Thoughts on fellowship (6)

There are many prerequisites for fellowship – here are four. The first is that Christian fellowship requires time. This point is so elementary, but it is liable to be forgotten. We cannot have fellowship unless we set aside the time for it. This may mean that we have to change our priorities, and it may mean that times of fellowship have to be organised.

A second feature of true Christian fellowship is trust. Of course, the question we should ask is not, ‘Can I trust that person?’ Instead we should ask, ‘Can that person trust me?’ Trust is not only revealed in confidentiality. In a sense, that is easy. All confidentiality requires is for a person to keep his mouth shut. Trust also involves commitment. Commitment in Christian fellowship will be seen in the frequency of meeting together, and in the fervency of earnest, regular prayer for one another.

A third feature of Christian fellowship is tenderness. Each person in a Christian church has sore points. They may be current troubles in providence, they may be mistakes in the past, they may be disappointed hopes from long ago. When believers meet together in fellowship, they should show great sensitivity for one another. This does not mean that they cannot have a disagreement about an aspect of Christian doctrine or Christian living. Yet they will be tender to one another.

The fourth feature of Christian fellowship to note is that it requires talk. It is not possible to have corporate fellowship in silence. One can be present in a room full of others in which nothing is said. What happens then is that a group of people have individual fellowship and it would make no difference if the rest were not there. Proper fellowship requires sharing. We should imitate the example of the believers mentioned in Malachi 3:16: ‘Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.’

Thoughts on fellowship (5)

No doubt, the secret energy that maintained the desire for fellowship was the secret inner workings of the Holy Spirit. But this secret energy revealed itself in particular fruits of the Spirit, in particular the fruits of joy and sincerity.

If there is one mark that is not as strong as it should be, it is the experience of great joy. There are many reasons suggested for this – our stoical Britishness, our reserved Highland attitude, our Calvinistic sobriety. Personally I think such suggestions are nonsense. The reason why our joy is small is because we spend little time in fellowship with God. Even at an elementary level, I feel happier when I spend more time reading the Bible.

There is a definite connection between fellowship and joy. After spending some time in the presence of God, the psalmist declared: ‘You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound’ (Ps. 4:7). Isaiah assures us that it is possible that we can ‘With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation’ (Isa. 12:3). The reason why the apostle John composed his letter concerned the joy of his readers: ‘And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete’ (1 John 1:4). We meet with God, become joyful, receive spiritual energy to meet with God’s people, and the cycle continues.

Sincerity is also very important in maintaining fellowship. God does not meet with a two-faced person. He hates pretence, but he responds to genuineness and faithfulness. We cannot deceive God. In order to maintain fellowship with the Lord and one another, we have to be marked by heart honesty and sincerity. The combination of joy and sincerity functions like a spiritual engine enabling us to have fellowship with God and one another.

Thoughts on Fellowship (4)

In the previous blog in this series we noted the first area of fellowship identified by Luke was sharing. I want to highlight two other aspects. The second area of fellowship mentioned by Luke is the public meetings that took place daily in the temple courts. Probably the reason they met there was because of the large number of believers. Today we do not meet so often, and the number of times we meet is governed by local conditions.

The obvious point to note is the necessity of public worship. These were the occasions when they received the instruction of the apostles and engaged in corporate praise and prayer. As they gathered together, the Old Testament would be explained but in a totally new way because it was now the means of conveying to them information about the person and work of Christ. The apostles would mine the depths of teaching found there, and the listeners would hold on to their discoveries in the way that a miser holds on to gold.

Public worship is essentially fellowship with the triune God. It is two-way fellowship – our praise and prayers ascend to him, and in his word his purposes and promises are conveyed to us. In our gatherings, the heavenly Father is active, smiling in grace over his children; the Lord Jesus is active, especially in his role as Prophet of his people; the Holy Spirit is active, enabling them to understand the truth that they are being taught, and to embrace it with eagerness and wonder. Together, as a corporate body, we meet with and interact with God. We share the secrets of the kingdom of God.

The third aspect of fellowship highlighted by Luke concerns what took place in private homes – breaking bread. It is possible that he mentions two distinct happenings. First, this could be a reference to the Lord’s Supper. It is unlikely that they would be able to have the Lord’s Supper when they gathered in the temple courts. So instead of having the Supper there, they held it in private homes. Of course, whether we have the Lord’s Supper with a large number of people in the equivalent of the temple or with a smaller number of people, there is no doubt that sharing together at the Lord’s Table is one of the best ways for Christians to have meaningful fellowship with God and with one another. At the Lord’s Table, Jesus is present in a real way in which we receive from him in a manner that is unique to the occasion.

The other activity that took place was fellowship around shared meals. This was a common feature of the way that Jesus did things; many of his times of instruction were connected to a meal. They shared with one another earthly food and heavenly food. They fed their bodies and their souls at the same time. No doubt they spoke about what they heard from the apostles or perhaps listened to a disciple who had seen and heard Jesus in the flesh.

Thoughts on Fellowship (3)

In Acts 2:42ff., Luke mentions three ways in which these early believers shared Christian fellowship: practical fellowship for those in need, fellowship in public worship, and fellowship in homes. Here are some comments on the first aspect and I will comment on the others next time.

One of the interesting features of the converts on the Day of Pentecost is that they came from different parts of the world, although no doubt many of them would also have been from Jerusalem. After their experience on that day, it is clear that the visitors remained in Jerusalem for some time before returning home. They did not live in the kind of financial society in which we do and take a credit card with them. Their temporal needs had to be met, and one way by which this was done was some believers selling their possessions and sharing with those in need.

Their experience is a reminder that God in providence can bring about situations in which practical help has to be provided. Suddenly a group of believers find themselves having to care for another group of believers who are in need. The period of need may be long or short. When such situations occur in everyday life, they are regarded as hindrances to normal life, distracting people from their regular pattern of life. In total contrast, when such circumstances occur in a church or to a church, they are opportunities for fellowship provided by the heavenly Father.

Practical fellowship is evidence of brotherly love. This is a basic point, yet it is one that we can often forget. The apostle John reminds us: ‘But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth’ (1 John 3:17-18). Because these believers at Pentecost had been affected deeply by the love of God, they gladly shared with those who were in need.

Practical fellowship reveals what we think of Jesus. On the Day of Judgement, the needs of God’s people are one of the items that will be considered. In Matthew 25:35-40, Jesus says that what we do for his followers is the same as if we had done it for him. If Jesus came into my presence and I saw that he needed a meal, I would give him one. He does come into my presence whenever I see a Christian in need. My response to that needy believer tells me how much I would do for Jesus Christ.

Of course, we are not to assume that every need is financial. In fact, most needs that we will encounter among God’s people in our society will not be categorised under this heading. There are countless number of other needs that can be met – loneliness, fear, distress, sorrow. Practical fellowship is a mark of the people of God. It is a reminder that we should move around with our eyes alert to possible needs, and a heart resolved to meet those needs.

Thoughts on Fellowship (2)

In Acts 2:42ff, Luke describes the fellowship that marked the early church in Jerusalem in the weeks following that Day of Pentecost. It was obviously a striking feature of its congregational life. In verse 42, Luke says that fellowship was one of the activities to which these early Christians devoted themselves; in verse 44 he summarises the fellowship and in verses 45 to 47 he specifies particular features of it.

In his summary Luke says that believers were together and had all things in common. These two details point to the basic meaning of Christian fellowship –there has to be a relationship (the believers were together) and there has to be sharing (had all things in common). There cannot be realistic fellowship without these aspects. I will make some comments about the sharing next week, but here are some remarks on the relationship that existed among them.

With regard to the relationship, two essential details should be mentioned. First, they had this relationship because each of them had faith in Jesus Christ. On the Day of Pentecost, each one of them had listened to the gospel and had trusted in him as their Saviour from sin. We are not told anything about their life apart from this – they had discovered that Jesus Christ had come into the world to save sinners. On being informed of the willingness of Jesus to save them, these thousands of sinners had embraced him from their hearts. Their faith was an expression of their dependence on Jesus Christ, delight in him and dedication to him. So a fundamental aspect of their relationship with one another was the fact that they were now believers in Jesus Christ.

The second feature of their relationship is that they had become members of the family of God. Prior to their conversions on the Day of Pentecost, they had a relationship with one another as Jews, a relationship that was both religious and racial. This relationship had separated them from all others in the world. On the Day of Pentecost, they discovered that they were brothers in a far higher sense – they now belonged to the family of God. Despite their sinful pasts, they had not only been forgiven; in addition, they had been adopted into God’s own family. He was now their Father and all his people were now their brothers and sisters.

Thoughts on Fellowship (1)

The term ‘fellowship’ is used in a variety of ways, and this factor can either indicate the richness of its meaning or the confusion that is connected to it. A brief survey of some biblical passages will reveal four basic features.

First, we have fellowship with each person of the Trinity: ‘God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord’ (1 Cor. 1:9); ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all’ (2 Cor. 13:14). This fellowship can be experienced by us as individuals during our times of private worship; it can also be known by us any time throughout the day or night. We can have fellowship with the persons of the Godhead when we are walking along the road, driving the car or digging in a field. And this fellowship can be enjoyed corporately as well. Congregations are composed of people who have come together to meet with God, and each person of the Trinity should be in our thoughts. In church, we can ask each person of the Trinity to meet with us in a specific way.

Second, we cannot have fellowship with God and engage in wrong practices: ‘Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons’ (1 Cor. 10:20); ‘And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret’ (Eph. 5:11-12).

Third, we cannot have fellowship with God unless we confess our sins: ‘If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin’ (1 John 1:6-7).

Fourth, Christian fellowship involves participation in the spread of the gospel: ‘when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised’ (Gal. 2:9); ‘because of your partnership [fellowship] in the gospel from the first day until now’ (Phil. 1:5).