Why it is important for a believer in Jesus to be a part of a local church!
Just this evening my daughter said “Dad is it necessary to serve in church?” I said to her yes it is because in Jesus’s kingdom, our kingdom, no one is to stand alone. We see in the Bible that whenever someone comes to know Christ and receives him as saviour and Lord, he is added to the church. The bible says “......the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:47).
No one who gets saved should just be by himself, that is not how it works in Jesus’s kingdom. Believers as a collective whole, together, make up the church - the Greek Word is ‘Ecclesia’, meaning a congregation or an assembly. It is an error for a believer to think that is alright not to attend church meetings or that it is alright to not belong to a local assembly, which is why Bible says;
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is ; but exhorting one another : and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25)
That a local church gathering is boring, the people are insensitive, the meeting is long, or whatever the excuse is, is not good enough reason not to be part of a local assembly. Among others, there are 2 fundamental reasons why a believer should belong to a local assembly and should not forsake believers assembly.
1. Every believer is a necessary and relevant part of the whole. The bible says;
“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. [13] For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. [14] For the body is not one member, but many. [21] And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. [22] Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary”.(1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 21-22)
Everyone in christ is relevant and has something to contribute to the wellbeing of the whole body. Everyone must realise his worth, discover what he can do or give, avail himself, not hold back or stay out and should play his own part. As the bible has said, even those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary. No matter where a believer is at spiritually, the body needs him to function. What a believer has to contribute may appear as trivial yet, it is a relevant and needed contribution. He will be depriving the body if and when he holds back.
2. There are believers in the body who are called into the fivefold ministry gifts; it is in their functionality that the body is perfected. In other words, it is in their operations that Jesus is using to build the church. This how the bible puts it;
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; [12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: [13] Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ”. (Ephesians 4:11-13)
It is important to note that these gifts exist in the church for the perfecting of the Saints and edifying of the body of Christ so, it is safe to say that a believer who stands outside the influence of the fivefold ministry gifts cannot mature, and cannot reach his full potential in Christ. If he could, there would not be any need for this gifts in the body.
A lot of what happens at believers assembly is spiritual; Jesus puts his presence in the midst of them, even when they don’t sense him. The presence of Jesus in the midst of them is helping to nurture and prepare the believer for the return of Jesus and this is why the bible admonishes that believers should meet much more, to exhort one another as they see the day approaching - actually the early church met daily.
Don’t stay out, get connected to a local church today.
No one who gets saved should just be by himself, that is not how it works in Jesus’s kingdom. Believers as a collective whole, together, make up the church - the Greek Word is ‘Ecclesia’, meaning a congregation or an assembly. It is an error for a believer to think that is alright not to attend church meetings or that it is alright to not belong to a local assembly, which is why Bible says;
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is ; but exhorting one another : and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25)
That a local church gathering is boring, the people are insensitive, the meeting is long, or whatever the excuse is, is not good enough reason not to be part of a local assembly. Among others, there are 2 fundamental reasons why a believer should belong to a local assembly and should not forsake believers assembly.
1. Every believer is a necessary and relevant part of the whole. The bible says;
“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. [13] For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. [14] For the body is not one member, but many. [21] And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. [22] Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary”.(1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 21-22)
Everyone in christ is relevant and has something to contribute to the wellbeing of the whole body. Everyone must realise his worth, discover what he can do or give, avail himself, not hold back or stay out and should play his own part. As the bible has said, even those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary. No matter where a believer is at spiritually, the body needs him to function. What a believer has to contribute may appear as trivial yet, it is a relevant and needed contribution. He will be depriving the body if and when he holds back.
2. There are believers in the body who are called into the fivefold ministry gifts; it is in their functionality that the body is perfected. In other words, it is in their operations that Jesus is using to build the church. This how the bible puts it;
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; [12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: [13] Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ”. (Ephesians 4:11-13)
It is important to note that these gifts exist in the church for the perfecting of the Saints and edifying of the body of Christ so, it is safe to say that a believer who stands outside the influence of the fivefold ministry gifts cannot mature, and cannot reach his full potential in Christ. If he could, there would not be any need for this gifts in the body.
A lot of what happens at believers assembly is spiritual; Jesus puts his presence in the midst of them, even when they don’t sense him. The presence of Jesus in the midst of them is helping to nurture and prepare the believer for the return of Jesus and this is why the bible admonishes that believers should meet much more, to exhort one another as they see the day approaching - actually the early church met daily.
Don’t stay out, get connected to a local church today.
