Before I begin, please understand that I'm not approaching this topic from cynical vantagepoint, but rather a reflective one, and rooted in experience.
Over the decades, I've heard many, many people reflect back upon their favorite church services where and when they left the greatest of good feelings, which enticed them to describe those experiences as "wonderful fellowships."
When I would ask them if they were sitting in pews or chairs, with everyone facing the pulpit, as is traditional in most all institutional church arrangements, they always affirmed the model.
When we delve into the word of God, some things become quite striking:
Philippians 2:1 If [there be] therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
Philippians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
1 John 1:3, 6-7
3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. ...
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
We can see that there is a measure of fellowship in various senses...meaning that there is spiritual fellowship, emotional fellowship, and then there is fellowship in practice. It's the latter that is almost as important as the former, and yet is the least practiced among professing believers within the confines of the institutional model. I'm pointing out these distinctions because they are important, and drill down into the purpose for the gathering of believers that remains mostly overlooked by the masses of church-goers. Some of you may recall my hammering on this verse in other threads, but it remains a mainstay for deriving the prime purpose for the gathering of the saints:
1 Corinthians 14:26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
See that? EVERY ONE OF YOU... Not just some, such as the professionals up front or the "worship team," but EVERY ONE of YOU.
Then we see the instruction that ALL those things be done unto what....EDIFICATION! Yes.
So, looking back to my experiences as an audience member in the typical 'church' service, I realized that I had never mastered the art of fellowshipping with the backs of other people's heads, and nobody to date has yet explained how that can be accomplished.
Oh, yes, we do indeed experience many a warm fuzzy after having heard a good sermon and sang praise music together, but that one element, fellowship in practice, as described in 1 Corinthians 14, that is the ONE element that's mostly non-existent in that setting, which is the only one where all the saints in that body are assembled. Instead, they are pushed outward into their small groups as a band-aid to the lack within the main gathering where only a small hand full of people are featured center-stage as opposed to YOU, a priest of God in fellowship with your fellow priests unto the Most High God.
Now, granted, fellowship, as a practice, is dangerous, for it requires being transparent...an open book before your fellow believers. Fellowship in practice blocks off the tendency to fade into the wood work of the inner walls of that so-called "sanctuary." Sanctuary from what? There you have it. You can blend in with the crowd, and your life remain a closed book to each other, and mutual edification never experienced at the depths Paul was trying to convey as a prime necessity for growth together.
Secret sin becomes an increasingly difficult burden upon the conscience of those who harbor such in the fellowship of the saints, and are therefore driven at some point to deal with that sin, either openly in the hands of fellow believers, or between that one and the Lord. Blending in with the crowd, there's no piercing of the conscience, and therefore no danger for the sin to be betrayed through words and/or actions in the close scrutiny of other believers. The burden of sins is the antithesis to edification, for sin does not and cannot edify anyone.
We all sometimes need one another at much deeper levels than what is offered by way of being a mere audience member. We sometimes come in weak and beat down, and in need of building up. The backs of other people's heads most generally does not offer that uplifting. Sometimes the Lord does so in the place of fellowship in practice, but not always.
So, yes, some have pointed out the band-aids of small groups during the week as the best answer, which are good things, but they still do not effectively compensate believers for the robbery of their birthright for fellowship in the gathering of the saints. Recall that it says WHEN YOU COME TOGETHER... It doesn't stipulate only the home or some smaller grouping, but WHEN...WHENEVER you come together.
Thoughts?
MM
Over the decades, I've heard many, many people reflect back upon their favorite church services where and when they left the greatest of good feelings, which enticed them to describe those experiences as "wonderful fellowships."
When I would ask them if they were sitting in pews or chairs, with everyone facing the pulpit, as is traditional in most all institutional church arrangements, they always affirmed the model.
When we delve into the word of God, some things become quite striking:
Philippians 2:1 If [there be] therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
Philippians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
1 John 1:3, 6-7
3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. ...
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
We can see that there is a measure of fellowship in various senses...meaning that there is spiritual fellowship, emotional fellowship, and then there is fellowship in practice. It's the latter that is almost as important as the former, and yet is the least practiced among professing believers within the confines of the institutional model. I'm pointing out these distinctions because they are important, and drill down into the purpose for the gathering of believers that remains mostly overlooked by the masses of church-goers. Some of you may recall my hammering on this verse in other threads, but it remains a mainstay for deriving the prime purpose for the gathering of the saints:
1 Corinthians 14:26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
See that? EVERY ONE OF YOU... Not just some, such as the professionals up front or the "worship team," but EVERY ONE of YOU.
Then we see the instruction that ALL those things be done unto what....EDIFICATION! Yes.
So, looking back to my experiences as an audience member in the typical 'church' service, I realized that I had never mastered the art of fellowshipping with the backs of other people's heads, and nobody to date has yet explained how that can be accomplished.
Oh, yes, we do indeed experience many a warm fuzzy after having heard a good sermon and sang praise music together, but that one element, fellowship in practice, as described in 1 Corinthians 14, that is the ONE element that's mostly non-existent in that setting, which is the only one where all the saints in that body are assembled. Instead, they are pushed outward into their small groups as a band-aid to the lack within the main gathering where only a small hand full of people are featured center-stage as opposed to YOU, a priest of God in fellowship with your fellow priests unto the Most High God.
Now, granted, fellowship, as a practice, is dangerous, for it requires being transparent...an open book before your fellow believers. Fellowship in practice blocks off the tendency to fade into the wood work of the inner walls of that so-called "sanctuary." Sanctuary from what? There you have it. You can blend in with the crowd, and your life remain a closed book to each other, and mutual edification never experienced at the depths Paul was trying to convey as a prime necessity for growth together.
Secret sin becomes an increasingly difficult burden upon the conscience of those who harbor such in the fellowship of the saints, and are therefore driven at some point to deal with that sin, either openly in the hands of fellow believers, or between that one and the Lord. Blending in with the crowd, there's no piercing of the conscience, and therefore no danger for the sin to be betrayed through words and/or actions in the close scrutiny of other believers. The burden of sins is the antithesis to edification, for sin does not and cannot edify anyone.
We all sometimes need one another at much deeper levels than what is offered by way of being a mere audience member. We sometimes come in weak and beat down, and in need of building up. The backs of other people's heads most generally does not offer that uplifting. Sometimes the Lord does so in the place of fellowship in practice, but not always.
So, yes, some have pointed out the band-aids of small groups during the week as the best answer, which are good things, but they still do not effectively compensate believers for the robbery of their birthright for fellowship in the gathering of the saints. Recall that it says WHEN YOU COME TOGETHER... It doesn't stipulate only the home or some smaller grouping, but WHEN...WHENEVER you come together.
Thoughts?
MM