Some words seem compatible until you press them hard enough. Scrolling and boredom — we scroll to escape it, but usually find more boredom waiting. Crowded and alone — most of us have stood in a room full of people and felt completely unseen. And then there’s this one: Christian and alone. We are each responsible for our own walk with God, but we simply cannot walk it out by ourselves. We were made for one-anothering. We were made for Christian community.
This all goes back to the very beginning in the Garden of Eden. It was there that God saw Adam and said, it’s not good for him to be alone; I will make a helper suitable for him (Gen. 2:18). While that speaks to marriage, it also speaks to our need for other people around us—helping us, encouraging us, and pointing us to truth. We simply can’t do life —physically or spiritually—by ourselves.
That’s why God, in his wisdom and love, has given us the church. It’s there: as Christians, we grow together, stirring one another up to love and good works (Heb. 10:24). We’re being built up together as the body of Christ. Do you prioritize being a part of Christian community? It’s for our joy, progress, and survival as Christians! Here are 20 Bible verses to start your study.
20 Bible Verses About Christian Community
1. Proverbs 17:17 (ESV)
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
2. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (ESV)
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
3. Matthew 18:20 (ESV)
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
4. Matthew 22:37-40 (ESV)
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
5. John 13:34-35 (ESV)
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
6. Romans 12:10 (ESV)
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
7. Romans 12:16 (ESV)
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
8. 1 Corinthians 1:10 (ESV)
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
9. 1 Corinthians 12:12 (ESV)
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
10. Galatians 5:13 (ESV)
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
11. Galatians 6:2 (ESV)
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
12. Galatians 6:10 (ESV)
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
13. Ephesians 4:2 (ESV)
With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
14. Ephesians 4:25 (ESV)
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
15. Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
16. Ephesians 5:19 (ESV)
Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
17. Hebrews 3:13 (ESV)
But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
18. Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV)
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
19. James 5:16 (ESV)
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
20. 1 John 1:7 (ESV)
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Life Together
One man who learned firsthand what Christian community costs was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He wrote about our human need for Christian community in his 1938 book Life Together. He wrote this work after the Gestapo shut down the seminary he was running. His book was born out of being forcibly removed from his Christian community. He was later sent to two concentration camps, where he was finally executed by hanging (just weeks before Germany’s surrender). He said,
“The Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth.”
Bonhoeffer lived in a very different time, but he speaks to something timeless we all know: left to ourselves, we will bend the truth around our own fears and failures. We need other Christians who can see clearly–who, from outside our own perspective, can point us to the capital T–Truth.
So, prioritize the privilege of being in Christian community. The church needs you, and you need the church. There’s no such thing as an alone Christian.
With you,
Cara
Related Posts
- Why You Need a Christian Writing Community
- 20 Bible Verses on Friendship
- 20 Bible Verses About Hospitality
- 20 Bible Verses About Putting Others First
- 20 Bible Verses for When You Feel Alone
P.S. Belonging to a local church is the highest priority. But subsequent to that, we also need Christian communities built around our interests. That’s why I’ve created The Writers’ Bloc community. It’s an online Christian community for women writers who want to grow in the art and heart of writing. No matter your age or stage, you’re welcome here! We have both free and premium memberships available. To learn more, visit our website: MyWritersBloc.com
P.P.S. Life in community is also part of my book The Pursuit of Holy Leisure, chapter 7. Check it out here.