“Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’” -Genesis 2:18
From the very beginning of creation, God created us to be with people, not to be alone. The first time God said something was not good in his creation, was when he said it was “not good that man should be alone.” When God created the Helper, the man’s wife, he commanded them in Genesis 1:28, to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue”. God created the world not just for one or even two, but many people. Community is something that the Bible talks a lot about. In fact, God commands us as believers in Hebrews 10:25 to not neglect “to meet together, as is the habit of some, but to encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Why does God make such a big deal out of community in the Bible?
We need each other for many reasons of which are presented in the Bible. The most important reason is to hear the gospel, according to Romans 10:14-17: “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” The Bible does say that eternity is in the heart of man (Ecclesiastes 3:11), the heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19), and that we are without excuse from sin because God’s works have been “clearly perceived” (Romans 1:20). In other words, we can know a lot about God just from personal instinct and being in the world, without coming in contact with a single person.
However, the core of Christianity is the gospel and what Jesus has done for us. God uses people to share the gospel, to encourage each other in our faith, to confront beliefs that are against him, and to shepherd the flock of believers while here on earth. We are to “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”(Galatians 6:2). Ecclesiastes describes the need for other people in our lives; “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. If they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?” From family, to friends, to colleagues, we need each other to walk through this life.
We also desperately need each other in the fight against sin. Sin is something that every single person is born with, and lives with until we die. As believers, we have already been forgiven by God through Jesus and set free from sin. However, as long as we are on this earth, we will struggle with sin and need each other to help in that struggle. Galatians 6:1 says, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness”. Indeed, we would not be able to get through this life alone. Praise God that he is with us, and he provides people around us to bring us back to Him. James 5:16 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working”. It’s such a powerful thing when God uses fellow believers to help each other in the fight against sin while here on this earth.
Doubt is something that most, if not all believers struggle with at one point or another in our lives. Faith is a mysteriously beautiful thing, but sometimes it’s difficult to believe in a God that we can’t physically see, and doubt creeps in, which can lead to doubting our salvation, God’s love for us, or his forgiveness. Community comes in in a huge way to help with this. James 5:19-20 encourages us, “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” We need to encourage each other and God can and will use a community of believers to draw each other back to him.
Bad examples of community are also told about in the Bible. Of course, sin will cause a community to make things worse for a person or society, instead of delivering drawing people closer to the Lord. A classic example of a bad community in the Bible is the tower of Babel. Genesis 11:6 says, “And the Lord said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them”. They were going to build a tower that was supposed to “reach up to heaven”. At that time, there was only one language in the world and people were not as spread out throughout the world as they are today. God, who created the world, and created it to be inhabited by many, knew what could happen if these people continued with their plan. It was because of what they could do as a community that God broke up their plans. It was then that God divided the languages and dispersed the people throughout the world.
But we don’t want to miss the most important truth about community in the Bible. In contrast to the tower of Babel, God’s bigger story is continued in the book of Acts, when the Holy Spirit comes down and builds his church. According to Acts 2:43-47, the apostles were doing many signs and wonders, the people were “selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need…And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved”. While it’s great to think of the early church as a beautiful example of what a good church can be, It is so much more. The church is us, children of God who have been saved by the blood of Jesus, and it began when he died for us. Someday Christ will return to take his bride to live with him for all eternity. In light of that truth, it makes sense why God makes quite a big deal of community in the Bible!
As believers, it is vital for us to be a part of God’s church. God instituted his church for us to meet together, worship him, receive his gifts and hear from his Word. It is different from any other community because it is the living, breathing body of Christ.
National Bible Bee is another truly life changing way to have a godly community in your life. Whether you attend the local host groups or go to the National Bible Bee Competition, you will be around people who will encourage you to dig into God’s Word, to draw closer to him, and to remain steadfast in him. We cannot walk this life alone. Praise God for the community he provides!
Written by NBB Alumna: Victoria Hoverson
