They Devoted Themselves | To The Fellowship
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47, ESV)
Often times, in Christianity, a term gets thrown around with very little thought given to the actual meaning. As Christians, we often refer to the body of Christ, without any particular further thought for what that would actually entail. Yet, as the church came into her own in Acts 2, they devoted themselves to the fellowship or to the body of Christ. During that time, specifically after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, those who followed Christ had been looked down upon as nothing more than a rogue sect of Judaism. Followers became hated and persecuted from every angle. Thus, for their survival, they devoted themselves to one another in support to those that all walk in the same relationship with Jesus Christ.
While the persecution of our modern day church has changed, the importance of devoting ourselves to the fellowship of faith has not. At times, it seems as if the world is looking for ways to cause division among us and at times it seems like we find the reasons ourselves. Whatever the source, the Christian is to first find their unity in Christ that transcends all boundaries and then to allow God to shape our identity to be only a follower of Jesus Christ. No other qualifier and identifier will suffice as we devote ourselves to the fellowship.
Unity in Christ
The core of our unity comes from the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the God who took on flesh to save and redeemer mankind from their sins. This work transcends any manmade boundaries, classes, and groups of people. Even during the final and eternal days, the fellowship will find a unity in Jesus Christ. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10, ESV) For all eternity, all who are in Christ will stand united despite whatever difference we may have had and worship the one and the same God. For everyone who puts their hope and trust in the risen Lord, regardless of their background and status, we will stand united in Christ for the glory of God.
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul takes an extended time to compare the church to a body. Each part has its own purpose and each part has its own specific design, but the overall unity of the body displays the glory of the diversity in its expression. There is not one uniform part of the body but each part, as they express their specific purpose, It is not our theology that unites us, our denomination, or of worship preferences. These may be important but they are not the highest importance. Christ and Christ alone draws people from various backgrounds and preferences and united us as one family and members of the body of Christ. While there may be diversity of individuals in the body of Christ, the unity of purpose and direction as we glorify God. Christ brings us together for the good of one another and for His glory to be proclaimed loudly in unison with one another. He redeems us from our past and from the chaos of the world to restore order in all creation.
No Higher Identifier
To be devoted to the fellowship involves coming together despite our differences. Too often, culturally, we see people finding various reasons to split into various different groups. We divide over secondary issues of the faith and segregate the church over various issues or backgrounds. We put the adjective before the more important noun as a [blank] Christian rather than simply identifying as Christians. While these mental shortcuts might be helpful occasionally, to devote ourselves to the fellowship means we strive to stand in unity with the body of Christ and erase the division between us. “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.” (1 Corinthians 1:10, ESV) Our unity displays a taste of the unity of the fullness of God in Trinitarian form. Those who are a part of the body of Christ find their identity solely in Christ with no higher identifier or qualifier to our identity.
As Christians and followers of Jesus Christ, we should be diligent to find reasons to stand with one another rather than find reasons to divide from one another. Theological debates are important. Cultural backgrounds and preferences likewise, provide a context in which to proclaim the Gospel and should be considered. But these cannot be our defining characteristics. We come together with grace and charity towards one another as people looking to follow after Jesus Christ. As we identify ourselves and our faith, the descriptor need not go further than Christian. We may align with a particular subset or theological grouping, but we cannot divide ourselves and divide the fellowship for those that are in Christ. We all come together with one another, with all our diversity of expression to praise God across all cultures, languages, nations, tribes, and people.
About The Author
Daniel Burton is the founder of The Gospel Outpost. He is passionate about discipleship and seeing people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. To find out more about him, check out his Author Page.
