Community = a people with a shared identity and mutual responsibility The Bible helps us think about community well: God is, as the Triune God, a community in Himself, existing perfectly, eternally. Humans have been made in His likeness and created in community with Him and each other. Sin has affected human community so that we are naturally set against God and each other. Israel was formed by God as His set apart community, but they failed to live faithfully as His people and demonstrated their need for salvation. The Gospel announces who Jesus Christ is and what He has done in order to save people from their sins, and anyone who believes in Him is brought into community with God and His people. The Church is the special community of Jesus Christ made up of everyone who believes in Him and lived out in local gatherings of believers, committed to helping each other grow in Him. What are the characteristics of the church’s community, and are there any corresponding responsibilities for those within its community? Unity and Diversity | Authority and Necessity | Order and Submission Edification and Sanctification What does it mean that the church pursues edification? 1 Thessalonians 5:11 What are we talking about with regard to edification and the church? Matthew 16:15-19 Acts 9:31 1 Corinthians 14:1-12 Ephesians 4:11-16 What does sanctification mean? 1 Peter 1:15-16 What are we talking about with regard to sanctification and local church? John 17:16-19 Romans 6:19 Ephesians 5:25-27 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 What is your responsibility in relation to the characteristics of edification and sanctification?