True Community
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
What God Intended for the Body of Christ
Fellowship among believers is more than just talking over coffee after church service. Biblical fellowship in New Testament times—or koinonia—had rich and varied meanings, including covenant relationship, partnership in the gospel, communion with God and others, and the sharing of earthly possessions.
In True Community, bestselling author Jerry Bridges guides you through koinonia and its implications for today’s church. With discussion questions at the end of each chapter, this book will help you dig deeper into what Christian community in the twenty-first century should look like. You will come away with a new appreciation for fellowship, the church, and what God intended the body of Christ to be.
This is a Logos Reader Edition. Learn more.
- Includes a discussion guide for personal or group use
- Explores the meaning of koinonia and its implications for today’s church
- Attempts to show that an understanding and application of biblical koinonia will help all of us practice true community
- Sharing a Common Life
- Union with God
- Communion with God
- Fellowship and Community
- Spiritual Fellowship
- Partnership in the Gospel
- Spiritual Gifts within the Community
- Sharing Your Possessions
- Supporting Your Local Ministry
- The Fellowship of Suffering
- The Fellowship of Serving
- Social Fellowship
Top Highlights
“In both Acts 2:42 and 1 John 1:3, the New English Bible translates koinōnia as ‘sharing a common life.’ This is the most basic meaning of koinonia, or fellowship. It is sharing a common life with other believers—a life that, as John says, we share with God the Father and God the Son. It is a relationship, not an activity.” (Page 2)
“So the difference between ‘Lord, help me’ and ‘Lord, enable me’ is a matter of partial trust in our self-effort versus total reliance on Christ.” (Page 20)
“Those first Christians of Acts 2 were not devoting themselves to social activities but to a relationship—a relationship that consisted of sharing together the very life of God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They understood that they had entered this relationship by faith in Jesus Christ, not by joining an organization. And they realized that their fellowship with God logically brought them into fellowship with one another. Through their union with Christ, they were formed into a spiritually organic community.” (Pages 2–3)
“John Owen again expressed this attitude of total reliance on Christ when he paraphrased” (Page 19)
“Because it is important for us to realize that, by God’s grace, all believers share in the very life of Christ Himself! As wonderful as it is to realize that God calls us to have communion with Him each day, it is far more wonderful to know that He has called us to actually share in the life of His Son Jesus Christ.” (Page 13)
With God-honoring and Scripture-reassuring precision, Jerry Bridges escorts the reader into a rich, applicable, and convincing encounter with truths often ignored. I am exceedingly thankful for Mr. Bridges's healing and helpful exposition.
Rev. Joseph V. Novenson, Senior teaching pastor, Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church, Lookout Mountain, TN
The Holy Spirit has given Jerry Bridges a gift of being able to explain and apply biblical truth with unusual clarity and simplicity. Pastors, deacons, and small-group leaders especially will benefit from reading this book, finding specific help in leading their churches into Christ-reflecting, gospel-fueled community. The discussion questions add particular value for those using this book in a group setting.
Larry E. Mccall, DMin, pastor, Christ's Covenant Church, Winona Lake, IN
As a pastor of a small but growing church, I am so grateful for this book. Spiritual fellowship, as described and prescribed by Jerry Bridges, takes people who are spectators at church and turns them into life-giving participants in the body of Christ. True Community will make its way into every new member's orientation packet in our congregation!
Dr. John Yenchko, Pastor, North Shore Community Church, Oyster Bay, NY
- Title: True Community
- Author: Jerry Bridges
- Publisher: NavPress
- Print Publication Date: 2012
- Logos Release Date: 2017
- Pages: 192
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
- Subject: Fellowship › Religious aspects--Christianity
- ISBNs: 9781612913957, 9781631460654, 9781631460661, 1612913954, 163146065X, 1631460668
- Resource ID: LLS:9781612913957
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-06T20:44:58Z
Jerry Bridges (1929–2016) was an evangelical Christian author and speaker. He serves in the Collegiate Mission, and has been on the staff of The Navigators for more than fifty years. Bridges earned an engineering degree from the University of Oklahoma and went on to serve as an officer in the United States Navy during the Korean War before joining the staff of the Navigators.
He is the author of more than a dozen books, including The Pursuit of Holiness, which has sold more than one million copies. His devotional Holiness Day By Day garnered the 2009 ECPA Christian Book Award for the inspiration and gift category, and The Discipline Of Grace received a similar award in 1995 for the Christian living category.