Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. [For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (ESV)
Douglas Sean O’Donnell writes:
The “threefold cord” is simply a statement that we all know to be true: in the most “dangerous and difficult situations” and “for everything from work to warfare,” there is comfort, success, and safety in numbers. Michael Fox hits the nail on the head: “If the companionship of two people is beneficial, how much the more so the fellowship of three!” And in this way, while the original context is clear, the universal application is elastic. Stretch it to fit your marriage. Stretch it around your workplace. Pull it into your church.
Pastor Solomon’s “commendation of community” is a welcome “antidote to the individualism that infects” every local church. Just as the body of Christ “does not consist of one member but of many,” we need each other for service. We also need each other for mission, perseverance in holiness, and even church discipline.
MEMORY WORK – Shorter Catechism Q/A 21
Q. 21. Who is the redeemer of God’s elect?
A. The only redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continueth to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, forever.