Reflections On Fellowship

by  Jim Duhon (jimduh@charter.net)

 

Christians are all connected one to another.  We share togetherness in our life with Christ.

One great example is the togetherness we share in Fellowship.*  In Holy Scripture, Luke writes about the fellowship of the early church in Acts 2:42 :

 

They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

 

Paul tells us in that God himself calls us into this fellowship.  He promises us that if we remain in this fellowship, He will keep us “strong to the end.”  God is faithful and always keeps His promises:

 

God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful (1 Cor. 1:9).

 

The Apostle John proclaims to us what he has seen and heard.  In 1 John 1:3, 7 he tells us where our togetherness began.

 

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us.  And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ, v.3. . .  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, purifies us from all sin, v.7.

 

So, in being connected to other Christians, we find that we are, “fellow citizens” (Ep.2:11-22), “fellow heirs” (Ep.3:6), “fellow workers” (Ph.4:3), “fellow servants” (Co.1:7), “fellow soldiers” (Ph.2:25).  We work together to extend “the right hand of fellowship” (Ga.2:9).  The idea is that we share together in the work and rewards of Christian life.

 

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,  praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:46 -47).

 

The Greek word for fellowship comes from a root meaning common or shared.  So fellowship means a common participation in something, either by giving what you have to the other person or by receiving from them.  This give and take is the basis for all fellowship and certainly for the fellowship we share in the body of Christ.

 

Christian fellowship is two dimensional. It has to be vertical before it can be horizontal.  We must have fellowship with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ (vertical), before we can fully understand and enjoy fellowship with one other (horizontal).  Our common relationship to God as children makes us brothers and sisters one to another.

 

 

* See also Mark Copeland’s study on Christian fellowship (http://bible.ca/eo/olt/olt_01.htm)