Why do we come together? Why meet at all? Why make this a priority? The less profound but more absolute version is pretty simple: we were told to. Jesus said so, so we do so. Then, we have the example of the earliest recordings of the church in the Gospels, with the Apostles, and in the book of Acts with additional followers. Through multiplication, missions, and persecutions we see expansion and multiplied churches born. In these examples we find even more proof that we should be together.
Togetherness is discovered mostly in the letters of the New Testament. Phrases are employed that signify their common togetherness, such as: “when you come together”. It wasn’t “if” they did, but “when”. The specific quote I’m making here is found in the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians. In this text he is admonishing them to have “order” when they come together. The Apostle expresses the essential nature of order and togetherness. Some in the church at Corinth would have a chaotic hangout, expressing some god-songs or speeches in another language for the joy of it. Paul explicitly condemns preferential worship in this text and exerts some leadership. His exerted leadership did not impress them at all. In fact, some of the counter-leadership were more ‘hot’ about it than before. Subsequently they stirred the pot as it were, resulting in two personal visits and two letters, after the fact. Tucked into the context of 1 Corinthians 14 we have teaching on tongues, languages, and even more. The interesting note I want to point out is not the ‘how’ of the text, but the ‘why’. Notice with me verse 26— “How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.” The phrase is: “when you come together”— again, not ‘if’ but ‘when’. Secondly it was to be done for “edifying” and not for self. Previously in verse 23 the text reads— “If therefore the whole church be come together into one place…” Now we find an “if” in the text. They did not always have the freedom or space to be a whole assembly, all together, in one place. It was expected, but not always possible.
What challenges me is… they wanted to. I see more of the opposite today. People look for every excuse to not be together. I wonder if it is attributive to the lack of love we will experience in the end-times? Jesus said it Himself in Matthew 24.12— “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” How true it is! “Iniquity” (anomian in Greek) means ‘lawlessness’. The literal meaning is— ‘without law’. It is an utter disregard for God’s law. In the culture of the day, they used it as including the end-impact of law breaking. It effects us at our core, our soul. Therefore, as Jesus said, it causes us to lose our love for others. This is happening right before our eyes! There is a tangible coldness.
The remarkable descent of this is also noteworthy. Jesus said it would “wax cold”, which any interlinear would tell you this word “wax” means ‘multiplied’. Multiplication is easy when it is 2 times 2, but when it becomes 247,342,956 times 247,342,956, then we have ‘exponential’ multiplication. Jesus said there will be (now) an exponentially multiplied descent of love among those who know God’s love. It is not everyone though. Check out the verse again and you will see that the word love there is ‘agape’ which is a God-love, only given by God and done so at salvation. It is not brotherly love, but an unconditional self-sacrificing love. It also says the love of “many”, not a few will do this.
So, the majority of believers will lose their love for others in an exponentially multiplied way, because the results of sin in and around us, has effected a severe cost us to our souls.
No wonder people don’t want to get together. They are cold. They see the coldness in others. No wonder make more and more plans exempting themselves from any real meaningful contact with others. God help us… what will happen when persecution hits our shores? No need to shut down churches… they are doing that themselves now, by not wanting to be together, in this easy home-style environment we have now. No time for it. No energy for it. We love other things more.
I read in Hebrews 10.25 something familiar with application to this topic— “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.” It says “some”, not the majority. It also says “forsaking”, which means to leave behind, desert, to leave in the lurch. The majority hasn’t walked off permanently, yet. It is starting to happen though. Some show up and they aren’t really ‘there’. To the definition and usage here: “in a lurch”, I can definitely agree. There are always some who complain but drop it like a hot potato when it’s uncomfortable or relational. So many today want to do the tasks but not the personal ministering. The reason has already been discovered… love lose. Their love has grown cold. I feel the tendency in myself as well. It is a strange phenomenon, but it is as real as the evil we live in. To that point, verse 25 also says “so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” meaning the catching away of the saints or ‘rapture’. We are approaching this event at breakneck speed. What does the scripture tell us to do? Meet together more often, as much as we can, until the end.
God has placed the remedy of the lack of love within the texts of scripture. Clearly it isn’t less connection, but more. Spiritual things most often run opposite of human logic and reasoning. The Spirit who authored your Bible is also inside of you confirming this now isn’t He? We need more time together, not less. Why together? Because we desperately need it.