Wisdom Through Fellowship

"I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts." (Psa. 119:63)

We like to think of our relationship with God as a highly personal matter involving no one but ourselves and Him.  But God will not work that way.  He calls us into community.  The learning that we do must be done in community.  The wisdom we acquire is imparted partly through fellowship.  The truths we speak are meant to edify others as well as ourselves.  Receiving the mind of Christ requires living in the body of Christ.

As we become steeped in the wisdom of God, we will find ourselves in tune with others who are steeped in His wisdom.  It is more than a common interest; it is a spiritual bond.  To receive His mind is to receive His Spirit, and to receive His Spirit is to have fellowship with one another.  Why?  Because God has poured out His Spirit on many members of one body.  He has distributed His gifts widely so that, if we want to know Him in fullness, we must depend on one another.  The Three-in-One is communal, and His people must be people of community.  There is no way to be well-rounded in His truths without fellowship.

But that's a problem for many of us.  Sometimes it's hard to see Christ in the body of Christ.  Seekers are often turned off from God because of the people who represent Him.  Though He dwells in us, we often do not let Him dwell visibly.  These clearly earthen vessels often hide their treasure within an opaque crust of sin.  The mind of God is sometimes obscured.

Don't idealize the church.  It is made of redeemed, although flawed, people in a process of transformation.  But don't underestimate it, either.  God really dwells there.  His wisdom is too great to be completely absorbed by a solitary mind, so He has spread it among many.  The body of Christ is the physical presence of Jesus in this world.  Do you really want to learn the mind of God?  Then we need each other.  It is in His Word, written on our hearts, and cultivated in the fellowship of His people.