“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing— life forevermore” (Psalms 133:1-3). Through the Spirit, the psalmist declares that the gathering of believers together is pleasing to the Lord, and that seeing His people in one accord brings Him joy. The precious oil being referred to here is the anointing of the Holy Spirit, which is the empowerment to do – that is why we see that even at a time when the people had gathered against the Lord to build the tower of Babel, the Lord expressed that there was nothing that could stop them because they were united in one mind (Genesis 11:1-9). That place of unity carries a blessing and empowerment that God commanded in times passed, and it can be accessed by everyone who is a part of that community. We read again, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up…” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). From this passage we derive that if one is connected to another, that same is then able to pick the other up whenever they fall; yes, it does not say God will be the one doing the picking, but it is deliberately stated that it is your brother who comes to your rescue. But where will such rescue come from when you have isolated yourself? No single person can do life alone, Jesus Himself was always surrounded by His community, He did nothing and went nowhere by Himself! At His lowest moments, we see Him require support and prayer from His closest companions (Matthew 26:40-45), on the way to the crucifixion, we see a man carrying His cross – yes, THE cross – for Him (Luke 23:26), and at Golgotha, we see Him rely on His friend to care for His widowed mother whom He was leaving behind (John 19:26-27). While He was God, Jesus greatly needed the agency of men to survive on earth, so why do we then think we do not?
The scripture continues, “Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiates 4:12). This is the benefit of being part of a community, no challenge easily sweeps you away because you are dripped and smeared with different graces and anointings, you carry your brethren with you at every moment and you can thus pull out whatever card you need at the appropriate time. That same smearing is powerful even for areas of growth, you do not have to struggle through learning character traits and overcoming weaknesses when you can simply come into the company of those who have what you seek and partake of that available grace! The same caution had to be given to believers of old, “… not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). Even then people had tendencies of forsaking the church assembly, thinking they were well able to do God on their own and in our times, ‘online’, but the answer is no! Like minded believers are a necessity to your sustenance and growth, and the hour is not getting any better!
It is written, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:12). An unbelieving heart is classified as evil, but it is also given that the antidote to such a heart is the daily exhortation of the brethren to each other. Yesterday’s sermon is not enough to carry you through tomorrow’s troubles! You need daily encouragement and impartation, and this is available through the brethren you do life with! When we read of Apostle Paul before His conversion, we see that “he went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison” (Acts 8:3) – the man was causing havoc, an eager beaver against the church of Christ Jesus! But when he met the risen Lord on the road to Demascus, Jesus said to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4) – while He was risen and in heaven, the Lord identified Himself as one with those who believed in Him. This is where Apostle Paul received the revelation of the Body of Christ and the oneness of the church and the Lord – we are an extension of Jesus! So how can we disdain one another, do we not see that as long as we are in Christ, we are one? Consider the apostle’s words to the church in Corinth, “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ… For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body?” (1 Corinthians 12:12-16). He expresses that while we are many, we are one body in Christ, and we are not meant to ever see each other as competition, instead – we complement one another in our different functions, all to the glory of God! We should treat our diversity of graces with honour, lovingly understanding the different levels of growth among us in understanding that Jesus takes pleasure and makes use of each and every one of us! This is the value that we ought to put on the brethren, they are an extension of Jesus Himself and if we claim to love the Lord, we will not reject His body. Let us work to carry the same philosophy and practice, and surely we will have the same results!
Prayer
Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You Lord, for Your body and the abundance of grace that is at work in all of us. You have equipped each and every one of us for Your glory, we work efficiently when we stand together and we lack nothing! You are returning, for a church without spot or blemish! We praise Your Holy name! Amen!
1 Comment
Palesa
“Even then people had tendencies of forsaking the church assembly, thinking they were well able to do God on their own and in our times, ‘online’, but the answer is no!”
There really is no grey area in the word