We recently did a study in 1 & 2 Samuel as a Church. Not at Sunday School, but at Sunday Home Group. This is in the evening time every Sunday. The Church meets at the residence of a gracious host who allows anyone to come over and share a meal. What a pleasant time it is; no matter how energetic the children are or how few seats there are to sit comfortably. We typically read chapter by chapter, week after week. It is nothing extraordinary but, it is consistent.
Paul urges believers to “present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is our spiritual service of worship.” Then he goes on to exclaim, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” [Romans 12:1–2]
This transformation, for me, is a slow, gradual process; day by day. It is nurtured through meetings and gatherings with the body prioritizing the Word of God to be the focus. It is not a seminary class nor even a super structured Bible study. We are simply reading as a group while answering some topical questions verse by verse… as a group.
This setting is where the real understanding comes from. It is where men and women begin to see clearly to the truth about… each other. It is so easy to take small moments for granted and under value the times where there are no brilliant revelations nor any “I finally get it” moments. But in these gatherings God grows us. He transforms us. These are the times that our relationships with our brothers and sisters, in Christ, become a bond stronger than genetics.
In this, the “transformation by the renewing of your mind” is internally developing, being cultivated and fed. It is not strange that Jesus uses His own creation to provide us with instructive imagery that is timeless.
The Seed in the Soil
Consider the seed. When a seed is planted in good soil, there is no external development to indicate that it needs to be nurtured, yet watering is necessary. There is no sign of life that is visible but in the heart of the soil there is growth, development and transformation. “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” [1 Cor 3:6] So it is with every believer; one person plants, one waters but God gives the increase. Have you examined the increase God has given lately?
Every person wants to see something in order to believe something. It is deep within our heart to desire to have a material and visible object to love and worship. The sorrow that I observe in the unbelief of man is not that God moves and a hardened heart doesn’t respond, it is that God is moving and a believer would still ask for a sign.
“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
John 3:8The Wind You Cannot See
There is an unusual statement people often make: “Hey, it’s supposed to storm, do you see any rain or lightning? No, but I see the wind blowing.” Of course no one sees the wind actually blowing. We see the effects of the wind blowing — trees are moving, leaves are blowing, maybe a little paper is scuffling across the ground.
Moving air does not actually have a sound; it is the speed of the air forced through objects that causes the sound. This is the most relatable and timeless image of how the Spirit of God moves. The invisible God moves in His creation and chooses to show the effects in such a magnificent way. No matter how advanced technology becomes we can only understand God’s creation a little better than we did yesterday… so we think.
“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host… For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.” [Psalm 33:6, 9] We have no true understanding of the science of how this occurred — there are only observations we have labeled as reference points. “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” [Matt 8:27] God uses His creation to explain in a deep and timeless way how He moves — His Spirit moves about like the wind, and “He works all things according to the counsel of His will.” [Ephesians 1:11]
Iron Sharpens Iron
When we as believers gather, it is always in the name of Christ — in Christ. Not all gatherings have to be formal, nor do they all have to be “sacred moments” in our faith for the Spirit of God to be present and move. But… we must gather. “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” [Prov 27:17] No matter how big or how small the gathering, there is an incredible move of the Spirit deep in the soil. There is transformation and growth. We learn about one another so that we can learn from one another.
A good sister who is now with the Lord would say, “the laboring you’re doing now may be the fruit someone else will reap so that God can get the glory because it’s not all about you.”
One Body, Many Members
Renewing the mind is a continuous Spirit-filled process that moves at the speed of your willingness. Doing this as a body helps to hasten the process — not that there is a finish line to reach, but a higher love to attain. True relationship and Godly fellowship will cause believers to admire Christ and honor each other; it will result in unity in the Spirit which is much deeper than socialized conformity to a philosophy.
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” [Phil 2:1–4]
In these frequent moments of fellowship, we are able to grow as a body, together. “For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.” [1 Cor 12:12] The hand is able to scratch the itch on the knee or comfort and console the aching shoulder. Every Sunday at Home Group we are able to learn about one another. We are able to let our guard down and show our hearts to one another. The results produce a church that prays together, a body that sings together, a body that worships together. “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” [1 Cor 12:26–27]
One Root Beneath It All
The largest organism by mass on earth is the Pando Aspen Grove in Utah. It is a forest of Aspen trees that shares only one clustered root in the depths of the soil. So it is with us, as God gives increase to our faith. “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” [Matt 13:31]
As believers, we rise and stretch toward heaven in different seasons and landscapes, yet beneath the visible growth of our lives lies a hidden mystery — one living, intertwined root anchoring us all. In the unseen depths of the heart, the Holy Spirit binds us together, drawing from the same eternal source, nourishing, sustaining, and uniting us as one body in Christ.
“No matter how big or how small the gathering, there is an incredible move of the Spirit deep in the soil. There is transformation and growth.”
Narayan RabindranathHow close are you willing to grow with those that God has placed you around?
Narayan Rabindranath is a writer and member of the If Only One team. This article reflects his personal reflections on Christian fellowship and the work of the Spirit in community.