Reasons to come to gether

In earlier articles you could already read that we find it considerably important to come together as Christian brothers and sisters.

We must assemble or come together to feel the solidarity with each other in connection with Christ in our meetings and in our daily live. Those believers that come together have to show expression of their belief and have to give a clear picture to others of their agreement.

On Christadelphians you can find an introduction to the Tags “to meet, assemble, congregate” and on “ecclesia”.

In the light of the Bible, we look at why it is so important to come together and to form together a community.

Coming together or assembling, has not only to come together to a place but also getting involved with each other. Coming together is giving an opportunity to talk with each other. It can give occasions to lead discussions and decisions over the order of a service. In meetings first there can be considered how we will realize the service and how we can give the belief community further growth power. The entire structure of the ecclesia can come part of the discussion in a meeting, but also the contact with the men outside the community of religious and between the religious mutually.

Holy Smokes Bible Study — Bible Study, Image by jonmallard via Flickr

This coming together or gathering can be a sign of togetherness by which we brotherly unite, meeting each other but also getting the chance to bring new people to the union. Also it is not bad to have reunions or special meetings like Bible-study Weekends, Bible Camps etc. on regular moments to reunite with other Christadelphians.

To confer or hold congresses, or larger assemblies could also be fascinating enterprises that are worth considering and generally can contribute to the welfare of the local ecclesia as well as to the general larger feeling of solidarity. Bible-days, Bible weekends, Bible-weeks, Biblecamps and other more than one day events can give an extra dimension at meetings.

Already in the antiquity, one had the “municipality of the assembly of Israel [Hebrew: qehal ‘`adhath-Jis·ra·´el’]”. (Exodus 12:6) and important and larger events were taken to hold special meetings. Organized groups of men as the “municipalities of Israel” (Leviticus 16:17; Joshua 8:35; 1 Kings 8:14), “municipality of the true God” (Nehemiah 13:1), “municipality of Jehovah” (Deuteronomy 23:2, 3; Micha 2:5), and “Jehovah’s municipality” (Numeri 20:4; 1Chonicals 28:8) came then with each other specially to allot time for God and the community of His supporters.

There were different kinds of meetings of men, as for religious goals (Deuteronomy 9:10; 18:16; 1 Kings 8:65; Psalms 22:25; 107:32), for the treating of administrative matters (1 Kings 12:3) but unfortunately also for warfare (1 Samuel 17:47; Ezra 16:40). Today we can concentrate us fortunately mostly on the peaceful activity and on the daily service of the local belief community or ek·kle’ si·a, the ecclesia.

Formerly the public assemblies (Gr. : su·na·go’ ge) found mainly place in the Synagogue where one generally assembled to meet, collect, and to bring men in contact with the Word of God. And that must also be the principal purpose of our meetings or assemblies.
Jesus has brought a lot of men up from their seat to collect around him and who met regularly with his disciples to give their spiritual instruction. As these apostles after Jesus’ death came together , as on the Whit Sunday in 33 C. T., when the Holy Spirit was poured out on those who were together (Acts 2:1-4) we in imitation of these examples have to call and to bring together disbelieving people together with Christians to meet, to study the Word of God and to clear viewpoints in this world and to take the right stand, concerning the manner on which we have to live according the Will of God and to what we are going to do with the world.

Regular meetings will give us the occasion to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; strong and unshaking to the hope we acknowledge, and will create occasions to move one another at all times to love and good works. This stirring up like a fire among ourselves compassionate affection and good works can stimulate the whole community, the congregation, the parish but also the rest of the village. Therefore we should not be giving up our meetings, as is the way of some, but keeping one another strong in faith; and all the more because we should see the day coming near. (Hebrews 10:23- 25)

Like these assemblies previously could take place in the sunagoge, synogue or in the ekklesia or ecclesia (Acts 7:38; 8:1; 13:1; 19:23, 24, 29, 32, 41; 1 Corinthians 12:28; 2 Corinthians:1) the meetings of the followers of Christ could also find place in the house of a fellow believer (Romans 16:5; Philemon 2). Today we also can assemble in each other’s houses, public places or especially for that reason built buildings. But we may certainly not postpone the assembling because we would not have a special building or churches. No, we can build up at flaw of a church our ‘church’ in a usual living room or even in a cafeteria or a restaurant or in a conference hall. The assembling in a private house is natural the most simple and the cheapest way. The coming together in a living room brings a domestic atmosphere to the belief community that can make there then also a full house church .

In small groups, we can form then separate Christian municipalities or “municipalities of God” (Acts of the apostles 15:41; 1 Corinthians 11:16) that can grow into full church communities. In older Dutch translations sometimes the word “church” becomes used in Scriptures, in relation to the Christian municipality, as in 1 Corinthians 16:19 (KB; Leu). Since many people think more of a building think where religious services are held, by the word “church” then of a municipality that practises her religion, the translation “church” can be misleading. Therefore we, as brothers of Christ, give preference to use the word ecclesia as it was used before. The association of the “Church” with the Roman catholic Catholic churches with cross constructions and church tower must become put aside and the Church must be seen as the Body of Christ made up by the collection of religious people. The meeting religious people form together the church. They must feed the church community and make it really happen.