Common Ground

Eccl.4:⁹ “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.”

God, Himself says two are better than one. Matt.18:¹⁹ “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.” The Voice Translation puts it this way, “And this: if two or three of you come together as a community and discern clearly about anything, My Father in heaven will bless that discernment.”

With God two are always better than one. We are better together. God always works with the principle of unity and the principle of agreement, and it is exponential in its result. But by way of foundation, it is important to state that we need to have common ground before we can pull together before we can even begin to talk about being better together.

For us as believers our common ground is twofold. Firstly, the Blood of Jesus Christ; without the Blood of Jesus Christ we can be together, but we cannot have fellowship. Fellowship happens because of the common ground of the Blood. Then using the Blood of Jesus as a foundation, the second thing that gives us common ground is the values we share. It is because of the Blood that we can have values. As individuals, as a community, and as the Church, we have values.

In the early church, the common ground of the Blood of Jesus brought them together and this was expressed as a meeting place both in the temple and in their homes. Acts 2:⁴⁶ “They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity” (emphasis added). The Covenant of the Blood was expressed in the common ground of the Church. They met in the Temple each day but it did not end there. The Bible shows us that they went from house to house, similar to the house fellowships that we have today. In your local assembly, you need to plug into a small group (house fellowship) for you to complete the circle we see in Acts 2:46.

Amos 3:³ “Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?” In order words, two people cannot walk together if they do not agree on where they are headed. Our values and direction are pertinent things to pull us together. We are all connected by the Blood of Christ and by the values we share, they are our common ground. With God, “two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for the gift of The Blood and the Church family, in Jesus Name. Amen!