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REFUEL 2

“[I pray that you] know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”—Ephesians 3:19

Stop for a few seconds and focus on the phrase, “filled with all the fullness of God.” Both filled and fullness come from the same root word, and the idea is completely full or abundant. What would your day look like if you were to be completely full of God’s fullness? Can you even imagine what that would look like? Feel like? Look and feel others around you. Paul’s prayer for his churches is that through knowing Christ’s love, they will be abundantly filled with God’s abundance.

Key Scripture: Acts 2:42-46

When we looked at this passage in our earlier session, we focused primarily on the fuel of prayer and Scripture as personal and individual disciplines that help refuel our hope and joy; however, it is imperative to remember that Christian faith is not an individual sport. While these disciplines have power as we practice them individually, they are amplified when we bring them into the community of Jesus's followers. In fact, in this passage, the prayer and teaching were all happening within the corporate gatherings, alongside meals, which were most likely both informal mealtimes and celebrations of the Lord’s Supper.

Notice how the corporate focus on the communal vertical relationship with God directly informed the horizontal relationships among the gathering. This group of people was radically generous, radically hospitable, and full of sincere joy. The word for “fellowship” used here is a strong and vibrant one. It carries a strong connotation of intimacy. These saints had a new identity in Jesus Christ that forged a bond that superseded all other allegiances, including their allegiance to their own property and possessions! They were so committed to Jesus and committed to one another that they were voluntarily, without compulsion, willing to ensure that there were no unmet financial or material needs among the members. This kind of community was so compelling, that they couldn’t help but continue to be together, also sacrificing their time in order to meet daily.

• Are you a member of this kind of Christian community in your local church? If not, how can you help build it?
• What kind of impact can true Christian fellowship have on the unbelieving world around it?

Fuel up with Community

“If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” —1 John 1:7

God’s people, the church, is not merely a social club; the church is a blood-bought fellowship of people who are united by their membership in God’s family through the reconciling work of Jesus and the bond of the Holy Spirit. Our membership in the local church is not to be taken lightly. In fact, Jesus indicated that our relationships with other believers would be the deepest, most profound, and most loyal of all our other relationships, including family relationships.

Here are some benefits to fueling up with community:

• Accountability: Be transparent and allow other believers to help you stay on the right path (James 5:16).
• Encouragement: Be open to having words of life spoken over you (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
• Provision: Be willing to accept help from other believers and be ready to share your blessings in return (Galatians 6:10).
• Strength: Be ready to experience the power of strength in numbers (Ecclesiastes 4:12).