Finding God in Community

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2019

Keywords

Community, Christian life, Fellowship, Encouragement

Abstract

"God exists in community. Before the angels, before the universe, before perhaps time itself, the Father, Son, and Spirit shared a continuous love that can exist only in community.1 Community is God’s primal manifestation of existence and reality. When God created humanity, He intended for us to be able to relate to Him, so the Lord made us male and female (Gen. 1:27), counterparts equal but distinct in community. Jürgen Moltmann argues that truly knowing something involves being able to participate with that entity.2 For example, rather than learning physics merely to recite formulas and laws, I, Jonny, studied the subject in order to experience it, to glimpse both its beauty and that of the universe it reveals. All true understanding, then, requires ever-deepening participation with reality through the lens of the specific subject. God’s lens is one of community. When we participate actively in our human community, we develop the capacity to grasp God in even more basic ways. This scriptural picture of God and humanity reveals that our interaction with others is fundamental to conceptualizing God, and ultimately finding and experiencing Him."

Journal Title

Ministry: International Journal for Pastors

Volume

91

Issue

1

First Page

9

Last Page

13

First Department

Christian Ministry

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