No Christian is an Island

The Christian faith is not meant to be a solitary faith. From the beginning, believers were called into a community of like-minded believers. In other words, no Christian is an island, to borrow the familiar phrase.

Hebrews 10 reminds us to "hold tightly to the hope that we confess without wavering, because He who made the promise is faithful. And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good works, not abandoning our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and even more as you see the Day approaching. (vv. 23-25)

Christian fellowship is therefore not an optional extra, but a defining expression of the obedience of faith.

The early church did not simply believe the same doctrines from separate homes. After baptism, “they devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and to fellowship in the breaking of bread and in prayer” (Acts 2:42). They met regularly, shared meals, prayed, worshipped, cared for needs and lived as a united community (Acts 2:42-47). Paul gives theological expression to that same Christian unity in Ephesians 4.

Christians are to make every effort to maintain “the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace,” because:

“There is one body and one spirit…one lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:3-5).

Christian fellowship is therefore not based merely on friendship, personality or convenience. Christians belong together because God has called us into one body, united in one faith, sharing one spirit, under the one lord Messiah and the one God and Father of all (Eph. 4:6).

This unity is beautifully expressed in the New Covenant Communion meal established by Jesus (Luke 22:19-20; cp. 1 Cor. 11:25-26). Jesus’ final meal became a continuing act of remembrance for his people together.

Later, Paul teaches more about the significance of this deeply personal act for the church:

"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Messiah? The bread which we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Messiah? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, since we all share the one bread." (1 Cor. 10:16-17)

Communion is therefore not some private time with your own “personal Jesus.” The one bread represents the one body—the church. As Paul makes equally clear:

“For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body…we all were made to drink of one spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13).

The Christian cannot rightly say, “I belong to Messiah, but I have no need of his people.” Paul uses precisely that image: “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’” (1 Cor. 12:21). To belong to Messiah is to belong to his body.

Some Christians isolate themselves willingly, perhaps because of disagreement, past hurt or simply temperament. Others are isolated unwillingly through distance, age, disability, family circumstances or persecution. The answer is not condemnation, but reconnection. Seek genuine Christian fellowship wherever it can be found, so that we can pray, study, teach, encourage and grow together.

And when physical presence is impossible, modern technology can be a tremendous help. Rather than only criticizing the pitfalls of the internet age, use its benefits to pray, study and fellowship with believers across great distances. Yet whenever circumstances permit, face-to-face fellowship remains the New Testament ideal.

Lastly, Christian fellowship is not about attending a building for its own sake. The church is the people—the body of Messiah together, sharing the one faith, one hope, one baptism, one spirit, one lord Messiah and one God and Father. That unity is visibly expressed when we partake together of the one bread and the cup, because we are one body.

So let us not drift onto some lonely island of our own making, for no Christian is an island.

Instead, let us seek one another, encourage one another and remain in fellowship—“all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:25).