Created For Community: Lessons From Acts 2Sample

Before the beginning: God as community

“In the deepest mystery of his being, God is an intimate relationship,
a fellowship, a community of love.” Darrell Johnson, Experiencing the Trinity

Close your eyes and picture the opening scene in Genesis 1. Often, when we think about “the beginning,” we envision God as a solitary figure, hovering alone over unformed space and speaking the universe into being. Yet Scripture indicates that before Creation, God existed as a trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each serving and bringing glory to the others in perfect, intimate communion.

Later in Genesis 1, when God says, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness" (emphasis added), He imparts His own nature to Adam and Eve, that they might live in perfect, intimate communion with each other and their Creator, knowing fully and being fully known. 

These relationships shattered when Adam and Eve believed the serpent's lie of independence from God. Loneliness, poverty, and brokenness entered the world, and our shame separated us from our Creator and each other.

But God, in His unfailing love, invites us back into renewed relationship with Him and with others through Christ. His Spirit transforms our hearts and lives, empowering us, too, to extend the reconciliation we’ve experienced to our friends, our neighbors, and our broken world. 

So why do we still feel so alone? Why does isolation remain prevalent? And how do we pursue community in a culture that elevates individuality over interdependence? 

As we’ll see, Scripture reveals God’s beautiful vision to draw together the people He created in His image—across all tribes and tongues—so that they can receive and reflect His love in the perfect relationships He designed, even before the beginning.

Action

• As a group or individually, reflect on these questions: When you think of God’s presence in the Creation narrative, which person of the Trinity appears the most in your mind? How does knowing that God exists as a Trinity affect your perspective on community?
• What’s holding you back from Christ-centered community? Consider the story in this video of how men and women around the world are collectively meeting needs and growing together through church-based savings groups.
  https://player.vimeo.com/video/286020383