Psalm 138:2,KJV. Here the basic meaning of "fellowship" is a real and practical sharing in eternal life with the Father and the Son. 1John 1. (Ephesians 4:29). In Paul's letters we find that the apostle emphasizes the faithfulness of the call of God the Father in the gospel "into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord" ( 1 Cor 1:9 ). So Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:9, You were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Which probably means both (1) sharing vertically in the union each of us has in Christ, and (2) sharing together with other believers the common union we have with Christ and each other. It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. This is brought before us in verse 4, and notice how important all the words are in this verse. They were living for the same purpose as Gods people to glorify Him and make His name known! We have at least five huge realities about to create a catastrophe: And the logic of the clauses what we see in arcing does not tell us how these five realities relate to each other. On the basis of this relation there is fellowship for Christians both with God and with each other. Association; confederacy; combination. In other words, Paul wanted to have a share in the sufferings of Christ. I assured mom that a warning such as that 1985 conversation, made me feel all the more loved, after I heard what you really think of hell.

The topic assigned for me in this series on perseverance is Christian Fellowship as a Means of Perseverance. So let me begin with a definition of Christian fellowship. Therefore, the richness of the experience of fellowship in the Holy Spirit is because of the reality of the new creation and of being "in Christ.". And that inference from the logical connection between the imperative of verse 13 and the truth of verse 14 is confirmed by the way the writer explains the dynamics of falling away from God. All sin is a lie because nothing is more preferable than God. Dont throw him away. We need each other to lean on when things get tough and to rejoice together when we are rejoicing. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come" ( 2 Cor 5:17 ). 5. So I invite you to turn to it. In either case sin, in essence, is a preference for anything over God. ", What Every Christian Should Know by Francis Dixon (Scripture Portion: Philippians 1: 1-20). Paul is convinced that the churches are partakers in the sufferings of Christ ( 2 Cor 1:5-7 ). That too is part of what Christian fellowship says to a straying friend.

1985 I wonder whether you remember a very much younger me, sitting in your office and telling you I was afraid God would have to use a car accident or some other awful event to get my attention. Thank you so much for reading, sharing, and for your encouragement! We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we holdour original conviction firmly to the very end. Hebrews 3:12-14. . And all who believed were together andhad all things in common., Here (and all throughout the New Testament) we see an incredible gospel community! May we be a people who are so filled with the love of Christ that we would pour it out to the body of Christ and exemplify the mercy of God to a hurting world around us. Verse 6 tells us that Paul had faith, confidence, in these Christians - in Gods purpose for these Christians in what He was doing in them and was going to do in and for them in the days to come. Does it just happen in church or does it happen all throughout our daily lives as we interact with one another? That is the essence of evil. Then, directly after this, we get verses 42-44: Andthey devoted themselves to the apostlesteaching and thefellowship, tothe breaking of bread and the prayers. And this hardening heart is called in verse 12 an evil heart of unbelief. Unbelief, therefore, is another way of describing what happens as the truth and beauty and worth of Christ become less and less desirable less and less welcome, less able to touch and penetrate the hardening heart. Then well end with some examples of how this works. By his sacrificial death and glorious resurrection/exaltation, Jesus Christ brought into being a new creation, a new order, and a new epoch. Paul longed for his brothers and sisters at Philippi, even for Euodias and Syntyche. His way is better. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. Here is not a mere act of historical memory and imagination but a real and vital union and communion with Jesus Christ, the exalted Head of the Body. That woman is a fruitful and faithful minister in the church today. And the last thing to say about it is that it is evil.

She was repeatedly suicidal. Dont commit eternal suicide. You say to your brother, If you shrink back, if your heart is deceived, and hard and unbelieving, you will be destroyed. He is infinitely better! Our job is to help each other keep this catastrophe from happening. To participate with him in suffering for the gospel. In contrast, koinonia [koinwniva] has its origin in a movement out of the internal, eternal relation, relatedness, and communion of the Godhead of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Imagine the pressure, the stress, the tension, the discouragement. "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. How are we as Christians to enjoy this fellowship? We prayed. Excellent article! Because God made us as the body of Christ, we all have different roles to make the body work together. We need each other every day to walk alongside each other and help one another to continue persevering in the faith. Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. On the contrary, it is glad with all good men when truth prevails. For example, in ac 2:42 we encounter the word Koinonia [koinwniva] and read that the new converts continued in "the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship." No one had ever before told me I was headed for hell, missionary kid that I was, saved at the age of six . "For if the Gentiles have shared (verb, koinonein [koinwnevw]) in the Jews' spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings" ( Rom 15:27 ). It is not possible to be critical or a hindrance in the work of the Lord if we are fully engaged in this ministry of prayer. Do this for each other. In this case it is something distinctively connected with the gospel. Fellowship is something we often talk about as followers of Christ, but what is true biblical fellowship? (Hebrews 10:3839). For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. You will ask this in your ministry! If I have the gift of foretelling the future and hold in my mind not only all human knowledge but the very secrets of God, and if I also have that absolute faith which can move mountains, but have no love, I amount to nothing at all. So when we talk about Christian koinonia fellowship or sharing or participation that is unique to our relationship with other believers what we are referring to is the shared union, the shared participation that we have together with Christ. Before we were Christians it did not make sense to us to pray for our friends and associates, but now we know that when we pray for each other we are enjoying and expressing fellowship in the gospel.

Is it worth it to be Gods anointed? If youre a Christian you are united to Christ in a mutual bond with all other Christians. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Various texts copyrighted by their authors. I feel like accountability is a huge part of Christian fellowship that is either overlooked or taken advantage of. Dont shrink back. Thanks, Sharon! However, it is especially, but not solely, in the writings of the apostle Paul that the theological dimension of koinonia, [koinwniva] "fellowship/sharing/participation" is developed and clearly presented. B. Phillips): If I speak with the eloquence of men and of angels, but have no love, I become no more than blaring brass or crashing cymbal. It can often be a forgotten part of the spiritual disciplines of a believer but it is so important that as Gods people we continue to spur one another on towards Him each day through true biblical fellowship. First, the fact and experience of Christian fellowship only exists because God the Father through Jesus Christ, the Son, and by/in the Spirit has established in grace a relation (a "new covenant") with humankind. And second, will these exhortations not also be the flip side of he is better, his treasures are greater, namely, The pleasures of Egypt are fleeting (Hebrews 11:25)! Other times, or at the same time, the exhortation is: If you leave him you will be destroyed. The character of this fellowship is made clear in the celebration of the Lord's Supper, the Holy Communion, where there is intimate fellowship or communion with Jesus Christ, the exalted Lord, and with those who are "in Christ, " for those who faithfully participate ( 1 Cor 10:16-17 ). We need each other to daily walk alongside one another so that we keep walking with Christ and persevering in the faith to the very end. It is not possessive: it is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance. The reason for this is that in modern English "community" presupposes "individualism" and thus carries a meaning that is necessarily foreign to biblical presuppositions since individualism (i.e., the thinking of a human being as an "individual" and as the basic unity of society) is, technically speaking, a modern phenomenon. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. One of the great benefits of being thankful for all those with whom we are associated in Christian worship and service is that it saves us from wrong attitudes - from irritation, resentment, jealousy - these horrible sins of the spirit. God has you in his hand. Yet, the apostle thanked God for them all, and this aspect of fellowship in the gospel is very important indeed. Companionship; society; consort; mutual association of persons on equal and friendly terms; familiar intercourse. John Piper preached this message at Bethlehem College & Seminary in downtown Minneapolis, where he is chancellor. Most of the other christian princes were drawn into the fellowship of that war. Thank you for visiting my internet space. Later in the chapter, the Ziphites betray David and tell Saul where he is, and Saul comes after him. Heres my suggestion for how these five realities actually work to bring about the catastrophe warned against here and that Christian fellowship is designed by God to prevent: Sin can be spoken of subjectively, as something that we feel or do, or objectively, as something we are drawn to feel or do. Those who believe the gospel of the resurrection are united in the Spirit through the Son to the Father. A lot of questions as to how the practicality of true fellowship works out particularly at this time, with no meeting together good post and lots to ponder on! Put it to the test and see! At the beginning of this chapter, the Holy Spirit comes and then Peter preaches an epic sermon of the gospel. In response Paul called for the collection to be made from the Gentile world for the poor in Jerusalem and Judea. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. That you cared enough to tell me, a stranger at the time, means more than ever with the echo in my ears. I call this the reality factor in preaching or in any application of Gods word. Is it just gathering with other Christians for a game night or going to the movies together? Was Paul ever tempted in this way? If I dispose of all that I possess, yes, even if I give my own body to be burned, but have no love, I achieve precisely nothing. Men are made for society and mutual fellowship. In fact, to be "in the Spirit" is possible because of the fundamental truth of Christ's establishment of the new order, age, and epoch by his death and resurrection. Doubtless he was. So, whether you are together facing martyrdom, or final exams, or a ping-pong game, Christian fellowship is aware of a profound, eternal relationship of love governed by Pauls exhortation in Ephesians 4:29: Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion [whether martyrdom or ping-pong], that it may give grace to those who hear. What is the ministry to which every Christian is called? She persevered. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. And this is another way of saying that Christians who are baptized into Christ and given the gift of the Spirit are dynamically related to the Father through the incarnate Son in and by the Spirit of the Father and the Son. Partnership; joint interest; as fellowship in pain. Every sermon, every conversation, is a means of final salvation. Let me leave you with one more picture. Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828. It was used of a business partnership, where two or more persons share the same business and are thus closely connected in work. Unusual. When done humbly as we walk alongside one another, it is a crucial part of fellowship! - Raising Everyday Disciples, Pingback: How to Start Praying To God - Raising Everyday Disciples, Your email address will not be published. Then look at the description of that process in verse 13b: Dont be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. So Paul was clear that the relatedness of Gentile and Jewish believers "in Christ" leads to mutual obligation. The word fellowship means a joint participation in a common interest and activity, and thus it refers to something that belongs to us all, that we share together. It was not his purpose to urge Christians to become new creatures; also it was not his aim to tell them what they could or would become if they stayed Christian. As it is written,Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. 2 Corinthians 8:13-15, But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it,so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 7. Bibliography Information Please feel free to link to pages on this site, but do not copy articles without authors' permission. And this is called unbelief. Wow! Lets spend a few minutes at the level of its logical relationships, and then deal with what I call the reality factor. .

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. In koinonia [koinwniva] the Jewish Christians have given the message of Jesus the Christ to the world, and in koinonia [koinwniva] the Gentile Christian are to give material assistance to the Jewish Christians. Check out my other resources in my Getting Started series:Spending Time with God in His Word: How to Get StartedPrayer: A Helpful Tool to Get StartedGetting Started with Family Bible TimeDiscipling Children: Where DoWe Start? Thats how Hebrews 11:26 says it. Eph. She had come in to seem me in 1985 and was living in sexual immorality. Orr, James, M.A., D.D. Please read the following extract from 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 (J. That is, they point specifically to the supernatural life of God given to and shared with humankind through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. If you found it helpful, please share it with family and friends, use it as you disciple your children or others in your life that you are discipling, and continue passing on a love for fellowship with the body of Christ!*.

You are, therefore, in a profound, eternal relationship of love with all believers. And from that logic between verse 13 and verse 14 you infer, rightly, My exhortation is one of Gods means for keeping my brother or my sister holding fast to Christ, and thus saving him from destruction.. For example: The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a fellowship/participation in the blood of Christ? So thats the ground of these two imperatives in verses 12 and 13: Take care! and Exhort one another every day. Why? And what we have seen of the grace of perseverance in these messages is that perseverance is necessary for final salvation (The one who endures to the end will be saved. Mark 13:13); and that perseverance is guaranteed for all those who are born of God (He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6); and that perseverance is accomplished through means, one of which is Christian fellowship as Ive tried to define it.