True Christian Community is Patterned in the Sacrificial System - Part 1
Studying the rich topic of worship, I came across an incredible picture from the first five chapters of Leviticus (Entrances to Worship). Now, these passages on the surface don’t inspire enthusiasm among most believers. However, these chapters are the basis of the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. And, when taken slowly and meticulously, treasures abound for life after 2000 AD. My purpose with this article is to show how Christian Community is a crowning highlight of worship if not the apex of God’s repeated longing to dwell among His people and be their God.
I’m building this article into three sections for easier reading. But, you should know that each of these sections build on each other to demonstrate the purpose I just mentioned. If you catch these principles, they will breathe life and joy into your small group meetings, discipleship meetings, and congregational meetings.
Let’s start with this Vision Value:
Due to all of our sin, none of us should ever get along with each other or ever fulfill any good motive for why we were created. It is Jesus who both makes the way possible and joins His people together to show His delight.1
Entrances to Worship and Community - The Burnt Offering
Take a moment with me and look at the sacrificial system in brief to establish the context.
Leviticus 1 — Provides the basis of access to God. God made the way for everybody regardless of class or wealth to come to Him through the Burnt Offering2; the substitutionary offering for sin. There’s a special term in Hebrew "rason" that is used in this chapter to signify God’s good pleasure and acceptance. Leviticus starts with Good News. God made the way to be accepted through the offering. As Ross comments, "…a person new in the faith was delighted to begin worshipping with this sacrifice as a publicacknowledgment of the gractious provision of the Lord."3 There is so much more treasure that springs from this passage and the fulfillment of Christ. For now, it’s easy to see the way of salvation in this offering. ( Romans 3:25; 1 Peter 1:19; 2:22; Ephesians 5:27)
Application
Therefore, let’s apply what we see to real life. If not for God Himself making a way of acceptance to Him, our relationships, meetings, families, and dare I say - organizations would have no significance or basis. We as believers always meet for Jesus, because of Jesus, and with Jesus. Jesus is the basis of salvation and therefore Church.
Too often, we forget this supreme motive. We meet for our agendas, because of our salaries, and with our employees. This doesn’t happen solely because of pragmatism, postmodernism, or worldly marketing strategies invading the Church. It simply takes place because we lose our focus of communion which is Jesus. Therefore, we turn toward those other philosophies and techniques to fill the gap or serve as our central point of reference.
This leads us to something critically deceptive. We often assume that we have Jesus as the focus in our churches when we’re really depending on our programs, our preaching, or our wealthier givers. Many men have set up their churches where the impartation of knowledge reserved for a select few is the sum total of "ministry". This leaves too much of the clergy-laity distinction that was constructed and left behind for us by Romanism. James 1:22 also calls this deception — that people can come, sit, hear (believe), and that’s good enough.
Along with James, you must do your salvation if you really have it. I believe that all the saints in the Church need to be trained and co-commissioned to work-out their salvation; to display and demonstrate the life of Jesus to others. So, how do you do that? The first step is to think outside the box — the box of the auditorium — and to think where people live in their homes, families, workplaces, and communities. We can’t take a congregation into most job-sites — but you can send a brother or two into one who already work there.
You want the How -
JESUS –> in communion with YOU –> YOU in communion (not just classroom) with PARTNERS (one-to-one and small group) –> YOUR PARTNERS in communion with JESUS, YOU, and OTHERS at their workplace doing the same thing you demonstrated to them –> the GATES OF HELL collapsing.
A bit simplistic? Too naive for the modern world? Sounds like a guy wandering around in the desert with some other guys following?
Part 2 when the juices flow again…
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Really looking forward to part two, Rob.
It seems that if we really think about it, the concept of God working toward greater community with Himself should leave us awestruck. “I will be their God, and they will be my people” is far more rich a concept than what might originally be thought, and it is the point around which all Christian unity (community) should revolve.
Great point Tom! I wholly agree that the repeated desire of God to dwell among His people and reveal them as His own is far richer and deeper than we give it credence or meditation. That desire doesn’t change. That is the amazing character of God forever and ever. Part two will be around dedication to God but that builds toward part 3 — the communal meal.
Hi Rob & Sandy, the Lord brought us together in Denver and we thank Jesus for that! I want to affirm your emphasis on Christian community - and here’s the really good news -the Scripture affirms it too in the NT. As you are already teaching and discovering, worship was/is about a sacrifice. The #1 purpose of the OT sacrifices? To please God (we must never forget that is the main thing. even as we explore the blessings that accrue to us as a result of worship to Him. Be careful not to ‘worship the worship experience’ as some do, that is idolatry). But that was the Old Covenant…what about New Covenant sacrifices - are Christians expected to bring any sacrifices to please God? After all, Christ died once and for all and did away with sacrifices (Hebrews)and we’re not under the Law.
But wait…it turns out there are several sacrifices listed in the NT that Christians are asked, even commanded to bring - so that God is well-pleased (Gr. euaresteo - literally, ‘entirely gratified’).
The one NT sacrifice we will focus on here is found in Hebrews 13:16 (the poor step-child verse to the popular v15 about sacrifice of praise, where we sometimes try to justify music’s pre-eminence in our assemblies). One morning the Spirit opened my blind musician eyes to read v16! “But to do good and to communicate, forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (KJV)
The Greek word for ‘communicate’ is ‘koininia’. This is community in the truest NT sense of it. This is Acts chapter 2 community: v42 “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Fellowship = koininia = community! But apparently the writer of Hebrews was so concerned that Christians would forget this, he urged his readers to ‘forget not’.
Conclusion: The sacrifice of praise is not enough to fully please the Father. God will be entirely gratified and fully pleased only when a group of believers also practices the sacrifice of koininia/community.
Application: learn what koininia really meant to the early church and then ask the Holy Spirit for the power and grace to practice radical koininia one to another. As you are rightly discovering here, too few churches or groups today bring the sacrifice of koininia. We are confused by well-meaning yet cheap imitations such as the ‘fellowship handshake time’ or the ‘after-service coffee fellowship’. These imitations leave the observant Christian desiring so much more, and than we seek it in the ‘experience the presence of God through pop music’ model of worship. That is also a cheap imitation of the real fellowship in Christ Jesus.
To the church in Serenissima: the USA churches are woeful at NT koininia/community. I am guilty! The Lord God has given you the blessed opportunity to break free from ‘church’-ianity and instead bring the sacrifices that please Him most. May He bless your ekklesia (assembly)!
We love you in Christ Jesus - please pray for the struggling saints in Denver Colorado.
Dan
danlucarini@msn.com