Supernatural Community

Church Family:
Many of us have entered a church (GCT) with great expectations to find Christian community with those who are like us. We hope to commune with people with similar experiences, similar identities, and similar needs. We long to find community with people who get us. Does that sound a little familiar? If this is what you are seeking, did you know that this is not the level of community that Jesus calls us to? Community that is established on similar life experience, identity, need, and social position requires no gospel power. That kind of community happens outside of the church every day. Or, what about when we find community, but after a few weeks or months our mutual flaws and shortcomings become frustrating and discouraging? Our dream of heavenly community becomes replaced with earthly remorse. We start to think this group is not worth the sacrifice or investment. What do we do then? Give up?

Don’t get me wrong. It is natural and beneficial to seek community with those who share similar life experiences. But if the church community we desire can exist without God’s supernatural power, then we have missed the point of community. God calls us to a greater gospel community. Think about it. The only way that sinful, frustrating people—like us—can come together in a loving community is by God’s supernatural power. Our flesh naturally flees from community because it is messy work with messy people. Yet, God calls us to this supernatural community called church, GCT, where we put ourselves into relationships and say: "There is no way this relationship can exist but for the truth and power of the gospel! This is gospel-centered community."

As Christians, we have no choice but to be part of God’s flawed community on earth that is called church, and God makes it clear that we can only do this through His supernatural power. I think we can all agree that without us yielding to the Holy Spirit in our lives, no church on earth would last more than one week, so God calls us to community that begins with supernatural forgiveness. We see this in Luke 7:47 in which the prostitute desired gospel community with Jesus and others, just as Jesus desired gospel community with her. In faith, the woman repented of her many sins, and she was forgiven. When her sins had been forgiven, she loved Jesus with great love, even washing His feet with her tears and hair. The magnitude of her love for Jesus reflected her awareness and experience of forgiveness that she received from Him. A Pharisee who watched this interaction between Jesus and the prostitute still desired no community with her. The Pharisee could only see her sins. He could not see his own personal need for forgiveness, so he loved little, if any. Jesus summarizes the scene by saying: "Her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little."    

Just like the gospel-centered community that was established between the woman and Jesus, supernatural community within a local church is dependent upon knowing that we have been supernaturally forgiven. That forgiveness then drives supernatural love within gospel-centered community. This community love is empowered not by the lovability of others, but by supernatural forgiveness in Christ at the cross. As we understand our sinfulness and both the absurdity and reality of forgiveness in Christ, love for God will go from a spark to a forest fire, which in turn creates powerful love for others. So, within GCT gospel-centered community is not loving people like yourself in your own human strength but loving others who are completely unlike you in the supernatural strength of the One who first loved us.

See you Sunday, supernaturally together: Steve