Join the Church I - Spiritual Growth for New Believers

Scripture Reading:

Ephesians 2:19: "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God."

Ephesians 2:22: "In whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God in the Spirit."

1 Corinthians 12:13: "For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit."

1 Corinthians 12:27: "Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it."

After coming to faith in Christ, one immediate question that arises is how to join the church. We have talked about being separate from the world, but this does not mean that merely being separate from the world is enough or that we should stop there. Rather, we should actively join the church. (The phrase "joining the church" may not be the best way to phrase it, but for now, we will use these four words.)

I. It is necessary to join the church

Please note that when we began over twenty years ago, among ten saved individuals, perhaps six or eight of them would not join a church. This was indeed a strange phenomenon! They always thought, "If I am a Christian, that’s enough. I don’t need to join any church." You may find this quite odd, but in our experience, there were many people with such thoughts. These believers thought, "Christ, I want; the church, I do not want. I will relate to Christ, but I will not relate to the church. I will just be a Christian on my own. Can I pray by myself? Yes, that’s fine. Can I read the Bible by myself? Yes, that’s fine. I can pray alone, and I can read the Bible alone, and that’s good enough. Associating with other people is a hassle. I can believe in the Lord and have fellowship with Him alone." This kind of thinking exists both in China and abroad.

However, we must see that, whether we want to or not, joining the church is essential. We must understand that when a person is saved, there is both an individual aspect and a corporate aspect. From the individual perspective, one can accept the life of the Lord into their own heart, have personal fellowship with the Lord, and pray alone. One can believe in the Lord while being alone in a room. But if you only focus on yourself, you will never grow properly, and you won’t last long or progress much. We have never seen an ascetic Christian who has truly grown. There were none in the past, and there are none today. Over the course of two thousand years of Christian history, many have believed that they could live alone as a believer, an ascetic, isolated on a mountain, ignoring everything except their fellowship with the Lord. Please remember, these people’s spiritual growth was very shallow and could not withstand any trial. When the environment is good, they may barely maintain their faith, but when the environment turns difficult, they cannot maintain it.

You must see that being a Christian has a second aspect, the corporate aspect. According to the biblical understanding of the corporate aspect, you cannot be a Christian on your own. First, God’s word tells us that when a person is saved, they become a member of God’s household, a child of God. This is the revelation in the Bible. When a person is reborn, they are born into God’s family and become one of His children, along with many others.

Second, the Bible also shows us that all saved people are God’s dwelling place and God’s house. However, this house is different from the previous house; that house refers to the family, whereas this house refers to the dwelling place, the house in which God resides.

Third, all Christians are collectively the body of Christ. Everyone is a member of the body, and together we form the body of Christ.

1. In God’s House, We Are Together as God’s Children

When a person believes in the Lord, they not only receive personal life, but the life they receive is one that is connected to many others. From the perspective of God’s house, God’s dwelling place, and the body of Christ, we are merely a part of the whole. If you desire to exist alone, as an isolated part, that is impossible. You will surely lose that fullness and richness in the presence of God. You might function as a part, but because you are not united with others, you are like a fragment of cloth or a single component of something. You cannot shine with that highest and most abundant light of life. That rich light is only found within the church.

You must see that it is impossible for someone to have five brothers and sisters in their family and not interact with them. If my father only had me as a child, I would obviously not need to interact with brothers and sisters, as I have none. But if my father had five children, I am one of those five, not the only child. How can I say, "I do not need to interact with my brothers and sisters, I will just be my father’s son"? How could I lock myself in my room and say, “Do not disturb me, I have no relationship with you; I am just my father’s son”? How could that be?

When a person believes in the Lord, they are not an only child. They are one among millions of children. You cannot lock yourself away and live alone as the Father’s child. The nature of that life does not allow for such isolation. Perhaps today, in the flesh, you are an only child with no brothers or sisters to interact with, but once you believe in the Lord, you cannot avoid interacting with the brothers and sisters in the faith. This is inevitable. Today, you are born into the largest family in the world, with no family larger than this one. You have millions of brothers and sisters, and you cannot look down on them because of their number. Because I am one among so many brothers and sisters, I have a requirement to know them, to fellowship with them, and to interact with them. If you have no desire to see your brothers and sisters, I would doubt whether you are truly a brother or sister. If you are born of God and do not have any feeling for other born-again people, and if you can shut them out, I would question whether you are truly a child of God.

That mindset of "isolating oneself as a Christian" is not a Christian mindset. It is not something that Christians possess or should possess. In your earthly family, you should be a brother to your brothers and a sister to your sisters. How much more should this be true in God’s house! This relationship comes from the life of God and is filled with love. If anyone does not want to see their brothers and sisters or fellowship with them, it is a strange thing! Therefore, we must remember that even though I personally receive God’s life and become a child of God, the life I receive is that of one among millions of children. I am just one brother among many. The nature of my life is to never be isolated; it is to fellowship with other brothers and sisters.

2. Together with Brothers and Sisters, We Form God’s Dwelling Place

The Bible also shows us that the church is God’s dwelling place, as seen in Ephesians 2. This is one of the great revelations of the entire New Testament. You need to understand that God has a dwelling place on earth, and He needs a dwelling place. From the time of the Tabernacle built by Moses to the temple built by Solomon and the subsequent repairs and restorations, the concept of a dwelling place has been present throughout. When the church began, God took people to be His temple. God once dwelt in a great house, in Solomon’s temple, but today, God dwells in the church. The church is God’s dwelling place. We, as God’s children, are built together by the Holy Spirit to become God’s dwelling place. This is what 1 Peter 2:5 says: "like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house."

This spiritual house is built with living stones. Solomon’s temple was built with dead stones, but today God’s dwelling place is built with living stones. Peter himself was a living stone, and his name means "stone." When these living stones are put together, they form a temple. If the stones are not connected, can a house be formed? No. A single stone, unless it is placed upon another stone, is just a desolate representation, not a good one. But when the stones are stacked together, they form a house. Today, thank God! You are saved, you believe in the Lord Jesus, and you are one of those stones. If you place a single stone in your home, what use is it? A stone alone is useless. But when the stones are put together, they form a house. A stone alone has no function, and it may even become a stumbling block, not a living stone.

Today, you are like a part of a car. When you are connected to the other parts, all the pieces together form a car, and it can move. We do not dare to say that a living stone, standing alone, becomes a dead stone, but a living stone that is not connected to other living stones and is not part of God’s dwelling place will lose its purpose and miss out on spiritual richness. This living stone must be joined with other living stones in order to hold God, so that God can dwell within it.

A hundred years ago, a man from England, Mr. Stooneg, said, "After I was saved, something very marvelous happened. One day, I realized that I was a piece of material for building Christ’s dwelling place. This was the most marvelous thing." When I read this, I thought it was rather ordinary. What’s so special about knowing that I am a material for building Christ’s dwelling place? But now, looking back, I can see how true Mr. Stooneg’s words were. When you realize this, you will feel that it is truly a marvelous thing.

Thank God! Indeed, we are materials in Christ’s spiritual house. If we are separated from this house, we become useless. And God’s house cannot function without us. A house without a stone where God dwells will have a gap that thieves can enter. I am the material for God’s dwelling place. Without me, God’s work cannot function.

So brothers, you must see that you are materials for building God’s temple brought by the Holy Spirit. If you isolate yourself, you will lose God’s richness, and God cannot dwell in you. You must join with your brothers and sisters, and only then can God dwell in you. For example, a wooden barrel is made up of pieces of wood. When these pieces are together, the barrel can hold water. But if you remove one piece, it cannot hold water. The nature of the wood doesn’t change, but its richness is lost. It can hold a little water, but it cannot hold much. It has lost its fullness. We are God’s house. If you are isolated, you lose the richness.

Brothers and sisters, you may not see this clearly today, but you will see it more and more as time goes on. Once you believe in the Lord, you naturally have a desire to interact with God’s children. You will naturally have a desire to find other materials, other stones. You must act according to this nature and not separate yourself from others because of worldly thoughts.