The NASB begins 2 Corinthians 6:1: “And working together with Him [God]. . . .” Paul writes something similar in 1 Corinthians 3:9: “For we [Paul, Apollos, and other believers] are God’s fellow workers. . . .” It’s inspiring to think of being God’s co-workers in God’s great mission to reconcile the world to Himself in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:19)!
But I am also inspired by this thought: If each follower of Christ is God’s fellow worker in God’s great mission, then each follower must also be their brother’s or sister’s fellow worker. In Christ, we are working together with God and with one another.
“Working together” is one of the key ideas of the General Conference. Our history is one of groups of believers discovering one another, finding out that they share common understandings of God’s Word and will, and then uniting to become more effective workers with God. By combining their resources, they did things that none of them could do as effectively alone. They discovered that we are better together.
What was true then is true today. We are better together. The members and congregations of the Church of God (Seventh Day) in the United States and Canada are more useful to God as the General Conference than any one of us could be alone. By ourselves, we can do a limited number of good and wonderful things. But together, we can do so much more! We can support Artios Christian College, an institution of higher education that is impacting the world. We can publish the Bible Advocate that spreads the gospel everywhere. We can financially contribute to foreign missions projects and indigenous gospel workers around the globe. We can create districts and administrative services and ministries to support the good work of each congregation and member. We can organize a ministerial council to keep us doctrinally unified and help us find pastors we can trust.
Working together with God is great. Working together with God and one another is fantastic! We truly are better together.
— Loren Stacy
