Transformed in community

Imagine a man who read the Bible for an hour a day.

Imagine he spent another hour a day memorizing scripture.

Imagine he listened to sound Christian teaching on the way two and from work.

Imagine he listed to sound Christian teaching on TV at home in the evening instead of watching sit-coms and the news.

Now, imagine he never talked to another Christian. He spent his life alone. He was never encouraged, never admonished, never corrected. He never spoke the truth in love. No one every spoke into his life. He was never loved by another human being. He was alone.

Question: how much would he grow spiritually?

We are transformed one at a time, but we are not transformed alone. We are transformed in groups. If you are not in a group that is working toward being transformed into the image of Christ, you will not be transformed. People are not transformed alone. The writer of Hebrews said:

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.  Hebrews 10:24–25 (NIV2011)

This verse is often used as an admonition to come to church. Note that this is not what it is talking about. It is not talking about sitting in straight rows and watching the same events happen on the same stage. It is talking about meetings where we encourage one another; meetings where I encourage you and you encourage me. As Andy Stanley says it, “Circles are better than rows.”

Circles encourage one another to start their day with the Bible on their lap. Circles ask hard questions. Circles probe. Circles admonish. Circles hug. Circles love.

You can’t get there alone. You can become a disciple alone. You can’t do this alone. Look at this verse and consider carefully what it teaches about how we grow. (You will likely learn more from your reflection on Scripture than your reading of my comments.)

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.  Ephesians 4:15–16 (NIV2011)

First, Paul says we grow by speaking. This is surprising to me. I would have expected this verse to say, “Hearing the truth, we will grow…” That is not what he says. Paul says we grow by speaking the truth in love.

We are changed more by what we say than what we hear. Hearing is important. “Faith comes by hearing…” (Romans 10.17) But, hearing is not as important as speaking. Jesus said it is what come out of the mouth that defile us. (Matthew 15.28) James taught that the words we speak are like the rudder on a ship. I think if he were speaking today, he would say that the words we speak are like the steering wheel of our lives.

People who speak words of gratitude develop grateful hearts. People who speaks words of love become more loving. People who grumble and complain become more grumpy and negative. We are changed more by what we say than what we hear.

But, there is more. This passage also teaches that we grow as we are joined and held together by every supporting ligament. I am not sure what a supporting ligament is. I think that is the point. The body grows as it is held together by obscure parts that no one knows about. Little people matter in the body of Christ. They are part of what makes us connected.

Verse 16 says the parts of the body are joined. The word pictures rocks that are fitted together to make the wall of a building. It is an obscure word, used only twice in the New Testament, here and in Ephesians 2.21.

In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.  Ephesians 2:21 (NIV2011)

We are not only joined, but held together. This too is an unusual word, used only seven times in the New Testament. The NIV translates it six different ways, which tell you it is a bit difficult to translate. This word means “to bring together,” “to reconcile,” and in philosophy “to compare,” “to infer,” “to show,” and finally “to expound.”^[1]

I am not sure Paul means anything different by using this second word so much as the layering of words brings emphasis to the central idea: you can’t grow alone. You can’t be transformed in isolation. We only grow in a group. We only grow in circles. The second word above is also used in Colossians:

They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. Colossians 2:19 (NIV2011)

We see a similar idea in this verse, although the metaphor is different. Rather than picturing a building, as in Ephesians 2.21, we are invited to see a body. (Similar to Ephesians 4.16 above.) Again the body is connected by parts that no one sees. The people on the stage are not the most important ones in the body of Christ.

There is one more word in this verse I would like us to look at, the word translated supported. One Greek dictionary says, “to make available whatever is necessary to help or supply the needs of someone—‘to provide for, to support, to supply the needs of, provision, support.’” ^[2]

Note the phrase, “whatever is necessary.” We grow as each person has the attitude of giving to one another whatever is necessary to grow. If people need encouragement, I will encourage. If they need love, I will love. If they need correction, I will correct. I will not do just what is convenient or what I am the mood to give. I will give whatever it takes for the body to grow.

Application

We always want to study the Bible with a view to application. We always want to ask, “So what?” We want to be doers of the Word and not hearers only.

What these verse tell us is that if we are to be transformed, we need to surround ourselves with a little band of Christ-followers with whom we can get honest. We need to have a group. A group that we confess our sins to. A group we laugh with. A group we do lunch with. A group that has, in the words of Will Miller, refrigerator rights. (People with refrigerator rights are people who are so close that you don’t mind them rummaging through your refrigerator.)

Who are you growing toward Christlikeness with? Who are you bringing with you to grow toward Christlikeness?