19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
You might think that for God to state that he is there with the 2 or 3 gathered is a redundancy, because God is with all of us, with each of us, all the time, right? So of course he’s there with me and you when we’re together if he’s always with me and you when we’re apart.
And yes the bible affirms that God is there with us as individual persons – he dwells in each of us by his Spirit – in the most personal and abiding way. He never leaves us.
Sounds redundant and unnecessary to say, unless Jesus’ point is that there is a special way; a more significant way; a more powerful way, in which he is present with us when we gather together and live not merely as individuals but as individuals bound together in unity and community.
And this verse isn’t saying there’s something special about 2 or 3 as opposed to 4 or 5 or 6, but that there’s something special about 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 as opposed to 1, because those 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 can do something that the 1 can’t do: they can gather; they can agree; they can unite; they can fellowship.
And unity and fellowship by the people of God in the name of Jesus in no small insignificant thing; neither is it an optional thing; it is of utmost importance, significance, and necessity – such that you can’t live out God’s calling upon your life as a Christian if you are not a Christian who is united to the family of God – the people of God – the Church of God.
And the church of God probably isn’t at the highpoint of it’s popularity and reputation in our day and age;
And that family of God may sometimes seem dysfunctional and hard to live with;
And that people of God may seem at times more unrepresentative of the God they ought to represent than we would wish;
But that doesn’t change the fact that the Church, is God’s church; The church, is the bride of Christ, dearly loved by him; the church, is composed of the children of God whose souls were purchased by the precious blood of Jesus.
And God loves the church. Jesus died for the church and founded it as the vehicle for the fulfillment of his promises and establishment of his kingdom on earth.
And if God loves the church, and we love God; we have to love the Church of God.
And if Jesus is devoted to the church; and we are devoted to Jesus; then we have to be devoted to the Church;
and if the Spirit of God is most present in the church; and the Spirit is in us and we are in him; then we have to be united to the Church.
Because that the church has warts and flaws no more disqualifies the church from being the church than the fact that you and I have warts and flaws disqualify us from being the children of God.
Now, there are times, when those who claim to be children of God do so without justification – because the fruit of their lives or the content of their profession is simply utterly contradictory to what it means to be a child of God; likewise, there are times when a church may claim to be part of the true church but simply is not – because it has abandoned all that God calls the church to be and instead of building on God’s foundation, has built itself on a foundation of sand.
But, these things don’t change the fact that the church remains central to the purposes of God; and so the church is central to the lives of the children of God – such that they can’t live out their calling as God’s children without the church.
John Stott: “I trust that none of my readers is that grotesque anomaly, an un-churched Christian. The New Testament knows nothing of such a person. For the church lies at the very center of the eternal purpose of God…the Church is God’s new community.”
And this passage we’ve read earlier, we see that as Christians we are to grow up into our salvation (v2) – and in order to do that we need to learn to crave the pure spiritual milk – the things of God that sustain and nourish and feed our souls like nothing else in all this world can – & apart from which we will hunger and suffer spiritual malnutrition and remain infantile in our faith;
But God doesn’t want us to remain as infants – now, some infant-like qualities in scripture are good – in other places, humility, dependence, are all commendable infant-like qualities;
likewise, here, the image of an infant is a positive image – because God never wants us to outgrow that craving for spiritual food – just as an infant craves its mother’s milk; that instinctive insatiable drive in us to feed our souls on God should remain,
Infant-like qualities are commendable; infantile-faith isn’t. spiritual immaturity isn’t.
God doesn’t want us to remain at the level of maturity that we are now or that we were when we first came to faith.
but he wants us to grow; to become more spiritually mature; more able to stand on our own two feet;
that, in the words of Ephesians 4:14-15 – that we would no longer be infants who are tossed back and forth by every wind of teaching; but instead, speaking the truth in love, we would grow up to become in every respect the mature body of Christ – and just like in that passage – one of the ways we attain to that spiritual maturity, is through the body of Christ – “speaking the truth in love, we will grow”
and you can’t do those things by yourself.
Likewise, here in our passage – one of the ways we learn to crave and seek and feed ourselves on the true spiritual food of God so that we may grow up into a spiritual house – and you can’t be part of a house, by yourself.
This describes the people of God as living stones – who are being built into a spiritual house –
because the church is not a physical structure made of stone or brick or wood or whatever. But the church is a living, spiritual entity, built of living stones – God’s people.
We are the church.
There is nothing holy or sacred about the physical space that a church meets or worships in. There is something holy and sacred about the people who occupy that space.
And that’s good news for us, since we meet in the basement of the rec center. Nothing particularly holy or sacred.
And we want a building of our own. We have a building fund so that someday when the time is right we can be close to affording a building and minimizing the amount of debt we have to take on.
And the reason we’re doing that is not because, in order to be a “real” church we need a building; but rather that we think the future steps of growth, ministry, and outreach for our church can be aided by having our own space;
It’s a tool. It’s unfortunately an expensive tool; and many christians in our country, in my opinion, are far too concerned about and expend far too many resources on something that in the end is only a tool
because in the end, it’s only worth the purpose it serves – it might have worldly economic value but it has no spiritual value in and of itself because we are the church – we are the brick and stone that makes up the house of God that isn’t a physical house but a spiritual one that offers spiritual worship to God.
And there’s something far more beautiful in the church than stained glass, and old stone, and finely crafted wood and skillfully designed architecture.
Lives. Souls. That are remade by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Trophies of God’s grace. New Creations in Christ, gathered together to worship the living God & live lives which are offered as living sacrifices to the living God because he is worthy. That’s what’s beautiful. That’s what’s matters. That’s what lasts.
There’s a story about a Spartan king boasting to a visiting foreign king about the walls of Sparta.
But Sparta was the only greek city with no defensive walls; and so the king looks around and doesn’t see any walls; and understandably, asks, “Where are the renowned walls of Sparta?”
And the king pointed to his army. And he said, “These are the walls of Sparta, every man a brick.”
We are the brick and stone that makes up the house of God.
And what happens when all the bricks aren’t in the right spot?
The house is weakened and the bricks are wasted. Because you need the church and the church needs you.
The house is weakened: the church can only be the spiritual house that God wants it to be so long as each and every living stone is in it’s proper place fulfilling it’s God-given function; each living stone has a necessary part to play in God’s spiritual house.
the house is weakened because the church needs you.
the house is weakened and the bricks are wasted: and each living stone can only be what God wants it to be; and can only become what God wants it to become; and can only do what God wants it to do; so long as it is a part of that spiritual house.
One stone is specially shaped to fit into a certain spot that only that stone can fit into – specially formed by God to do something that another living stone can’t do; and another stone is specially shaped differently to fit into a certain role that that first stone can’t fit into;
each has something to offer; and each has something to receive that only another can offer.
Some bricks support and hold up other bricks; some bricks are supported and hold up other bricks; some bricks are right there next to – along side of – other bricks to share the load; and some bricks do all of those things at the same time and all bricks do one of those things at one time or another.
But one thing’s for sure: a brick that’s just lying on the ground is a wasted brick. A brick is made to be a part of something – and so were you and so was I.
the bricks are wasted – because you need the church – if you want to fulfill God’s purpose for you and answer to the calling God’s placed on your life, you need to be part of the church.
Charles Spurgeon: “I know there are some who say, ‘Well, I have given myself to the Lord, but I do not intend to give myself to any church.’ Now, why not? ‘Because I can be a Christian without it.’ Are you quite clear about that? You can be as good a Christian by disobedience to your Lord’s commands as by being obedient? There is a brick. What is it made for? To help build a house. It is of no use for that brick to tell you that it is just as good a brick while it is kicking about on the ground as it would be in the house. It is a good-for-nothing brick. So you rolling-stone Christians, I do not believe that you are answering to your purpose. You are living contrary to the life which Christ would have you live, and you are much to blame for the injury you do.”
You may think, “I’m not too good at anything. I don’t have anything to offer.” But there’s one thing that only you can do: be you. And God made you unique and special for his purpose according to his plan. He gifted you in a unique way; to fit just right into the unique spot he has for you within his family.
And we often think that we need the church; that we need other people; because we are weak and sinful.
And that’s true. Hebrews 3:24 tells us that one of the ways that we protect ourselves from the deadly deceitfulness of sin is through the interpersonal mutual ministry of the body of Christ – other people who can sometimes see us better and more accurately than we see ourselves – where we encourage and rebuke one another and guide one another to Jesus.
But it’s not that we need community/other people/the church just because we’re weak and sinful. We need those things because we’re human. It’s inherent in how God made you and me that we need other people.
When God made Adam, it was not good that he was alone; and he made a companion for him – so that he could be not alone, and that was very good; and for the Christian, the highpoint of that community comes through the church – the family of God.
No such thing as a lone-ranger person; no such thing as a lone-ranger Christian.
And, if you want to grow; if you want to cultivate a deep and abiding love for God in your heart and passion for God in your life; if you want to have the motivation to keep burning brightly for God rather than burning out and growing cold, you need the church.
Without the church, you won’t be able to kindle and keep aflame the fire of love for God in your heart.
Story of burning ember:
tells pastor that he had decided he was just as well off without the church as with it.”
“I’ll be back next Sunday.”
Without the church your heart will cool; it will darken; but in the community of God’s people your heart will be fanned into flame and glow with the blaze of God’s love.
And if you don’t want a heart that’s cold with love for God; and when we consider the depth, and breadth, and richness and fullness of God’s love for us – his eternal unchanging love; his undeserved better-than-life-love; the last thing we should want in all this world is a heart that’s cold with love for God- that should be a horrific impossibility; then we need one another.
One Another passages in NT: can’t one-another one another without one another!
It’s in the community of God’s people where we most fully experience and live out the beautiful realities of the gospel that we all want to more fully characterize our lives.
We want to grow – to become more like Jesus – to see God’s renovation work in our lives – heart mind soul will – to happen and increase – to gut out the ugliness and brokenness of sin; and to rebuild our lives into something beautiful.
And one of the ways we grow in grace, is through our connection to the church.
Applications.
- Be devoted to the Lord’s Day: this is the highpoint of our experience with God’s people – worshiping God together. There’s an article on one of those satire news sites about parents despairing that their children have a weak commitment to the faith, even though they took them to church 25% of the time – as long as sports or brunch or whatever else didn’t get in the way – and while making church a high priority is no guarantee of what kind of faith a child will develop, the point of that article is that you shouldn’t be surprised if your child has a weak commitment to their faith if you demonstrated a weak commitment to the faith – that Jesus and his church should get less glory and devotion than worldly things! Should Jesus get less glory and devotion and commitment in our lives than brunch and football? No!
- Community Groups.
- Be devoted to living out the gospel within the church. Admit the reality of sin in the church because the church is full of works-in-progress, not finished products. Be patient with sinners around you, and respond with grace when their sin peeks out. Overlook sin when possible. Confront sin when necessary. Confess sin and be quick to forgive sin and pursue reconciliation and live at peace as long as it is possible.
- Be hospitable. distinctive thing about Christian fellowship is hospitality and welcoming to outsiders. Christianity is not a place where only the cool kids or insiders get a spot at the table. That’s high school; and it is devoid of the love and warmth and grace of Christian fellowship – because in the church, there’s always an open chair at the table for a new face and a new friend.
- Pray for one another. Praying for one another is not only in itself an act of love, but it readies you mind and heart and soul to act towards a person in tangible expressions of love.
- Serve in the church. One of the ways that our commitment to something becomes concrete, evident, real, is by sharing the load. If you see people carrying a heavy load, and you can help but don’t help, then it’s hard to say at the same time that you are devoted to those people and a part of what they are a part of. EX: work day, thinking: “I’ve got my own weeds to pull.” The weeds at the church are my weeds. Because the needs of the church are my needs. Why should I expect that someone else will pull them? Why not me? The needs of my brother and sister are my needs – why should I assume that someone else will meet them? Why not me. The life fo a Christian is a life of service. Because a Christian follows a savior who served – who washed feet, who befriended sinners and outcasts, who did not come to be served but to serve – and the highpoint of that was his giving of his life as a ransom for many.
- Similarly: Give to the church. Don’t talk too much about money too much; but when the NT talks about giving, it never talks about it because primarily the church needs your money but because primarily you need to give. You need to 1) be willing to make God a higher treasure than your bank account; and 2) care so much about the church that you invest of your earthly treasures in it, “because where your treasure is, there your heart is also” – Jesus.
- Love the church. “Individuals would make churches for themselves if they could, for they find it so difficult to accommodate themselves to the ways & habits of others”. But if you made a church existing only of you, it would still be sinful and imperfect; the only difference is that it would be a lot more lonely, much weaker, and bring less glory to Jesus because the gospel is all about reconciling sinners to God and reconciling sinners to one another into the family of God. Love the church. Warts and all. awkward people and all. sinful people and all. Difficult people and all. Different people and all. New people and all.