"Iron sharpens iron,
and one person sharpens another"
Proverbs 27:17

We are not meant to live life alone. People are designed for community. And not just a collection of people, but a group Godly people bringing each other closer to Christ. You can see echoes of this all the way back in creation. After the creation of man in Genesis it says, “then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him””(Genesis 2:18). God has made us to be with one another in specific and meaningful relationships. These relationships are marked by a few characteristics and are for one specific purpose.

What is Christian Community?

There is a reason I tried to differentiate a gathering of people from true Christian community. That is becuase Christian community is based on something that no other group is based on. Christ.

There is so much that can pull people apart. Politics, family issues, cultural differences, personalities, and countless other things. These issues keep people away from each other. However that is not how God designed us to be. God designed us to be in perfect harmony in creation, and refilled that promise in Jesus. That if we put our faith in Him we will all possess something inside us that is stronger than the issues stated before. In Colossians 3:11, it perfectly states how Christ brings all together.

"In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all."

This is the beauty of Christian community. No matter who you are, as long as you are in Christ, you will be united with all other believers into Christian community.

Marks of Good Community

Even though God has given us the perfect example of how to live in perfect relation with others though the life of Christ, we still always fall short. There will never be a perfect community because we will never be perfect. However that does not mean that we should not continue to strive accomplish this state. In a message given my Cody Cline of Candeo Church on September 7th 2023, he outlined 3 ways for our Christian Community to better exemplify Christ’s example. They are:

• Trade selfishness with selflessness – Start to care less about how people around you can help you, but how you can help them. Ask them how there day was, how you can serve them, and give up time to be with them during hardships.
• Trade superficial relationships with real relationships – Today so many relationships are superficial. Streaks and liking everyone’s posts on Instagram, neither are actually really building a real relationship. It is just acting like you care about each other. Instead look to build real relationships, one’s centered around Christ.
• Trade “perfect people” with imperfect people – Often relationship problems arise because people expect perfect treatment from others. But people aren’t perfect, so that standard is skewed. Instead we should forgive one another, just as God has forgiven us.

What is the purpose?

Back to the Proverbs in the beginning of the section, “Iron sharpens Iron, and one person sharpens another.” The purpose of community is to build each other up in sanctification. So that each one of us would look more like Christ. Being in community offers encouragement as well as guidance. You can see how others are living out there faith and have others look into your life and call you out, in love, on things you’ve grown blind too.

Much of this article is about how to have good Christian relationships, but in no way does this mean to not have relationships with people who are not believers. We are called to go out and make disciples of all nations, this also means to the non-believers around us as well. Think about whether your relationship with someone is helping them come closer to Christ or not. If it is not, think about ways that reach out to them with the good news. Then turning that relationship into one that draws them closer to Christ.

The goal of community is to build each other up to look more like Christ. Remember that God has made us for community, and that in the design there is peace and harmony. If your are in need of local Christian community go to your local church and talk to a pastor, or leave a comment down below!

By: Aaron Hershberger