spiritual leaders who are conscious of this need, work diligently to encourage more interaction among brethren. To deny that there is a problem is a self-admission to blindness or delusion. The mere conversations during the few gatherings that are called outside a church building are often focused on interests and pursuits of this life such as playing games or some other form of entertainment. When the bonds that hold Christians in common do not exist, something is terribly wrong. The beautiful fruit of the Spirit that produces a picture of fellowship among God’s people finds them loving the same conversations, longing for the same things, praying together, and sharing the same relationship. Such fellowship cannot produce the disconnectedness that is common in the membership of a local church organization.
- THE IMPORTANCE OF TOGETHERNESS
The importance of God’s people coming together is shown by the frequency of words that express Christians being together. The Greek words “synago”, “synerchomai” and “homothymadon” are used to describe the meetings of Christians. Calling the assembly (ekklesia) together or coming together is explicitly present in 1 Cor. 11:18, 14:19, 28, 35.
It is their connectedness that is significant in their meetings. It was a critical part missing among brethren in Corinth (1 Cor. 11) who were coming together, physically, but were not “together.” The first day of the week meeting is just one day but a very important day that brings brethren together to eat the bread and drink the cup together in memory of the common Savior. Brethren in Corinth were not “together.” Instead, they were very divided and could not eat the Lord’s supper in a worthy manner. Each was taking their own supper before others. There is no indication that they were making a feast out of the Lord’s Supper, as has been expressed by some. The fact that they were asked, “Do you not have houses to eat in” and that “each was bringing their own supper” suggests that the supper was taken to their gatherings and used as an occasion to despise those who had nothing to eat. One was drunk while another was hungry. With such divisive attitudes toward one another and impure motives for coming together, Paul states that they were coming together was for the worse for they could not possibly eat the Lord’s Supper properly. It is in this context that Paul states that if they are so hungry that they can’t wait to share their food with the poor, they should eat at home. It is clear that what was going on was not the mere physical eating of the bread and fruit of the vine. They could do that when they came together. Paul states that they can’t possibly take the Lord’s supper because, while they should be members of one another, they were not together in heart to fulfill their family obligations to “one another”. Because they did not discern the body but rather despised the poor among them, they were only together, physically.
Only once is the corresponding Jewish word ‘synagogue’ used for the church (Jas. 2:2), and there the idea of a meeting or assembly is uppermost. It may well be that the early Christians adopted the term ‘church’ because it was the closest word to ‘synagogue’ they could choose that did not contain as strong a tie to Judaism. It follows that the nearest contemporary analogy to the church meeting was provided by the synagogue and not by the temple. The environment of Christians in the Hellenistic world, however, was that of pagan worship conducted in temples and shrines. Yet, there is no evidence that God approved of Christians modeling their gatherings on paganism or temple worship. It appears rather that many did follow the familiar model taken from the synagogue.
As to the purpose of synagogues, we deal with that later. Briefly stated, here, it was primarily the place for the reading of the Torah. It is certainly true that the center of Jewish religion up to AD 70 was the temple. The synagogue was thought of as an addition to the temple, but after AD 70 it remained while the temple was gone. The practice of offering sacrifices and other Jewish forms were “spiritualized.” Be advised, however, that the synagogue was neither the church meeting nor a part of the tradition of the apostles. The practice of the apostles’ attending these meetings, according to Luke, was for evangelistic purposes. The presence of Jewish Christians in a synagogue only gave evidence of Jewish Christians still following Jewish tradition. Nevertheless, this does not alter the fact that in the formative years of the church the synagogue was a place of instruction and of prayer which bore testimony to the one God who was glorified by these activities.
The assembly of saints, that is, the gathering or collecting of saints into the body of the saved, have the greatest common relationship on earth. It exceeds the love of the physical ties of mother and father, and brother or sister (Matthew 12:46-50, cf. 19:29; Romans 16:13) or nationalistic ties. Being a vital part of each other’s lives, the relationship encourages openness to confess sins (James 5:19), rebuke sin (Gal. 6:1-2) and invites daily encouragement or admonishment. Just as any member of our physical body depends on other members of the body for help and care, fellow brothers and sisters naturally show mutual care for one another (1 Corinthians 12). That this is a significant pattern in the lives of God’s people is the undertaking of this chapter.