Fellowship

JULY 1, 2020 STUDY NOTES SUBJECT: FELLOWSHIP BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES INTRODUCTION Many different church events today are called “fellowship,” which is probably not a good thing We need to recognize the difference between social activities and fellowship If we understand the truth of Christian fellowship, we can have fellowship at a social gathering Fellowship is one of the great meaningful terms of the New Testament Fellowship is vital to the daily Christian life and central to the spiritual life of the church Christians must have a clear understanding of “Christian Fellowship” Our English word translated “fellowship” comes from the Greek word “Koinonia” Which means a joint participation with someone else, sharing something we have in common Something far beyond friendship, much stronger than friendship or a social activity Fellowship begins with our relationship with the Lord In 1 John 1:3, John indicates two areas of fellowship, one with God and one with other Christians, 1Jn 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. But John teaches us that the two are but one fellowship To have fellowship with God is to have fellowship with God’s people To have fellowship with God’s family is to have fellowship with God The average American church of today needs to understand the meaning of “Fellowship” One purpose of the “called out” of God is to have fellowship with God and one another We are of the same Spirit, same faith, same baptism, same hope, same grace, same salvation We should be living in “Fellowship” with one another (Eph. 4:1-7) FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD God created man to have fellowship with Him, man was created in the likeness of God, Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Man was created in the image of God, Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Four times it is stated that God created man in his image Man, in the beginning had something in common with God, so man had “Fellowship with God” Adam had a mind that could learn and know the truth that came from God Adam could receive truth from God and respond to that truth Adam had a heart that could receive the love of God and could love God in return Adam had a will that could receive revelation from God and submit to that will Adam could obey God’s will Adam was created in the image of God so that he could have perfect “Fellowship with God” That fellowship was lost in the fall of man when Adam disobeyed God (Genesis 3) Because of the fallen nature of man, he could no longer “Fellowship with God” Because of sin his mind was darkened, his heart was hardened, his will was deadened Now then the only way to have “Fellowship with God” is to be born again (John 3:1-8) Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. We must have God’s nature we must have Spirit life in-order to fellowship with God The only way to come to know God is to have eternal life, Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. There is no greater human experience than to know God (Psalms 63:1-8) We can have fellowship with God as we walk in the light (1 John 1:3-10) But there is no fellowship with God in the darkness of sin, 1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: Only as we walk in the light, 1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST We were called into the “Fellowship with Christ,” 1Co 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus came that we might have “Fellowship” with him (1 John 1:1-3) We should have a strong desire to “Fellowship with Christ” (Philippians 3:7-10) That “Fellowship” is to be realized as we partake of the Lord’s Supper The Lord’s Supper is identified as “communion,” 1Co 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? The word “communion” means fellowship, a participation, sharing It is the same word translated “fellowship” in 1 John When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we associate with the Lord and with one another We are partakers one with another, 1Co 10:17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. FELLOWSHIP WITH THE SPIRIT Which is a blessing promised to the Christian, 2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. Again, the word “communion” is the word fellowship Christians have fellowship with the Holy Spirit, Php 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our present fellowship with God, Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our eternal fellowship with God, Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. FELLOWSHIP IN THE EARLY CHURCH The first description we have of the New Testament church is found in Acts 2:42-47 They were faithful to God’s Word, faithful to one another, and faithful in prayer, Act 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. They came together to talk about what they had in common, which was Christ in their life They spent time together in the Word of God, one of the greatest needs of today Their Fellowship” was more than a friendship, they were devoted to one another The time they spent with one another was a spiritual experience They prayed together, a study of Acts will show you the privilege and power of prayer They shared the common life with one another, they ate together with glad and sincere hearts They were experiencing “Fellowship with God” and with “one another” God was working through them, Act 2:43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. God was meeting their needs, Act 2:44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; As they shared in fellowship, Act 2:45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. Which would not have happened apart from their fellowship with God and with one another They greatly rejoiced, Act 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, And the Church was growing, Act 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. The collection of funds for the poor saints in Jerusalem was identified as fellowship, Rom 15:26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution (fellowship) for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. Ministering to the saints is called fellowship, 2Co 8:4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 2Co 9:13 Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution (fellowship) unto them, and unto all men; FELLOWSHIP WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS Fellowship with other Christians should be exciting, Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Take every opportunity to meet-together with your church family, come to Church There are many reasons why Christians should be faithful in church attendance One of them is “Fellowship with other Christians” The Church is a unique meeting, we are a unique people meeting for a unique purpose We are God's own people meeting together with God for “fellowship,” Php 1:3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Php 1:4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, Php 1:5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; When someone comes in the door of this church, they should sense the presence of God Because God’s people have come together in a unique relationship with God We are the people who live in a relationship of God's love We love God because He has first loved us, and we love each other because of God's love in us People in love will meet-together as often as possible We come together to aid, help, comfort, and encourage one another Too often people come to church with an attitude of selfishness and self-centeredness They want to be entertained instead of being spiritually educated and encouraged Christians are not to come to church just for the satisfaction of self Christians are to come to church to give of themselves for the strength of others Many times, people do not come to church considering what they can do for others We should come together with the desire to encourage and excite one another Come to church excited and stir up excitement among others Christians have more to be excited about than anyone else Your Christian life should be more exciting today than it ever has been Fellowship is giving attention to others; understanding others; having concern for others, Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Christian fellowship is a consideration for “all saints” Fellowship will encourage you to pray for one another “Supplication in the Spirit” comes through Christian Fellowship It is when the Holy Spirit makes you aware of the needs of others You can identify particular-needs and pray specifically for those needs “Watching thereunto” is a very-interesting term, it means that you will abstain from sleep The thought is that you will stay awake spiritually, you will be spiritually alert “With all perseverance” means that you will continually be spiritually strong Fellowship keeps you strong and allows you to strengthen others BIBLE TRUTH CONCERNING FELLOWSHIP A CHRISTIAN CANNOT: Have fellowship with God and walk in darkness, 1Jn 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. Which is a lie and not the truth, 1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: Have true fellowship with an unbeliever (2 Corinthians 6:14-18) You can have friendship Have fellowship with the things of the devil (1 Corinthians 10:20-23) Have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Our Christian life must prove to others that a life of sin is the wrong way to live You cannot be friends with sin, you must fellowship with God and God’s people Have fellowship with those who deny the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9-11) CHRISTIANS CAN HAVE FELLOWSHIP BECAUSE: Of our divine nature, 2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. “Partakers of the divine nature” means that we are partners, we are companions, and we share We share “the divine nature,” that is the reason we can have fellowship Fellowship will prove that Christians have escaped corruption The word “escaped” gives us a picture of someone who has been successful in avoiding danger The world we live in is a dangerous place to live, the world we live in is corrupt The ways of the world will corrupt your mind and will destroy your life Corruption describes the result of things that are not good for you Corruption describes something that is decomposing or decaying Without fellowship with God and God’s people your spiritual life will decay We are a new creation, 2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. God who created all things in the beginning has created a new people in Christ Paul describes the new by comparing it with the old There is a daily process going on in the Christian life Old things, the way life used to be, are in the process of perishing, they are disappearing New things have taken their place, things that are much better for us and for others The things that can be shared with others, the things that are to be shared with others We are a new man, Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. If you get new clothes you want to put them on and come to church so others can see them In Christ we have a new life that others need to see They need to see that it is a righteous life, a life lived in obedience to God They need to see that it is a life of true holiness, holiness is the result of fellowship with God We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, 1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? We are of a heavenly calling, Heb 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; We are heavenly citizens, Php 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: EVIDENCE OF FELLOWSHIP: Love for one another (John 13:34-35; 15:12) Forbearing one another in love (Ephesians 4:2) Serving one another (Galatians 5:13) Concern for one another (1 Corinthians 12:25) Bearing one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:1-2) Being kind to one another (Ephesians 4:32) Strengthening one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11) Sharing our faith (Philemon 6-7) CONCLUSION Even a handshake between Christians should be meaningful, Gal 2:9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. Read the book of Philemon, the major concept of the letter is “Fellowship” The relationship between a slave and a master has new meaning when both are Christians “Christian Fellowship” is a gift of God It consists of all that God has given us through Christ and His Word Fellowship is when the Holy Spirit shares with our spirit all that God has freely given us Fellowship with one another is when we share the joy of Jesus from our heart The joy of fellowship comes when we share the joy of Jesus with others The joy of fellowship comes when others share the joy of Jesus with us Fellowship with God and fellowship with others is but “One Fellowship” How long has it been since you shared the joy of Jesus with others? We all need “FELLOWSHIP,” especially in the days we are now facing Fellowship begins by being near to the heart of God, let’s sing it HYMN #295 “NEAR TO THE HEART OF GOD”