Duo: Twos

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their hard work.
-Ecclesiastes 4:9

For where two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there with them.
-Matthew 18:20

He sent them out two by two.
-Mark 6:7, Luke 10:1



Two Preachers

I watched a sermon on video of two guys doing "tag team preaching" and I really liked it.  I have been involved in a large handful of Christian traditions and I had never seen that before.  Two is the number of witness.  The second witness confirms the first.  Two people saw it, two people see it, and two people testify about it.  The testimony of each witness strengthens the other one, as they corroborate each other. (Matt. 18:16)

Revival comes in two's and three's

Do you want to see revival?  Do you want to see the lost saved, the sick healed, and the demon bound set free?  God's method is to do these things through two or three people.  All through the book of Acts, we see mostly duos and trios who are walking in the Spirit, ministering together.

The building block of the church is pairs

We all need to be in pair relationships.  We are unnecessarily weakened when we are not.  When you enter fellowship, it is natural to come into pair relationships.  You may be in two or three of these, but you need to be in at least one, to be functional.

The Power of Twos
  • When we gather in twos and threes in Jesus name, Jesus is there with us. (Matt 18:20)
  • If two have unity or agreement in their prayers together, they will get answers. (Matt. 18:19)
  • There is more power in a pair of than a solo minister and Jesus sent out pairs. (Ecc. 4:9, Mark 6:7, Matt. 10:2-4, Luke 10:1)
  • Solo Christians lack the support their pair could provide (Ecc. 4:10).  When we are falling or failing, our partner supports us, and if we fall down, or partner can help us get back up.
  • In warfare, the duo watches each others back and are more effective in battle. (Ecc. 4:12)
  • When joined to another, in a pair, there is real care, exemplified by intercessory prayer. (1 Sam. 5:11)
  • In a pair relationship, there is trust and intimacy that makes a place for confrontation. (2 Sa. 11:12)
Is there a place for pairs in the church?

The choir, classroom, Bible study class or group, worship services, or home groups don't create pairs. Pair relationships can develop out of any of these arenas listed above, but not easily, because that is not the point or focus of any of them.  All of the above are groups, have soloists, and maybe teams, like a worship team or ministry team.  Pairs could be deemed disruptive or unproductive to the groups listed above.  Pairs mostly have to be developed outside of the arenas listed above.

Pairs and pairing takes time and commitment, but if pairs are the fundamental or basic building block or the church; then isn't it ironic that church, as we know it (in the west), does not really facilitate pairs?

Are you connected in the body?

The church is a body, the body of Christ.  Each member of that body needs connection for its function and survival.  Each member or part of the body is specifically connected to the member or part next to it.  In the body, we are not intimately connected to the whole, but to who we are next to.  The hand is the most important part of the body to the finger and the wrist is most important to the hand, and so forth.

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Footnotes:

The above picture is of two women reading the word at Redeemer University College, Ontario

In researching this topic, I got some of the examples and references from this article by Ron McKenzie, which goes into more detail of why twos are so important and how to form pair relationships.  

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