Think about Ephesians 2:5-6 for a minute. It says that God as “made us alive together…and raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places.” There’s no place for individuality here. Everything is done together.
It’s a shame that while we are sitting together in heavenly places, people can’t seems to consistently sit together in earthly places!
Later in that same chapter, Paul says, “…you are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the spirit (Ephesians2:22).” Is it me, or does God paint a picture, not of individuality, but of corporeity; a group of people in which His Holy Spirit uniquely dwells? From this passage we can conclude that God just isn’t about blessing ME – He’s about blessing US.
Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).” There is a unique presence of the Lord in a corporate setting; one that you and I cannot experience on our own.
The Jews understood this concept. That’s why they gathered weekly at the synagogue. To them, experiencing God was a group activity. When the Rabbis taught, they would sit down and discuss scriptures in a group setting. Jesus did this when He entered His hometown synagogue in Luke 4. After reading the scripture, He sat down and taught. This was followed by an exchange; an interaction. Questions were asked. Answers were given. This same process was seen in most cases when Jesus taught publically. Why? Because the Jewish people believed that revelation emerged from the group as ideas and beliefs were exchanged in discussion.
There are three method of exchanging truth.
The first is through discourse. This is the modern method adopted by most Western educational systems, including the church. One person stands at the head of the class and lectures. The rest of the people in room listen and take notes.
This process assumes that the person doing all the talking knows everything there is to know about the subject. The rest of us, I supposed, are too ignorant of the subject matter to comment.
The second method of transferring truth is dialogue. This is when two or more people share information with one another. This gives everyone a chance to express their ideas. The unique experiences and perspectives of the people involved are shared with the group. This opens everyone up to new ideas that otherwise could not be exposed in a lecture.
The third type of learning is based upon the second. It takes dialogue to a whole new level. When people are connected and moving together on a unified journey in the Spirit, searching for truth, there arises from this dynamic a whole new level of revelation called discovery.
Discovery is the most effective method of learning as it allows each person in the group to take ownership of what has emerged corporately. No one person can take credit for what was revealed.
Discovery takes place when people move from debate to consideration; from wanting to be right to wanting to learn; from forming arguments to listening to peers; from proving people wrong to proving what is right. This phenomenon takes place when the parts of the Body of Christ get connected, forming a single unit that moves to the choreography of the Holy Spirit into the frontiers of truth. It is from this method that the most meaningful learning takes place.
Paul revealed his desire for this pattern of discovery in Colossians 4:16 when he said, “Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is also read in the Church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.” Like their Jewish counterparts, after reading scriptures, a healthy dialogue would commence where discoveries were made.
Early Christians believed that the Holy Spirit would speak to the congregation. Truth was not the personal property of any single individual but belonged to the group. In order to see the full scope of something, everyone had to be involved.
The group heard from God.
The group discovered truth.
The group experienced revelation.
The group was connected!
Having personal devotions was not in their lexicon. The idea of individuals experiencing God by themselves, locked away in some isolated cave, separated from the rest of the community, was unheard of. Although no one can argue that having a healthy personal relationship with God is an important part of our spiritual journey, we cannot forget that there are certain truths, experiences and revelations that can only be receive from being connected to the church.
This is why Christianity is both a private and public exercise. So make sure that you practice both this week!
