Unity and Community

Read 1 Timothy 5.

There is no place like a local church.  Everyone is freely invited to attend and participate.  Men and women, boys and girls, young and old, wealthy and poor, racially diverse, saved and lost, and on various levels of spiritual growth meet together.  They sing together.  They pray together.  They learn together.  They worship God together.  They serve together.  The assembly of the local church is where real community may be seen in action.

The locale of the church (a city, town, rural area) is referred to as a community but, in fact, may not be.  Community is rooted in unity.  Many civic communities are enormously divided along every line imaginable.  What unites people is a common interest, a common cause, a mutual enjoyment, and/or a mutual commitment.

In every writing by the Apostle Paul there was an appeal for unity.  The Holy Spirit guided this by dealing strongly with the issues that divided the local church and by delivering instructions regarding relationships.  Here in chapter 5, the congregation is commanded (v.7) to treat each other as a healthy family.  Encouraging one another in love as fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers should be the norm.  How a congregation treats widows is one indication of the health of a local church family.

What brings a church of Christ together in unity is our faith in Jesus, our desire for the word of God, our mutual pursuit to grow in our relationship with God, and our obedience in sharing Gospel with others.  Maintaining such unity requires work.

The responsibility for community within a local church falls upon the leadership.  "...to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God..." (Ephesians 4:12-13a)  Jesus said, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35)