The Contrast of Community and Spiritual Formation in the Old and New Testament
The biblical concept of community permeates the Scriptures whether we are discussing the Old Testament or the New Testament (Pettit 2008). From the beginning of creation, the idea of community has always been God’s idea. The first place in the context of the creation story where God declares “this is not good” is in reference to Adam when He says “It is not good for man to be alone” . We were created for fellowship which means we were also created for community.
Community and Spiritual Formation in the Old Testament
To understand the contrast between community and spiritual formation in both the Old and New Testament, we must first realize that these communities …show more content…
Jesus declares that essentially the Torah and the Prophets can be summed up in two commandments and that is “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself . When God’s people whether under the Old Testament or New Testament could understand the love of God, then they would possess a better understanding of how to love their neighbor within …show more content…
Every part of the body or each member is depending on the other, yet they are all connected to each other and Christ who is pictured to be the functioning head of the body. According to Paul, it was in this close knit community that actually was catalyst for spiritual formation . The early church gives striking evidence of how the early church dwelt in community and spiritual formation (Alikin 2010). The two of the major contrast seen in the Old Testament and New Testament community is the body of believers extents outside of the Jewish community and is comprised of both Jew and Gentile and the internal nature of the covenant as stated in Jeremiah 31:31-33. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was their Husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, says the Lord, I will put My law within them, and on their hearts will I write it; and I will be their God, and they will be My
The biblical concept of community permeates the Scriptures whether we are discussing the Old Testament or the New Testament (Pettit 2008). From the beginning of creation, the idea of community has always been God’s idea. The first place in the context of the creation story where God declares “this is not good” is in reference to Adam when He says “It is not good for man to be alone” . We were created for fellowship which means we were also created for community.
Community and Spiritual Formation in the Old Testament
To understand the contrast between community and spiritual formation in both the Old and New Testament, we must first realize that these communities …show more content…
Jesus declares that essentially the Torah and the Prophets can be summed up in two commandments and that is “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself . When God’s people whether under the Old Testament or New Testament could understand the love of God, then they would possess a better understanding of how to love their neighbor within …show more content…
Every part of the body or each member is depending on the other, yet they are all connected to each other and Christ who is pictured to be the functioning head of the body. According to Paul, it was in this close knit community that actually was catalyst for spiritual formation . The early church gives striking evidence of how the early church dwelt in community and spiritual formation (Alikin 2010). The two of the major contrast seen in the Old Testament and New Testament community is the body of believers extents outside of the Jewish community and is comprised of both Jew and Gentile and the internal nature of the covenant as stated in Jeremiah 31:31-33. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was their Husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, says the Lord, I will put My law within them, and on their hearts will I write it; and I will be their God, and they will be My