“[A] Christian comes to others only through Jesus Christ. Among men there is strife. ‘He is our peace,’ says Paul of Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:14). Without Christ there is discord between God and man and between man and man. Christ became the Mediator and made peace with God and among men. Without Christ we should not know God, we could not call upon Him, nor come to Him. But without Christ we also would not know our brother, nor could we come to him. The way is blocked by our own ego. Christ opened up the way to God and to our brother. Now Christians can live with one another in peace; they can love and serve one another; they can become one. But they can continue to do so only by way of Jesus Christ. Only in Jesus Christ are we one, only through him are we bound together.”—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

“God has drawn us together like living stones to form a house in which he delights to dwell—the ultimate dwelling place for which tents and buildings have been poor substitutes (1 Pet 2:5). But this temple is also the body of Christ, a living organism moved and controlled by his Spirit. We cannot be strong in the Messiah without being enriched by the other members of his body and, in turn, enriching them. Abiding in Christ means staying in touch with other parts of his body (Jn 15:7). Being in community with members of the body of Christ is essential to spiritual renewal.”

—Richard Lovelace, Renewal As a Way of Life