by jimwalton » Tue Oct 27, 2020 6:16 pm
The regenerated life, characterized by love, patience, goodness, forgiveness, kindness, and peace can only be lived out with others. If it's just you and your inner room, you are failing to live out most of what God gave you to do.
One of the "big deals" about Christianity is community. It's not just a matter of individual salvation, but also about belonging to a community of people, having friends, helping each other out, encouraging each other, and all that stuff. The most important things that the Bible teaches us are about "loving your neighbor as yourself," and if you aren't part of a community of people, you can't learn much of anything about love, especially loving people that are different from you, especially loving people that are hard to love, patience, forgiveness, tolerance, encouraging others, helping others, and learning to be the people of God together. If you aren't part of a community, you probably don't have much of any way to use your spiritual gift(s), whatever it might be. That's why the Bible says, "I want you in community with each other."
In addition, the gifts of the Spirit are given for the common good (1 Cor. 12.7). If you're not in community with other believers, then you can't use your spiritual gifts. The manifestation of the Spirit is His work in the community of His people. the whole point is that the Spirit works gifts us as we are together, not by ourselves. The gifts are for the good of the gathered Church.
Last bumped by Anonymous on Tue Oct 27, 2020 6:16 pm.