What Does The Bible Say About Fellowship and Community?
Estimated reading time: 12 minutes
Freedom. Adventure. Community. Experience. The is the mission of The Rugged Face. One of those words is community. We value community as much as anything else in this life. Whether community is your family, friends or co-workers, we all have a desire and a calling to be in community with one another. Community has changed over the past 2,000 years. Imagine that. During Jesus’ days, the discipline would make a regular habit of the breaking of bread with one another on a regular basis. So what does the Bible say about fellowship and community? While breaking bread with one another is certainly a goal many of us desire, it’s becoming exceedingly difficult in today’s ultra-hurried world.
If we look at the lives of the disciplines in the gospels, and further in the lives of the apostles after Jesus’ death, we see that community and fellowship were of the utmost importance. The disciples and apostles saw that doing life together was the only way forward. Facing endless persecution in their pursuit of Jesus, the disciples and apostles become martyrs in many cases because they saw that the mission of their lives called for them to “forsake themselves” just as Jesus did.
- What Does The Bible Say About Fellowship and Community?
- Fellowship and Community
- 1. Romans 12:5 (NIV)
- 2. 1 Corinthians 12:26 (NIV)
- 3. Galatians 6:2 (NIV)
- 4. Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)
- 5. Ephesians 4:2-3 (NIV)
- 6. 1 John 1:7 (NIV)
- 7. Acts 2:42 (NIV)
- 8. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)
- 9. Philippians 2:1-2 (NIV)
- 10. Colossians 3:16 (NIV)
- 11. James 5:16 (NIV)
- 12. 1 Peter 3:8 (NIV)
- 13. 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV)
- 14. Romans 15:5-6 (NIV)
- 18. John 13:34-35 (NIV)
- 19. Acts 4:32 (NIV)
- 20. 2 Corinthians 13:11 (NIV)
- Conclusion
- John Claborn
Fellowship and Community
Fellowship and community hold profound significance throughout the Bible, reflecting core principles of Christian faith and practice. The Scriptures repeatedly emphasize the importance of believers coming together in unity, love, and mutual support. In Acts 2:42-47, the early Christians are depicted as devoted to fellowship, breaking bread together, and sharing their possessions, forming a tight-knit community that provided for each other’s needs. This example underscores the communal nature of the Christian faith, where believers are called to live in harmony, bearing one another’s burdens, and rejoicing in each other’s joys. Furthermore, Jesus himself emphasized the power of unity and fellowship when he said, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20, NIV), highlighting the spiritual presence that is felt when believers come together in fellowship.
Moreover, the Bible teaches that fellowship and community are essential for spiritual growth and encouragement. Hebrews 10:24-25 urges believers not to forsake gathering together but to encourage and spur one another on toward love and good deeds. In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, believers are instructed to build each other up and offer mutual support. Fellowship provides a context for sharing wisdom, receiving counsel, and strengthening one another’s faith. Additionally, the Bible emphasizes the importance of love within the Christian community, with Jesus himself commanding his disciples to love one another as he loved them (John 13:34-35). Through fellowship and community, believers find a place of belonging, accountability, and spiritual nourishment, embodying the core values of Christianity and reflecting the love of Christ to the world.
The following Bible verses show us how community and fellowship are the foundations for following Jesus.
1. Romans 12:5 (NIV)
“so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
The New Testament is full of examples of community as the early church focused on fellowship on a regular basis. All members of the body create a singular community. This is why other believers are called our “brothers and sisters”. As one body, we fight for one another, we break bread together and we seek the glory of God together.
2. 1 Corinthians 12:26 (NIV)
“If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”
As a body of believers, we are called to suffer together and rejoice together. Biblical fellowship involves standing in the gap during times of need as well as “singing hymns and spiritual songs” with one another as followers of Christ. The family of God suffers when one of our brothers or sisters is suffering.
3. Galatians 6:2 (NIV)
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
God’s love for each of us is seen in how we choose to care for one another. Just as Jesus carried the cross and our sins, we are called to carry one another’s burdens. Spiritual unity calls for us to suffer when other’s suffer and rejoice when others rejoice. This is one of the most practical ways to join in fellowship and community with one another.
4. Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)
“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.”
We are asked to actually meet together. This may mean inviting community into your hour homes. This may also mean meeting regularly with a community of believers to discuss God’s word so that “good works may abound”.
5. Ephesians 4:2-3 (NIV)
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Community has generous hearts towards one another. Generous with a humble mind, body, spirit and tender heart. When we bear with one another in live, we display the love of God and “grace of the Lord Jesus Christ”. A friend loves at all times. True fellowship bears each other’s burdens without “selfish ambition or vain conceit”. A true Christian community does not place their own interests above those of the whole body.
6. 1 John 1:7 (NIV)
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”
Walking in unity of mind, body and spirit, we receive the spiritual gifts of God. We get to experience perfect harmony with each other through the fellowship of His Son. We see the great power of Jesus providing us eternal life with fellow believers.
7. Acts 2:42 (NIV)
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
Doesn’t this look like what the local church should be today? A community surrounding the Word of God while eating a meal and praying? This is true community. The book of Acts outline perfectly how we are called to create a community together. By meeting the needs of the saints through fellowship, teaching, breaking bread and prayer, we get to experience the fullness of the faith journey together as a family of believers.
8. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
Human beings need connection and encouragement. This reveals the importance of fellowship. Through encouragement and the building up of one another, we experience God’s grace in a different way. Christian relationships are built on meeting the needs of one another. We encourage during hard times and good times. We build each other as sons and daughters of God so that we may “see the good works and glorify our father in heaven”.
9. Philippians 2:1-2 (NIV)
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”
The idea of community is predicated on unity with Christ. We show this by being united with one another through tenderness and compassion. The fullness of joy we get to experience together through the fellowship of the Holy Spirit spurs us to greater love for each other.
10. Colossians 3:16 (NIV)
“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”
We, hopefully, get to experience this together as we worship on Sunday mornings, Tuesday afternoon coffee meetings and Saturday morning play dates. As we allow the words of God to “dwell richly” in our hearts, we are called to sing songs and spiritual hymns to God our Father.
11. James 5:16 (NIV)
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
Spiritual growth involves confession to one another and prayer when being a part of the body of Christ. In today’s world, we often see the perfect lives of everyone around us. Confession to one another is not viewed highly anymore. Confession is the kind of hard work that must be done so that our faith becomes a shared faith with other like-minded believers. By praying for one another, we experience the true love that God has for us.
12. 1 Peter 3:8 (NIV)
“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”
The new testament teaches us that “greater love has hath no man than he lay his life down for his friends”. Jesus did this on the cross for us. We, in turn, lay our lives down for our communities by loving one another with compassionate humility. We are called to display acts of love for another by being sympathetic towards our brothers and sisters in Christ.
13. 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV)
“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.”
The church today is a divided community. Whether we argue about politics, social injustice or theology, the church has become a cesspool of difference and division. The Bible calls us to agree with another in what we say and think. This does not mean we all have to agree on topics like predestination and Calvinism. However, having the “riches of full assurance of understanding” that Jesus died for us and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is what saves us is what we are called to.
14. Romans 15:5-6 (NIV)
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
18. John 13:34-35 (NIV)
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
This is how we show a broken the love of Jesus. We don’t just love fellow believers. We love all people who “were made in the image of God”. Jesus died so that we may have life and have it abundantly. For this reason, we, in turn, love others. The importance of Christian fellowship is that those who do not know Jesus will see “see our good works and glorify their Father in heaven.”
19. Acts 4:32 (NIV)
“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.”
The Bible calls us to forsake out material possessions and share with those around us. This reveals the generosity of the Father. All good things come from God. While we work to produce income and provisions for our daily lives, God is the giver of all things. For this reason, we share in what we have. We don’t hoard the resources we’ve been given, but we share in the love of God by sharing of what we have with another. By being faithful stewards of God, we get to reveal the grace and love that God has freely given to us.
20. 2 Corinthians 13:11 (NIV)
“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.”
Finally, we are called to rejoice with one another. We are called to celebrate with one another. Rejoicing because of the grace we’ve been given, despite the struggles we all face, leads to unity in Christ.
Conclusion
My prayer for each of us is that as we grow as Christians, we do not forsake the breaking of bread with one another nor do we forget the call of community we have on our lives. Fellowship in the sojourner of believers is for those that choose partnership amidst pain. As we have dived deep into community in every place we’ve lived, we see the power of God in people day in and day out. From caring for us when we have walked through death to providing financial provision when we were at our lowest, we saw our community rise up to the call.
As we’ve begun Curated Conversations, we have seen what community looks like in its rawest form. By simply asking a single question, we enter into a world of depth seldom seen anymore. Tears flow and emotions get the better of us. Rarely do we encounter a conversation that fails to change how we view something. We make a collective effort to pray for one another, dine with each other and support everyone. Without community, we would be lost.
I would encourage you to consider the communities you are part of. Whether that be a work community, a church or a friend group, community is essential to truly experiencing the fullness of what God has for us in this life. Community provides the support to get through the toughest times, encouragement to push beyond our limits and the grace to confess the sins we feel shame for. Choose fellowship. Choose community. By doing so, you choose life.
Don’t just be a life, be fully alive in community.
About the Author
John Claborn
Hi! I’m John. Author of the post you just read. I like to write about all things adventure. Mostly things to help people live more adventurous lives and care for their families in a more meaningful way. By day, I’m a COO. By night, I’m a rad dad of 4 kids that I don’t deserve and a husband to a woman I can’t understand how I got. My goal is to show freedom to people through adventure and experiences.
