Teaching

Transcription.

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. - Romans 13:8-10

The meaning of life is relationships. God made us to be relational, because God is relational. We are not meant to do life alone, and we are designed for relationship with God and relationship with one another. Throughout the Scriptures we see this theme come up again and again. If we look at the beginning of the universe in Genesis, God created the world from His love (Genesis 1, John 1). 

God created everything from love. God is love and it overflows from Him.

The world is created as “good.” God created it to be beautiful and to work.

The universe was “good.” God created the entire universe to work and praise Him.

Humanity was “good.”   Humanity was originally created, male & female. Humanity was good. Image Bearers.

The universe was “very good” after humanity was created. Our role in the created order is holy/unique.

But God makes a very telling observation. It wasn’t good for man to be alone.

God made a perfect world, we were in perfect relationship with him, vertically. But the one thing that wasn’t good, or what ‘didn’t work’ was that man was alone (Genesis 2:18). We humans were created to be in relationships. Both VERTICALLY with God and HORIZONTALLY with others. This is key to who we are at the beginning.

We were created for a purpose! Humans are what the scriptures call image-bearers. Our purpose is to reflect God into the world. The way we do this is by being designed to: love God, love others, and to love creation.

We know that the original design God had in mind didn’t last for long. Humanity, forsook it’s original design for relationship with God and one another, by choosing to rebel. We took life in our own hands, and as a result, our relationships were not marked by presence, vulnerability, and partnership; they are now marked by shame, blaming, and hiding. Our relationship with God and others was destroyed.

Thankfully God, didn’t allow it to stay that way, He made a promise from the beginning that  He would redeem the fractured relationship between God and man.

The God we find in Genesis, is a God of love that longs for a relationship with us, because we were created for a specific purpose. How do we know this? God, is a relationship between the FATHER, SON, and HOLY SPIRIT. God is one, and three at the same time. 

Christianity has named the God of the Bible as Trinity (three in one). Why is this important? Well God, the community of love at the center of the universe, redeems the relationship with humanity for relationship with the entirety of God.

It was the FATHER who created the world and maintained the relationship with Adam & Eve. The Father is the one who helped sustain the relationship all throughout the Old Testament. God loved humanity, that He made a partnership with Israel to be the arbiter to the whole world.

FATHER

God first revealed Himself in the person of the Father.

The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger,and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation. Exodus 34:6-8

 All of the universe and life was created from the Father. The Father doesn’t do this alone, but creates in partnership with the Spirit (Genesis 1:2) by the Son (Colossians 1:16). It is the Father’s love for the Son and the Spirit that creates the whole universe. Our Father invites us to relate to Him as that, the Father of the universe. This is not some mean father, but one of love. It is His will that we are invited to observe and submit to. The Father was mankind’s first step of knowing love in history. 

SON
Love again invites us to know Him closer. God moves into the neighborhood as the second person of the Trinity, the Son, Jesus Christ. God put on flesh to display Love. The Son, lived in human history modeling for humanity what life is supposed to look like according to the Father’s will. A life empowered by Love. While Jesus was fully man and fully God, He lived a life of submitting to the Father’s will empowered by the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. This submission brought the Son of Love to die, and save humanity from sin and death. So the Son is also Savior. Additionally, when Jesus was resurrected after death, it was a reign of a new time. The Kingdom of God was being established. The Father’s will was that the Son would be King. So the Son reveals God’s love through Messiah, Servant, King, and Priest (Colossians 1:15-20). Our response then is to specifically proclaim and worship Jesus as Lord. 

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,whether  thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.  For  in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Colossians 1:15-20

SPIRIT

The God of Love not only moves near us through the Son. God then moves closer to live IN and THROUGH us. The Holy Spirit dwelt and empowered the Son to live in obedience to the Father. The same Spirit that lived in Christ now lives in us. God’s empowering presence of love is now active and alive in us! God’s Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in our lives as a marker of His presence. It is God’s breath, life, and power. Jesus made miracles happen through the Holy Spirit. Prophecy happens through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the one who moves God’s Kingdom of love forward.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. - 2 Corinthians 3:17–18

For us, God has always pursued relationship with us, and now is the source of all of our relationships. Not only do we have a friendship with God, but by the Holy Spirit, the Bible identifies that we are adopted into a new family.  God is building something new, a family, and this is the value of COMMUNITY. 

Jesus when talking about family:

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” - Matthew 12:46-50

Jesus overturned the expectations of family in this verse. At this time, culturally, no one was more important than your blood family. Yet, Jesus lifts up those who are part of the Family of God to a status that meant that they were to treat one another with the same priority as their biological family. This meant that their finances, resources, and availability were now not their own, but God’s and His body.

By the Spirit:

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:14-17

We are all God’s children now. We are all part of the FAMILY of GOD.

In our House Churches this is where we see this get played out. We live as brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins and cousins twiced removed. The whole point is that in a world that chooses to divide over preferences, race, sex, gender, political affiliations, life-stage, or food preferences. The church chooses to be together on the basis that we are sons and daughters in the family of God. Where we are bound together by the blood of Jesus first and foremost.

Yet, like all families. We each carry our own baggage when it comes to what a church group should look like. What community should feel like. How things should be.

The marker of this intentional community isn’t that we are playing pickleball regularly, or having Sunday brunch. Which are all great parts of community.

The primary markers of the family that God is trying to build is are all by the ONE ANOTHERS. This means intentionally pursuing each other. Intentionally serving and loving one another. Bearing one another’s burdens. These signs, are a beautiful proclamation that God’s Kingdom is here and now. It is the best evangelistic tool when we see diversity in all aspects of life coming together to love each other.

Some of us have had experiences where we are held accountable to live holy lives by avoiding cussing, watching porn, or even going to the gym. Rather, the New Testament has a clear expectation of what the Spirit-Empowered Community will look like:

POSITIVE COMMANDS 

Love one another (John 13:34 - This command occurs at least 16 times) 

Be devoted to one another (Romans 12:10) 

Honor one another above yourselves (Romans 12:10) 

Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16) 

Build up one another (Romans 14:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:11) 

Be likeminded towards one another (Romans 15:5) 

Accept one another (Romans 15:7) 

Admonish one another (Romans 15:14; Colossians 3:16) 

Greet one another (Romans 16:16) 

Care for one another (1 Corinthians 12:25) 

Serve one another (Galatians 5:13) 

Bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2) 

Forgive one another (Ephesians 4:2, 32; Colossians 3:13) 

Be patient with one another (Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:13) 

Speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15, 25) 

Be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32) 

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19) 

Submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21, 1 Peter 5:5) 

Consider others better than yourselves (Philippians 2:3) 

Look to the interests of one another (Philippians 2:4) 

Bear with one another (Colossians 3:13) 

Teach one another (Colossians 3:16) 

Comfort one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18) 

Encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11) 

Exhort one another (Hebrews 3:13) 

Stir up [provoke, stimulate] one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24) 

Show hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9) 

Employ the gifts that God has given us for the benefit of one another (1 Peter 4:10) 

Clothe yourselves with humility towards one another (1 Peter 5:5) 

Pray for one another (James 5:16) 

Confess your faults to one another (James 5:16) 

NEGATIVE COMMANDS (how not to treat one another) 

Do not lie to one another (Colossians 3:9) 

Stop passing judgment on one another (Romans 14:13) 

If you keep on biting and devouring each other...you'll be destroyed by each other (Galatians 5:15) 

Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other (Galatians 5:26) 

Do not slander one another (James 4:11) 

Don't grumble against each other (James 5:9) 

When was the last time someone held you accountable to submit to one another? Or are you bearing each others burdens? Or to make sure you’re not passing judgment on one another? God wants His kingdom to be on Earth as it is in Heaven, and these one another’s are the proof that it is!

This vision of the Family of God is real and weighty (Romans 12:5; Ephesians 4:25). We are called to one another. Yet, we all carry baggage. We are all broken and carry sin from our families. In order to navigate this well, we must set intentional boundaries, and healthy expectations for what biblical community to look like. Most importantly, we need the Holy Spirit to a) fill each and everyone of us individually with His presence b) we also need Him to keep us unified collectively. The Family of God can only grow and be sustained if God is involved, and we are the conduits if that is going to happen.

I want to speak to a nuance that we must be aware of when it comes to being the family of God. In his book Discipleship That Fits, Alex Absalom looks at the five sociological contexts we find ourselves in and how this impacts our discipleship:

Public 100s. Engaging with an outside resource

Social (Missional Expressions) 20–70, Sharing snapshots that build affinity

Personal (House Church) 4–12. Revealing private information

Transparent (Discipleship Groups) 2–4. Living in vulnerability and openness

Divine Alone with God. Being with your Creator and Redeemer

When we talk about being the Family of God, we think about how we are called to be together, and live transparent, because my family needs to know my deepest darkest secrets. This places House Church in a real tension.

1. The tension of mission.

2. The tension of vulnerability

The Church isn’t an either or. It lives in the tension of mission and community. So we must understand how we be the church well. We are not just called to be in a siloh, but organic relationships that both build the depth of relationships and puts it on display for the world to see!

How do we work on vulnerability: Discipleship Groups

As leaders, you need to find others to be vulnerable with. Your House Churches must create spaces where people can be themselves, but I want to say the Family Gatherings when everyone is together is NOT the space where people spill all of their secrets.

I want to challenge you all to find a group of others who you can be vulnerable with. 3-5 other men and women who you can check in with their souls and their health.

The biggest challenge to your holiness is thinking you have to be holy on your own. We need each other. The enemy will hide us in shame.

At our last Family Night I assigned each of you to find a group like this called DISCIPLESHIP GROUPS. In the next module, there is a framework/guide for you all to follow when you find your group.

How do we put it on display: Missional Expressions

Let’s go after it. This is the time to pray and ask God. WHO ARE WE CALLED TO? It is the time to go share the gospel.

If your Hosue Church has alot of parents, how can you be missional with other parents? If your House Church is in a neighborhood where you have relationship with neighbors, find ways to engage your neighbors? Don’t know your neighbors, put on events to GET to know them!

There is no wrong way. To live on mission, but we must be awake and alive to it! This is not about doing “more projects”, more things to add to your busy schedule. Rather, what is your HC’s already doing that you can invite those around you into.

Serve together together. Maybe you are called to a neighborhood or one person. Find that calling. Please reach out to me and our Overseer team. We want to help you brainstorm through roadblocks you may have, give you new ideas, and we have a budget to help our HC’s buy supplies if money is an issue.

We work out our faith in community. We grow as disciples together in community. We live as the Family of God together! We pursue Jesus not just for ourselves, but we pursue Jesus for our community to look like JESUS. We prioritize Great Commandments of Jesus, living out the one anothers, and we also prioritize the Great Commission. We go out in mission not on our own, but in community.