God’s Design for His Disciples – A Community
India is being influenced by the West in many ways.
Many facets of our individual, family, and community life are being aligned with western living, for good and bad. Our churches and theologies are no exceptions.
Individualism has crept into the church so much that we have almost disregarded the community life of the church. It has given popularity to discipleship programs which are not community-oriented but individualistic. Consequently, we are no more practically thinking of the faith as a community-oriented faith.
God’s Design for His Disciples
Throughout the Scriptures, we find that the Lord is about the business of forming communities for himself. He wanted Adam to multiply and rule the earth. He made a great nation out of Abraham. Finally, through Christ, He wanted to form a community of His disciples called the church for the ages to come.
He intended this church community to reveal his manifold wisdom (Eph. 3:10). This was God’s eternal plan and design for His disciples; church – a community.
While God certainly is in the business of saving individuals, these individuals are redeemed as part of a community that God loves – His church (1 Peter 2:10). It is not to nullify how God has chosen and used individuals, but we should not form a philosophy out of it, saying, the faith revolves around individuals.
God uses individuals for and in His community. This is God’s design. (Eph 4:11-16)
God’s Design And The Church Today
Presently, the church has lost the sight of this biblical design – church being a community. We think that church is about meetings and programs.
Most will agree that we have lost the importance of Christian community living. Many think that churches are merely incidental organizations within institutionalized Christianity. The present scenario also proves that we think of Christian faith as an individualistic faith, not a faith to be lived in community.
Ministers use the language like, “we don’t come here for people but to worship our God.” “Don’t be discouraged by him or her. Come to church for God, not for him or her.”
Most of our songs in church meetings are about ‘God and me,’ not ‘God and us.’ And even if we sing community songs, we sing them with our eyes closed, not addressing one another. This reveals an inadequate understanding of God’s design for His church – a community.
God’s Design And The Implications for Today
God eternally purposed to produce a new, beautiful, redeemed human society in which He himself would dwell.
Church, let’s realise that our God is not just the God of individuals but also of community. The Church today should understand that God’s design for the disciples is to live as a community.
Let’s not try to live our faith individually only, but in and with the community. Study the Bible together, give out help as a community, not just individually. Church leaders should teach and lead churches to live and serve as communities – God’s design for His disciples.
