by Joel Comiskey
Christ’s presence in the cell has been a very important topic lately. Christ is the Head of the body, His church, and we are joined to Him. The cell is the church (just like the celebration) and is a supernatural organism, as opposed to a man-made organization. Cells work as each member hears from Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, and responds accordingly. As each body part functions properly, the cell comes alive and true edification takes place. Believers are edified and non-believers are transformed through the supernatural ministry of each member. Ralph Neighbour does a great job of detailing Christ work in the cell in his book, Christ’s Basic Bodies. I just reread Neighbour’s book as well as two other books about Jesus Christ’s role in the body (e.g., E. Stanley Jones entitled The Unshakable Kingdom and the Unchanging Person).
The Holy Spirit also plays a critical role in the cell group. 1 Corinthians 12-14 tells us that the Holy Spirit dwells within the cell and distributes His gifts according to His will: “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines”(1 Corinthians 12:11). My book, The Spirit-filled Small Group, highlights the Spirit’s role in the cell. And we must not forget the Heavenly Father’s critical role in cell ministry!! The fact is that the Trinity, God’s fullness, make cells work effectively.
The unity between the members of the Trinity is our example for community and love within the cell. Jesus and the New Testament writers were constantly telling us to love one another, serve one another, and walk in humility with each other. Because God, the Trinity, lives in a loving relationship, He expects His people to live in the same way. Individualism, however, bucks this idea and resists walking in unity.
Biblical culture is group oriented because it reflects the Trinity’s nature (see Hellerman’s book, When the Church was a Family). When writing my book, The Relational Disciple, I realized that I had to repent of my individualistic ways and ask the Trinity to make me more like Himself. I realized that the Bible, not culture, should dictate all that I say and do.
It’s true that each member of the Trinity plays an essential role in cell ministry, but I believe the most powerful model for cell ministry is the Trinity Himself. He desires to mold us and our cell groups to reflect His nature.
Comments?
Joel
I just want to say that this thing called culture is our biggest stumbling block and the thing that I fight against on a constant level living in Europe. The Lord has had us dealing with this since the beginning of this year. It needs replacing in the Christian mind. Our identity does not lie in our culture but what God says about me and what God says about me can only be found by studying His Word. If we realise that as Christians we have a new identity and it is not me, Debby, that lives but Christ Himself that lives in me then we would want to get rid of this thing called culture that has a tendency of holding me back from my true inheritance and embrace more fully the finished work of the cross. Man, just think about it, Christ in me the hope of glory. When we learn to lay down our culture then the Trinity can raise it up again so that we can come to use it to reach people in our culture but also release people held in bondage by it and give them their new identity which is Christ in me/them……the hope of glory.
Debby wrote, “Our identity does not lie in our culture but what God says about me and what God says about me can only be found by studying His Word. If we realise that as Christians we have a new identity and it is not me, Debby, that lives but Christ Himself that lives in me then we would want to get rid of this thing called culture that has a tendency of holding me back from my true inheritance and embrace more fully the finished work of the cross.”
The LORD has also been dealing with us (me and our church members) about this. In a book titled, “Spring Training for Christiansâ€, p8, the author, Neal E. Snider writes,
“The essential nature of sin is self-centeredness rather than God-centeredness. Sin removes God from His rightful position of authority and establishes the self as the highest authority. Consequently, sin is nothing less than rebellion. God is not worshipped and honored because the self has asserted itself to the position that is appropriate for God alone.â€
Rick Warren says this in the very first line of his book, “The Purpose-Driven Life” when he writes, “It’s not about me”.
I recently spoke with a man who was involved in a cell of our church a few years ago but relocated to another part of the country. I was glad to learn that he grasped the importance of identifying a godly accountability partner in his new church. In our conversation he told me, “Rick, I heard you say it many times, ‘It’s not about me. I don’t sit on the Throne. It’s all about Jesus Christ. He sits on the Throne'”. He then said, “Rick, it took me years to understand what you were trying to say.” He then encouraged me to add Neil Snider’s quote (above) whenever I teach this in the future with the hope that it won’t take others as long as it took him to grasp this essential truth.
I often remind the folks that the cell is the safest place on earth for Christians to express their faith in Jesus Christ. I pray we do our part to insure the ‘safest place on earth’ remains “God-centered” rather than self-centered.
Hey, Debby and Rick, Isn’t it amazing that we are totally new creatures and can live according to a new culture!