Study and Fellowship | Christopher Harper

This is the fifth message in our Long-Form series called “Learn to Study.” It asks us to consider who else should be involved in our Bible study.

The entire manuscript of this 40-minute lesson can be found below. Learn more about this podcast here.

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Who else should be involved with my study?

We’ve been talking a lot about our personal responsibility to study
This is only right
Every believer has a personal walk with Christ
And when we walk with Him, this means knowing, understanding, and obeying the scripture
But the New Testament has no message for the believer who has no church
Therefore the local church is central to our continued learning and growth in the word

Today, we are privileged to have published resources beyond the local church
But the church is the starting point and the home for our spiritual accountability and exhortation
Therefore, when we talk about others involved in our study, we must always begin in the church
With brothers and sisters in Christ who have made a commitment to one local body
Who live in covenant with us for the purposes of building one another up to accomplish His mission

The commitment of brothers and sisters starts at the very beginning
When we first come to know the Savior
For every one that proclaims the gospel message is tasked also with teaching anyone who believes “all things whatsoever [He] …commanded”
The task of every local church evangelist is aiding their coverts, leading converts, in study

God’s plan, as outlined by Jesus, is to sanctify individual disciples by truth
But we work together, to be set apart – as a local body – by truth
This process is outlined for us in numerous ways throughout the New Testament

We’ll begin reading about it in Ephesians 5…

25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

The context, of course, is family
But in talking about family we get some insight about the church
And about God’s plan for the church
That it would be set apart “with the washing of water by the word”
Certainly this must reference to word “of God,” because it is truth that sanctifies
And His word is truth

There is a lengthier passage in I Peter 1 that may help…

13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

We know the passage is talking about being set apart
That is what holiness is – a set-apartness unto God, for His exclusive use
And while this book is written to those believers scattered throughout “Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,” it is obvious they have gathered themselves into local assemblies, based on our further reading…

I Peter 1:17-21

17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

There’s no doubt these are believers
Those saved by the precious blood of Christ
Believing in His death, burial, and resurrection
But they are also living, together it seems, in obedience to the truth…

I Peter 1:22-23

22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

They are clearly dwelling together in love
All being, together, purified by truth
Born again, based on the incorruptible word of God
Which abides forever…

I Peter 1:24-25

24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

We need each other
We rely upon each another
But we only do so temporarily
For man fades and falls away like all living things
So we teach each other to rely to an even greater extent on God’s truth
For it endures forever

Churches are not about men, as much as we may love and admire the men in them
They are not about our relationships, as important as our relationships can be
They are about God’s glory, God’s purposes, and God’s mission
And God has given us an eternal text that extends beyond men’s lives
That extends beyond our current relationships
And provides the foundation for a strong, victorious church in any era

How, then, are we interacting regarding the scriptures within the body
Let’s start with those who teach and lead
Look at the beginning of I Timothy 3, where it talks about the office of a bishop or pastor…

1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

Why must he be apt to teach, what must he teach?
The scriptures, of course
Bishops will be a key teacher for us in the word of God
And the scripture warns that we must heed their authority, saying in Hebrews 13…

17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

This certainly refers to those who have authority in the church
Who lead in it
Who teach in it
For who else watches for our souls?

This is why God has gifted us differently
Providing just the right mix of gifting within the body as He has seen fit
Ephesians 4 explains…

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Disciples are made complete within the church
God has designed it this way
So we can accomplish the work He has given us together
Relying upon one another for many things
Help in study of the scripture, certainly one of them
Help in obedience to it, certainly another

Ephesians 4:14-15

14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

We don’t want to be caught up in all manner of error and false teaching
That’s we are to speak certain things in a certain way
Only the truth and only in love
Because there are others about who would deceive
So, we need to rely upon one another

Ephesians 4:16

16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

The body edifies itself in love
That means we build each other up
We are one of the means by which other Christians grow
That is, if we are fitly joined together
Providing the supply that we need to supply
Working effectively and playing our part
This is God’s purpose

We must teach and live in a specific way
A Biblical way
As Colossians 3 explains…

12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

Because you are who you are – that is Christ’s
We should act and interact with all brothers and sisters with, among other things
Mercy
Kindness
Humility
Gentleness
And patience
We should also bear with one another
Be quick to forgive
Above all, putting on charity (or love)
In a perfect bond of unity

Colossians 3:15

15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

The peace of God can rule in the hearts of any people behaving this way
And we will become a thankful people
For this is our calling

But remember this…

Colossians 3:16

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

The word of Christ should inform and alter every interaction
As we teach and admonish (or exhort) each other, in every category of song we sing
And in every other word or deed
And we must do it in the name of Christ
He is the One setting us apart
And we are, together, on His mission in life

So, how should we interact when we come together?
I think we can go back to Hebrews for help

Hebrews 10:23-25

23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Together, we should hold fast
Because God is faithful
And we should “consider one another”
But what does this mean?
To understand them, be attentive to their needs, to learn how we can assist

This may catch us by surprise, if we’ve come to the conclusion that the church must
Understand us
Be attentive to our needs
And learn how it may assist us

None of that is incorrect in a technical sense
We are to consider “one another”
But if either party becomes self-focused, unity becomes very difficult

So our responsibility is to consider
But it is also to provoke

This is a fascinating word, it is an incitement, even to the point of irritation
But it’s not a negative
This is exactly the right kind of an irritation
It is the kind that the one being irritated understands is good for them
And it may not always be pleasant, but it is always helpful

This provoking has been described in this way: “to remind and keep reminding, to encourage and keep encouraging, to help and keep helping”

Notice what we are provoking unto: love and good works
We are using our gifts (and our presence) within the body to push others towards God’s best for their lives
This is a worthy and wonderful pursuit, that we should be excited about undertaking

We should also be happy that others within the body must do the same for us
We will push them, and they will push us, toward loving one another more
Toward loving those who need Christ more
Toward getting involved with people who need love more
Toward speaking loving words
Toward loving God’s commands
And toward actions that profit others and please God

If we consider one another enough to have any success in this work
We will be truly uncommon people in the world

This passage also reminds us to assemble and not to forsake it
While there are (obviously) legitimate reasons not to meet
Forsaking is deliberate and something we often make excuses about or justifications for
We should never behave in that way
Remember, God knows every detail of our heart’s attitude and motivation

The assembly referenced is the local church
Which meets in various ways and in various times, but never the less meets

This is a reminder that the meeting of God’s people is important
It is not something to be taken lightly, because we need each other
We are key to the spiritual growth of others – and they are key to our spiritual growth
Certainly not the only key, but one God encourages

This reminds us that some do “forsake” the assembly
And we should not follow their example
Or use their example as a justification for our own forsaking
We are to do the opposite

Because we must exhort, that means coming alongside one another
We do so, that we may (in a Godly way) push each other forward in our discipleship
When we are alongside we are perfectly positioned to help
And to encourage
And to confront, if necessary

All of this must be done in perfect accord with God’s word
And should be saturated with God’s word
But we must be alongside them to do it

And we are to do all this “so much the more” as we see the day approaching
The day when we can no longer work
The day when Christ calls us home to be with Him

As we have seen, without any lack of clarity, others in the local church play a big part in our study
And we play a big part in theirs