No one wants to be alone. But as a believer, why do I belong in fellowship with God’s people? - Belonging - TouchPoints

Romans 12:4-5Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

If we are in fellowship with God, we belong in fellowship with God’s people. Belonging to God makes us part of Christ’s body, the church. When each part of the body works together, the body functions as it should. Even if we might not always feel that we need the rest of the body, this passage reminds us that the rest of the body needs us.

1 Corinthians 12:18-22, 26-27Our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. . . . If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

When we actively participate in Christ’s body, we not only have the privilege of carrying out our roles on behalf of other believers, but we also receive care and support from them that we cannot supply on our own. While we never give up our individuality as members of Christ’s body, we can increasingly experience the benefits of healthy connections with our fellow members during both good times and difficult circumstances.

Ephesians 4:15-16We will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

If you are part of the body of Christ, then when you are absent the body is missing the “special work” God’s Spirit has equipped you to do. As we participate in Christ’s body, we will become more and more like him in our individual lives, but we should also see this transformation occur in our corporate life as we live out the gospel in a dark world.

Philippians 2:1-2Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

Here are at least five personal benefits that we receive because we belong to Christ: encouragement, comfort, fellowship in the Spirit, tenderness, and compassion. But notice that these benefits should always lead us toward agreeing with each other, loving one another, and working together. We won’t achieve these things by our own efforts; the source is the Holy Spirit’s working in and through Christ’s body.