“All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved” (Acts 2:42 -47 NLT).
There is an inbuilt desire in humans for community. As someone most appropriately observed, “Man is a special being, and if left to himself, in an isolated condition would be one of the weakest of creatures, but associated with his kind, he works wonders.” We need one another to become the best God created us to be in life. Our Creator Himself observed that “it is not good for man to be alone” and went ahead to make a helper well suited for him (Genesis 2:18). The human desire and longing for community derives from his being made in the image and likeness of God. God is a community comprising of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The trinity therefore presents us with a model of relationship that God expects in the church or any segment thereof. Relationship within the Godhead is based on perfect love, perfect trust and mutual respect. Since community is inherent in the nature of God, He puts high premium on it among His children on earth. Our Lord reveals the high rating He placed on community saying, “When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there” (Matthew 18:19-20 The Message Bible). God guarantees His manifest presence in the midst of two or three believers who gather because of Him.
God values community, just like the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The early church devoted themselves to fellowship, sharing meals and resources, and praying together. Let’s create safe clusters, like home cell fellowships, to nurture young converts and experience God’s presence.
Pursuant to this, the Holy Spirit did not come on the early disciples until “they were all in one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1). The Holy Spirit did not come to anoint an individual, but a community of believers. He came to prepare a Body (community) for Christ. The Psalmist declared, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore” (Psalm 133:1-3 NKJV). God honours any community of believers whose reason of being together is to honour Christ and glorify His name on earth. He does not only pour His anointing on them but uses them as a means through which He communicates eternal life to people. Hence it was testified of the early church, “And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.” I believe the reason for this was because they created safe clusters which can receive and nurture young converts. Therefore, the post Pentecost believers did not only devote themselves to the teaching ministry of the apostles, but also to “fellowship”.
The basic idea of fellowship is community. The brethren enjoyed being together and serving together. They shared whatever they had with love and evident friendliness. Some even “sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need…” They had a lively and active social intercourse among themselves and cared for the needs and welfare of one another. They pursued and experienced community in the context of home cell fellowship – they “met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people.” A home cell fellowship is “an intentional face-to-face gathering of a few people usually numbering between five to twelve believers who meet at regular time schedules in an unthreatening environment, often the home of one of them, to interact, pray, study, evangelize and mature together in their experience of the love of Christ.” (The church of His Vision). God wants believers to cultivate strong interpersonal relationship in the church. I rarely could think of a better way to achieve this than creating cell fellowships as intentional clusters of love and care where problems and joy are shared among members. The Holy Spirit is eager to see such communities spring up in homes all over our cities manifesting the glory and power of God’s kingdom in Jesus name.
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