Is the House Church Model Biblical?, pt. 3: Obedience to "One Another" Commands

In our two previous posts here and here, we began addressing the question of whether the house church model is biblical. So far, we looked at the use of the word "church" in the Bible. One of the three uses of the word church refers to churches that met in a specific person's or couple's house. And we looked at instances of Christians gathering in homes that may or may not have been dedicated house church gatherings as further evidence of the biblical nature of house churches.

In this post, we take a different angle. Although the New Testament never commands the church to gather in a specific structure (house or otherwise), it does command the church to do many other things. And our perspective is that a simple or house church setting for gathering is most conducive to obedience to these "one another commands."

One Anothers

The New Testament contains numerous one anothers, which appear about 100 times in total when counted with all their repetitions across different passages, showing how central these relational practices were to the early church. Most of these commands concern the church living life together.

You can take a look at a helpful infographic summary of all of these one anothers at Overview Bible here. But in a nutshell, the Greek word translated as "one another" in these verses is ἀλλήλων (al-LAY-lone), and about half of them are explicitly given to followers of Jesus. One third concerns the church getting along with one another, one third concerns followers of Jesus loving one another, and the remaining third covers a variety of topics, most of which concern humility among Christians.

Here are some examples from each category:

1. Mark 9:50: "Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."

2. John 13:34: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another."

3. Romans 12:10: "Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor."

4. Galatians 6:2: "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

As mentioned, this is just a small sampling. There are many other commands, a lot like these, commanding expected behavior within the church community. Because they come up so often, they give a strong sense of what the Bible expects church communities to look like when they live in obedience to these commands.

Disobedience in the Prevailing Model

There is, however, a present-day dilemma with the one anothers. If these commands are the most explicit instructions from Jesus and his apostles, especially Paul, for what exactly the church is to do together, then the conventional versions of the church are structured in ways that make obedience difficult.

Most of what people do when they "go to church" is attend an event that they passively consume. For the most part, the leaders speak, pray, lead music, and handle crowd control. There may be some limited time for "fellowship," but it is typically an optional component of the gathering and quite superficial.

The elements that receive tacit or explicit emphasis include attendance, theological agreement, financial contribution, learning knowledge, and volunteering in logistical roles, such as usher or nursery attendant, and the like. But there is typically very little space or time for obeying the one anothers. Even instruction on the one anothers is often absent.

A significant factor in this oversight is the size of the gathering. The larger the gathering becomes, the more difficult it is to emphasize the one anothers. Size is not the only factor, but it is a major piece. And a church doesn't have to be very large for size to affect things. Even a gathering of a few dozen people can be too large for the individuals present to show much concern for one another. It becomes easier to control the crowd from up front and slip into more centralized approaches.

How House Church Lends Itself to Obedience

Because the size of the gathering is a major factor in our ability to obey the one anothers when we are gathered, house churches are a more ideal environment for emphasizing and living out these commands. The fewer the people there are, the simpler it becomes to pay attention to one another, be vulnerable with one another, care for one another, have conflict with one another, and therefore to forgive one another and grow together.

We are not naive enough to say that size alone means that a group will obey these commands. We have seen very small churches neglect these commands as well. And we have seen large churches, including megachurches, make a concerted effort to emphasize small groups to better live out the one anothers.

Whatever the size of the church, a healthy church will be obedient to the one anothers. Our status quo structures tend to ignore what is commanded in favor of emphasizing extrabiblical elements that many of us take for granted. And the larger a gathering becomes, the more likely the people in it will not be obedient to the one anothers.

Therefore, although house church is never commanded in the New Testament, the one anothers are. And a house church setting tends to be the most conducive environment for regularly living out obedience to these commands. This is yet another reason we argue that the house church model is biblical.

If you appreciate this post, we encourage you to share it with someone else who might benefit from it. You can also read similar posts on similar topics here and here. And we encourage you to join one of our upcoming coaching cohorts to learn more about how you can start gathering with others in simple ways. And stay tuned for the fourth part of this series of posts next week.