Teammates
“The devoted themselves … to fellowship” Acts 2:42
Stewardship can be a lonely sport. While the rest of the world is concerned only about spending, traveling, and consuming, the Bible talks about serving, praying and loving. The call of Christ bids us to follow the game plan for faith, hope and peace of mind. We need each other to follow the way of Christ.
God has designed His work on earth much like a team. No one person can do it all. It takes a group of multi-talented and gifted individuals to accomplish the goal. And what is God’s goal for the team? To win people to Christ, see them grounded in the faith and built up for the work of service (c.f. 4:11-13).
In Romans 12:4-5 Paul says, “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others”.
Members of one another. Commonality. Partnership -- all displaying the same life source – the residence of the Holy Spirit. The only way for God’s team to properly function is the outworking of the same life source. The Holy Spirit is most prominently displayed through Spiritual Gifts.
Read 1 Corinthians chapter 12. What metaphor does Paul use to describe the nature of the church?
There is something so compelling, so inspiring about the account of life in the early church. What seems to reverberate in my spirit are the words all, everyone, together, fellowship.
There is something contagious and exhilarating about being part of a winning team. All you have to do is think of the power of team sports. If polled, I think most of us would say, “Just one time in my life, I’d like to be a part of something like that – something that is functioning optimally, effectively, where individuals periodically submerge their own personal agenda for the sake of the team.
It happened in Acts 2. It could happen again.
