DAVID AND JONATHAN

"There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."--Prov. 18:24.
TRUE friendship is a rare flower on our sin-cursed earth, and when it is found and proved it should be greatly prized. It is an element of the original likeness of God. True friendship can never exist in a heart where selfishness reigns; for the moment self-interest is crossed, the false and fickle friendship begins to decline or proves treacherous.
The friendship between David and Jonathan was a covenantal relationship. In 1 Samuel 18:1-5, we read of David and Jonathan forming an agreement. In this agreement, Jonathan was to be second in command in David’s future reign, and David was to protect Jonathan’s family (1 Samuel 20:16-17, 42; 23:16-18).

David was the eighth and youngest son of Jesse from the kingly tribe of Judah. He was also a direct descendent of Ruth the Moabite. David began his life as a shepherd in Bethlehem.. Jonathan, the eldest son of King Saul, was the natural heir to his throne, and doubtless would have succeeded his father had Saul not incurred the divine displeasure and so forfeited that privilege for his posterity and cut short his own career. (1 Sam. 13:13.) Jonathan was a devoted son to his father and a devoted and energetic servant to God and to his people. The deep attachment of father and son is manifest from several facts: Jonathan could undertake his dangerous expedition against the Philistines only by keeping his project a secret from his father. (1 Sam. 14:1.) The effect of Saul's strange vow was emphasized by his affection for his son. (1 Sam. 14:39-44.) That dearest object he declared he would sacrifice, if need be, in fulfillment of his vow. But the people rescued him, declaring the Lord to be on the side of Jonathan. There was very marked and intimate confidence between the father and son. (1 Sam. 20:2.) "Behold my father will do nothing, either great or small, but that he will show it me." And Jonathan had great influence with his father (1 Sam. 19:6), and was very active in cooperation with him in the defense of the Lord's people against their foes and oppressors.
Jonathan loved the Lord and his people, and had strong faith in the power of God on their behalf. Like David before Goliath, with faith in God he with his amour bearer approached the garrison of the Philistines, saying, "It may be that the Lord will work for us; for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few."--1 Sam. 14:6.
And while Saul, filled with envy, malice, hatred and revenge against this one whom he regarded as his rival and the rival of his house, determined, and continually sought, to slay him, Jonathan, by every means in his power, protected and defended him, even at the risk of his own life. --1 Sam. 20:32,33.



Obviously, these two men were also very good friends. In their relationship we can see at least three qualities of true friendship. First, they sacrificed for one another. In 1 Samuel 18:4, we read that Jonathan gave David his clothes and military garb. The significance of this gift symbolized that Jonathan recognized that David would one day be king of Israel. Rather than being envious or jealous, Jonathan submitted to God’s will and sacrificed his own right to the throne. Second, in 1 Samuel 19:1-3, we read of Jonathan’s loyalty toward and defense of David. King Saul told his followers to kill David. Jonathan rebuked his father and recalled David’s faithfulness to him in killing Goliath. Finally, Jonathan and David were also free to express their emotions with one another. In 1 Samuel 20, we read of a plan concocted by Jonathan to reveal his father’s plans toward David. Jonathan was going to practice his archery. If he told his servant that the arrows he shot were to the side of the target, David was safe. If Jonathan told his servant that the arrows were beyond the target, David was to leave and not return. Jonathan told the servant that the arrows were beyond the target, meaning that David should flee. After releasing his servant, Jonathan found David and the two men cried together.
And when David was taking leave of Jonathan to fly for his life from the face of Saul, again they covenanted perpetual friendship. "And David arose out of his place ...and [approaching Jonathan] fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times [in token of great respect for both the person and office of his friend]; and they kissed one another, and wept one with another until David exceeded." And Jonathan said, "Go in peace, and the Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father. And [when thou comest into the kingdom] thou shalt not only while I live show me the kindness of the Lord, that I die not; but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house forever [as he foresaw David might be tempted to do when later the descendants of Jonathan might urge their claims to the throne]; no, not when the Lord hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth..And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him; for he loved him as his own soul." --1 Sam. 20:13-17.

Only once again they met, a year or two later. It was under very similar circumstances, in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul was still hunting for his rival to slay him, and again Jonathan, learning of his situation, sought him out. "And Jonathan went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said unto him, Fear not; for the hand of Saul, my father, shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also my father knoweth. And [again] they two made a covenant before the Lord."--1 Sam. 23:16,17.
As Saul continues to pursue David, the pair renew their covenant, after which they do not meet again. Eventually Saul and David reconcile. Jonathan, however, is slain on Mt. Gilboa along with his two brothers Abinadab and Malchi-shua, and there Saul commits suicide. David learns of Saul and Jonathan's death and chants a lament, which in part says in : 2 Samuel 1:23-27
Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life, And in their death they were not parted; They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions... "How have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan is slain on your high places. "I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was more wonderful Than the love of women. "How have the mighty fallen, And the weapons of war perished!"

The Desert

This is dedicated to those who've had the "call" of God, but quit half way down the road. Or , ... what happens when someone walks out on God.
" Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. " (1Sam 2:3)
" For many are called, but few are chosen. "(Mt 22:14) Why is it that so few are chosen from the ranks of those who are "called" ? "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." (Lk 14:33)

When the Bible speaks of this " forsaking " it is refering to a lot more than the abandoning of mere material posessions. Things can and do hold great importance in some people's lives and they can stand in the way of a person's dedication to the Lord, but the greatest hinderance to a person's life-long dedication to God is the " self ", that deep-rooted, entrenched "me,myself and I" that we have been trained by social values to put first in our lives. The world says, " me first "; the Bible says that too, except when the Bible says it it is refering to Jesus. It is to be Jesus first, not the "self" !

Along the path of spiritual growth, and faithful study of God's Word we are brought through changes in our lives that are designed to make us better vessels for the Master's use ( see Bamboo ) " He must increase, but I must decrease." (Jn 3:30) The Bible promises us that the Word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (see He 4:12 and " Intentions " ) and it isn't long before those intentions of the heart are brought to the surface and we are faced with decisions that are life-changing.

Jesus Himself was brought to such a life-changing decision in the garden of the Mount of Olives where it is said that the test was so severe as to bring about great drops of blood where sweat should have been." And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. " (Lk 22:44) His conclusion after this test was, " not my will but Thy will be done "(Lk 22:42) He submitted to the will of His Father.

We also are brought to this decision of death of the self ; and like Jesus, we must decide who's will is more important, ours or God's ? Decidedly, this is not for everyone, although for those who recieve the "high calling of God in Christ Jesus" ( see Soldiers ) there can be no other avenue.

Ok, so why is this called "The Desert" ? When such a "calling" has gone out and a person answers the call of God, but half way through the breaking process they decide that it is too high a price and walk out on God thinking that things will just settle back down to "the way it was before" they are in for quite the surprise. The Bible says, "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." (He 10:38) and to have mocked and made a fool of the Lord is not without consequences. When the prophet Jonah disputed with the Lord about carrying through with what God told him to do and refused to obey and ran away thinking that would get him off the hook, what happened ? Along comes a great big fish (whale) and swallows him whole ! You'd think he would immediately come to his senses and yield to God's will, but his deep-rooted refusal took awhile to wear thin there in the whale's belly, and when it finally did wear thin and he forsook his own way in favour of God's will then the fish spit him out and he was right back where he started prior to being swallowed. He still had to do what God wanted him to do. All that time lost and he still had to go back to where he forsook God's way and do it anyway !

When the children of Israel were miraculously delivered from the grips of Pharaoh's system by numerous signs, wonders and powerful evidence of God's presence they still hadn't forsaken the idols of Egypt in their hearts and so while in the wilderness they still worshipped these idols so that they had to literally go around in circles for 40 years until all those who had doubted and refused God's way had died and only then, with fresh faith, were they allowed to enter into the promised land.

And this is what happens to those who start out by accepting God's call but then when faced with having to rid themselves of them selves in order to be useful vessels in God's hands, and turn their backs on the Lord and refuse to break from their "idol" in their heart then that is as far as they will ever grow spiritually.They right there and then enter the spiritual desert where they will stay until such a time as they finally cry out to the Lord and submit to do His will. What can this "idol" be, you ask? "What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?" (1Cor 10:19) It is any thing that is coming between you and the Lord. It can even be a certain behaviour, or lack thereof. Inaction is still a form of action, only more subtle. To claim that "I didn't do anything !" might just be the problem, when God's plan was for you to do something not nothing. Passive refusal is actually worse than outright refusal as it is inaction born of rebellion in the heart.

We are all born with the majesty of choice to chose to do good or evil, but once a commitment has been made and the spiritual marriage taken place with the Lord then there is no longer any choice in the matter. God does not believe in divorce due to "irreconcilable differences". He expects you to reconcile your differences by yielding to His will, not by rebelling and turning away. He will have no other gods that pass before Him, and that includes the god of "self" ! Oh, sure, you can go on your merry way, but things will not be "business as usual". Your spiritual growth and relationship with the Lord will grind to a halt ... gradually ... you probably won't even notice ... until your spiritual life is dry and barren and lifeless. You will be in your spiritual desert to the day that you break before the Lord and call to Him in a true spirit of repentance. He will be there and will recieve you, as the father received his prodical son who'd left the family and his home next to his father. (Luke chapt 15) You may have given up the crown of your original calling , but God is faithful to give you another once your loyalty to Him has been assured. "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself." ( 2Tim 2:13)

This spiritual desert can last for years ! But it doesn't have to. Only you can determine how long it will last. The Lord, in the meantime, will deal with you in an attempt to coax you into breaking before Him so that you can come back into fellowship with Him. He says that He will never leave you nor forsake you (He 13:5), even if sometinmes He has to make your life meaningless without Him. He says He is married to the backslidder, " Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you:... "(Jer 3:14) His love and devotion are eternal, although that doesn't mean that He doesn't get upset," He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever." (Ps 103:9) And if you are truly one of His children (see Are we ALL God's Children ? ) then you can expect that He will behave as any loving father would. " For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. " (He 12:6) He will not allow you to make a fool of Him without consequences !

Cast yourself on the altar of God's will and reap the great spiritual rewards that an intimate relationship with the Lord can bring. Come out of the desert today ! "The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility." ( Pro 15:33)

" For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." (He 6:4-6)

We must live in the Tabernacle which is Christ

Psalm 91:1-3

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Dwelling in the secret of the Most High under the shadow of the Almighty is a safe and marvelous place to dwell, we can dwell in a safe place where we can have sweet and beautiful communion with him. Imagine standing behind the Almighty God beneath His shadow and His towering might, it’s a safe place where you are protected and feel like you’re invincible.

2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust."

When we dwell in the secret place of the Most High we stand in an impenetrable fortress and a protected refuge. No matter where we are or what trouble we’re in, as long as we stand in the secret place of the Most High the enemy will not be able to prevail against us, because the Lord is like a fortress that stands before us.

3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.

Those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High shall be delivered from the net or trap that the enemy tries to catch them in, they will be delivered from all the devices the enemy uses against them, and the weapon of the enemy shall not prosper against them.

These are amazing promises from the Almighty God, and it shows us that those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High are protected from: pestilences, the traps of the enemy, and no weapon shall prosper against them because they stand in the fortress of the Almighty God. But are there conditions to these marvelous promises? Does going to church on a Sunday and praising God with my mouth and lips guarantee these promises? Going to Church once a week does not allow you to claim these promises, as there are conditions to receive these promises, in Psalm 15 we are shown what conditions and requirements bring the promises of Psalm 91 into fruition. Psalm 15 turns the key and opens the door to the Almighty’s secret place, and without exercising and putting into action the love and pureness of Psalm 15, we will never be able to walk into the Lord’s secret tabernacle and fortress.

Psalm 15:1-2,5

1 LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?

King David is asking the Lord, who is able to dwell in your tabernacle or secret dwelling place? King David really wants to know who can dwell in the shadow of the Almighty’s holy hill.

2 He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart

The Lord tells David that he who can dwell in the Lords secret place is he who: walks uprightly, works righteousness and speaks the truth from their heart, is able to abide in the secret place and tabernacle of the Lord. Jesus said that it is what that comes out of a man that defiles him, for out of the abundance of a person’s heart the mouth speaks. So to walk into the tabernacle of the Almighty you must not be defiled in your heart and words, so you need to speak the truth and have a truthful and pure heart which only Jesus Christ can give you, and you need to continue to seek Jesus to have this truthful and pure heart.

3 He who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

Those who put out money at usury and take advantage of people economically will not abide in the Almighty’s tabernacle. Politicians like George W Bush who take brides from oil companies in the form of lobbying, to invade countries like Iraq to plunder their oil, are not able to abide in the Lords tabernacle. Those businessmen who oppress the poor and exploit wage earners, such as those Western businessmen who import cheap slave labor made products from China, will be banished from the Lords Tabernacle and sent to Hell fire.

If you would like to dwell in the Lords tabernacle, fortress and secret place so you are protected from all things, I would like you to invite the following prayer:

Dear Jesus,

I desire to dwell in the house of the Lord forever, so I can be protected beneath the wings of the Almighty, I desire to dwell in a protected fortress in My Fathers Kingdom. I believe you died on the cross for my sins and I believe you are the son of God. Help me to obey your commandments and love others as you loved me, help me to stand up against: unjust wars, corrupt politicians and evil that abounds. Help me to take a stand for those whose wages are being exploited.

In Jesus name I pray. Amen

Holding on the promises of god in hard times

One of the biggest tests of faith is holding on to God's promises when going through a rough time in a Christian's life. Often Christians tend to believe that the reason for their troubling times is because of a sin or simply that "God hates them", when actually it is the furthest from the truth. One can find this through the great example of Abraham in Genesis 22: 1-24, that God's promises hold true even through times where faith might run thin. The first thing one can learn from Abraham's example is to be obedient to God even when rough events come. Often one can let circumstances rule their emotions, and the first mistake one will make is misplacing their trust in God's promises for their own feelings of fear and inadequacy. In verses two and three , the first thing that Abraham does is stay obedient to God as he prepared the next morning to go to the place God had asked him to sacrifice his son. The next lesson is that even though one might feel far away from God in troubling times that is when God is the closest. A great example is the well-known poem, Footprints in the Sand. The character in the story looks back on his life and sees only one set of foot prints in the hardest time of his life and two sets with God by his side when his life was going well. He first thought that at the hardest points in his life he was alone, but God explains in those times he was being carried just like that in Abraham's story God stayed with Abraham the entire way as God arrives on the scene to supply him with the alternate sacrifice after God sees Abraham's faithfulness. When Christians are going through hard times it is crucial to rely on the promises that God has given. Abraham relied on the promise that God gave him in Genesis 17:19, which Sarah would have a son, and that son God will establish his covenant through to everlasting generations.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we can trust our Savior and turn to him in hard times. God cares for us and he is sovereign. His Holy Word is sure and his promises are true. Take some time to ease your worries and calm your fears by meditating on these Bible verses for troubled times.


Dealing with Fear

Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid? (NIV)
Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (NIV)


Loss of Home or Job

Psalm 27:4-5
One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock. (NIV)

Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. (NIV)

Psalm 84:2-4
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
Selah (NIV)

Psalm 34:7-9
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing. (NIV)
Philippians 4:19
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. (NLT)

Dealing with Stress


Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

renew and be sure of your faith

Being Sure of Your Faith

There is a story about a boy flying a kite. The kite was so high that it had disappeared into the clouds. A man came by and asked, "What are you doing, son, holding on to that string?" The boy answered, "I've got a kite up there." The man looked up and said, "I don't see it." The boy replied, "Well, I know it's there because I can feel the tug."

That's like the witness of the Holy Spirit within us. We may not always see the evidence, but we feel a tug in our hearts constantly, letting us know that we are in touch with God. That is the witness of the Holy Spirit.

John's first Epistle is an examination book written so that we might have assurance and not doubt. Besides the witness of the Holy Spirit, five other points are brought out in 1 John that must characterize us if we are to be sure that we belong to God.

First, we must believe in the Savior, Jesus Christ. Someone asked Sundar Singh, the great Indian Christian, why he was a Christian and what he found in Christianity that he couldn't find in the other religions of India. He answered with these two words: "Jesus Christ." There is no other One who died for the sins of the world. There is no other One who rose from the dead. There is no other One who gives the hope that He is going to return and set up His Kingdom.

The Scripture says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen," (Hebrews 11:1, NASB). Faith carries with it the idea of accompanying assurance. If we have faith, God gives us the assurance, the certainty, the knowledge, that we have passed from death unto life.

Believe
Do you believe? That word "believe" carries with it the idea of total surrender, putting total assurance in what Christ did for us on the cross-not trusting our good works, not trusting our money, not trusting anything, not even church membership, but trusting in the Person of Jesus Christ.

Second, we must have a changed attitude toward sin. What does that mean? Well, 1 John 5:18 says, "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not," (KJV). "Oh, but," you say, "certainly Christians sin." Do you know what "sinneth not" means? It means "does not practice sin." We don't practice sin. Sin is no longer a habit in our lives.

Confess
But suppose we do sin. Suppose we slip and fall. Suppose we yield to temptation for a moment. What happens? We have to confess that sin. Name it to the Lord and say, "Lord, I have sinned." The Scripture says, "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin," (1 John 1:7, KJV) and "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins," (1 John 1:9, KJV).

Not only are we to confess, but we are to forsake. There's no use repenting of sin and saying, "I'm sorry, Lord, I've sinned," and then going back and repeating it. That's not repentance. Repentance carries with it the idea that we do not repeat it. In other words, sin is no longer a practice in our lives. We may slip and fall from time to time, but it's not a practice. We don't deliberately do it.
That's the reason the Bible teaches that the Christian life is a daily life. The Scripture says we are to "exhort one another daily," (Hebrews 3:13, KJV). We are to take up our cross daily. We search the Scriptures daily. And we must renew our fellowship daily. The Scripture says deny self daily. It's hard. We are living in an age when the pressures on us are greater, perhaps, than in any other generation in history.

Third, we must have a desire to obey God. "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments," (1 John 2:3, KJV). That doesn't mean that we can keep them all the time, but we have a desire to keep them. We want to. We try to, with God's help. We do good, we feed the poor, we visit people in prison. "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you," (John 10:21, KJV).

Jesus commanded, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel," (Mark 16:15, KJV). Our Team has been going to every continent, to the nations of the world, declaring that Christ is the Answer, that Christ died to save us, that Christ rose again, that He's coming back. And on every continent, in every culture with every ethnic background and every political ideology, we've seen people by the hundreds say "yes" to Christ.

Partake
Fourth, we must try to be separated from the world. First John 2:15 says, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world," (KJV). What does "the world" mean? That word in Greek is "cosmos," and it means the world system that is dominated by evil. "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world," (1 John 2:15-16, KJV). That means the order, the behavior, the fashion, the entertainment, whatever is dominated by evil. Satan is called "the god of this world" and "the prince of this world." The Bible teaches we are to live in the world, but we are not to partake of the evils of the world.

We are to be separated from the world of evil. "Touch not the unclean thing," says the Lord (2 Corinthians 6:17, KJV). When I face something in the world, I ask, does it violate any principle of Scripture? Does it take the keen edge off my Christian life? Can I ask God's blessing on it? Will it be a stumbling block to others? Would I like to be there, or be reading that, or be watching that, if Christ should return at that time?

Worldliness does not fall like an avalanche upon a person and sweep him or her away. It is the steady drip, drip, drip of the water that wears away the stone. And the world is always exerting a steady pressure on us every day. Most of us would go down under it if it weren't for the Holy Spirit who lives inside us and holds us up and keeps us.

Fifth, we must be filled with the Spirit. The first fruit of the Spirit is love. "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death," (1 John 3:14, KJV). Do you love? Does love dominate your life?

Belong
I'm asking you to make a commitment and be sure that you belong to Christ. You see, Christ took your sins on the cross, those sins are behind God's back. He has forgotten them because of Christ. That is what happens when you come to Christ. He doesn't see your sins, He sees the blood of Christ.

God offers you the greatest and most expensive gift in the whole world, eternal life, but you must receive that gift. God gave His Son. His Son rose from the dead. You can be sure of it. If you truly receive Him, you will be sure.

How to Renew Your Faith

Many people slowly drift apart from their faith and religion. Soon they start to lose their personal contact with God. This is a good thing. God the Father, is the reason why we are all here, and even though some things are hard to believe, there is a way to slowly come back to your faith. Read on, and be nourished by the word of God.
Build Your Faith
"Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God"
You build your faith by reading and speaking God's word. The Bible tells you that as you renew your mind, you will be transformed.


You renew your mind with the word of God

If you're feeling defeated, it could be because you've been listening to the lies of the enemy.

"You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free"

Let God's word tell you who you are and what you have. Don't give any attention to anything that tells you differently. God's word is true.

Acknowledge, agree with, recognise, confess and speak, the word of God
Choose to see yourself as God sees you
Speak out these truths even when you don't yet see the reality

When God called Gideon a mighty warrior there was no evidence to suggest that it was true. God saw and spoke what Gideon would become.

Learn what God says about you and accept God's opinion of you. Believe what God says about who you are in Christ and you will become what you are in Him. By faith, believe the truth and act on what you believe.

You will build your faith as you constantly remind yourself of who you are in Christ.

Biblical Confessions To Build Your Faith
Apart from Jesus, I can do nothing; but in Jesus I can do all things. I choose to see myself as He sees me according to His living Word. My life is hid with Christ in God. I will say the same things that God says in His Word. How can two walk together if they don't agree?

I choose to trust God. His Word will be the final authority in my life. I base my entire life upon God and His living Word. Because I meditate upon His Word day and night and carefully do all that is written in it, I will prosper.

I'm not just an ordinary person; I'm a child of the living God. I'm not just a person; I'm an heir of God and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ. I'm not just a sinner; I'm a new creation in Jesus. I'm part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. I'm one of God's chosen people.

Jesus has declared me not guilty. I refuse to be discouraged. God is the God of all encouragement. There is no condemnation for me because I'm in Christ Jesus.

Satan is the father of lies. I won't listen to his accusations. I am cleansed by Jesus' blood. No weapon formed against me will succeed. I will disprove every tongue that rises against me in judgment.

My mind is being renewed by the word of God. I will pull down strongholds and cast down imaginations. I will bring every thought captive to the will of Christ.

I am accepted by God. If God is for me, who can be against me? Greater is He that is within me than he that is in the world. Nothing can separate me from the love of Christ. As the Father loves Jesus, so Jesus loves me. I have the righteousness of God through Christ. I am not a slave of sin, I'm a slave of God and a slave of righteousness.

I will continue in God's word. I know the truth and the truth has set me free. I am free indeed because Jesus has set me free. I have been delivered out of the kingdom of darkness. I'm now part of the kingdom of God.

I will submit to God. When I resist the devil, he has to flee. No temptation will overcome me which is not common to man. God is faithful. He will not let me be tempted beyond my strength. With any temptation He will also provide me with a way of escape, so that I can endure.

Jesus always causes me to triumph. I'll reign as a king in life through Christ Jesus. The Word of God lives in me. I am more than a conqueror through Christ who loves me. I am an overcomer. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. God gives me the victory through Jesus Christ my Lord.

I am a success to the glory of God. All His blessings will come upon me and overtake me because I obey the voice of the Lord, my God. I am confident that those who seek the Lord will lack no good thing.

I will not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Speak God's word daily. Believe it. Allow the living and active Word of God to build your faith, renew your mind and transform your life.

Be Prepared

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. . . .
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,
and thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4.13-18

In our study one of the things we learned is that often times Jesus uses analogies and metaphors in his stories that may or may not be real clear to us, because we aren't living at the time Jesus told these stories and aren't real familiar with the context of the times.

Today's parable is one that can be somewhat confusing unless we understand the meaning of the analogy Jesus is using, which is how the kingdom of heaven is like a wedding, at least like the kind of wedding that took place about 2000 years ago.

The parable of the Ten Bridesmaids is about a wedding, a special wedding. In the time of Jesus the wedding day was a big deal, much like today. On the wedding day the bridegroom went to the bride's house for the ceremony; then the bride and groom, along with a great procession, returned to the groom's house where a feast took place, often lasting a full week.

At the particular wedding Jesus is talking about, ten virgins, which is more accurately translated from the original Greek as bridesmaids, were waiting to join in the procession, and they hoped to take part in the wedding banquet.

But when the groom didn't come at the expected time, five of them ran out of lamp oil. And by the time they had purchased extra oil, it was too late to join in the feast.

Now let's look at the parable with an understanding of the characters involved. The bridegroom is Jesus. The bridesmaids represent the church, which is all of us. The lamp is our Christian witness. The lamp oil represents our spiritual preparedness.

So let me re-read the parable with our understanding of the characters involved and let's see if we better understand the point Jesus is making.

"Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. The church folks thought they were ready to meet Jesus. 2 Half of them were foolish, and half were wise. 3 When the foolish shared their Christian witness, it was clear they were not fully prepared for Jesus return; 4 but the wise were prepared. 5 As Jesus was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is Jesus! Come out to meet him.' 7 Then the folks of the church got up and waited to share their witness.

8 The foolish said to the wise, ‘Help us prepare, because our Christian witness is not strong.' 9 But the wise replied, ‘No! We can't prepare you; you had better go some place else to get ready.' 10 And while they were preparing, Jesus came, and those who were ready went with him into the heavenly kingdom; and the door was shut. 11 Later on, the other half of the church came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open the door to us.' 12 But the Lord replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.' 13 Keep awake and be prepared, for you know neither the day nor the hour I will return." Jesus told this parable about the ten bridesmaids to clarify what it means to be ready for his return. When Jesus returns will we be spiritually ready, will we be prepared?

This parable teaches that everyone is responsible for his or her own spiritual condition and Christian witness. This means that no matter how much we may want to, we cannot project our faith or give our faith to another person.

However, what we can do is share our testimony, live as an example, and share the Gospel with passion; hoping people will claim Jesus Christ.

Nor can we take someone else's faith and claim it as our own. At the end of the day each person needs to make his or her own decision about Jesus. Each person has to accept or reject grace for themselves.

Preparation, we spend many hours of our lives preparing for things: Begin a new day For work To get the kids off to school Marching band competition last night A meal A date Conversation or perhaps a meeting Coming to church Retirement

There is no doubt we spend a great deal of time preparing for things, all of which is important. But in the midst of all this preparation do we take the necessary amount of time to prepare for the return of Jesus?

Right at the beginning of the parable Jesus says there are ten bridesmaids, five of them are foolish and five were wise. He tells us this because on the surface they all looked the same. All have come to the wedding; all ten have their lamps aglow with expectation; all ten presumably have on their bridesmaids gowns, there wearing color coordinated shoes, and carrying the same style lamp. We would never guess from their appearance, five were foolish and five were wise. Now it's not how the bridesmaids looked, the lamps, or the long dresses that sets the wise apart from the foolish – it's their readiness. Five of the bridesmaids are ready for the bridegroom to be delayed, but the other five are not.

The wise have enough oil for the feast to start whenever the bridegroom arrives; the foolish have only enough oil for their own time table. Five are prepared and ready, even for a delay; five are not.

Readiness means living the life of the kingdom, living the quality of life described in the scriptures, living a life of faithful Christian witness. Now many folks can do this for a short while; but it's when the kingdom is delayed, problems arise.

Being a peacemaker for a day or two isn't as demanding as being a peacemaker year after year, when hostility continues to break out time and time again, when Jesus is delayed.

Being understanding and merciful for an evening can be alright; however, being understanding and merciful for a lifetime, when the bridegroom is delayed, requires preparedness.

Feeding the hungry and providing a shelter for those with no housing might be ok over a couple of months; however providing for others for a lifetime, when Jesus is delayed, requires perseverance.

Being prepared for the return of Jesus is hard work, it requires patience, perseverance, persistence, and a daily choice to live as Christ prescribed, by loving God, loving others, and serving in the name of Jesus.

At the beginning of a life of faith, we can't really tell the followers of Jesus apart. We all look the same. We're all excited and eager to be good disciples. We read our Bibles, attend worship, and are excited about helping others in the name of Christ. Using the words of the parable we all have lamps; we're all excited about the coming wedding; we all know how to sing praises to our Lord. But as time goes by we soon spot some persons, or perhaps we see ourselves, attempting in vain to fan a dying flame back to life, our lamps begin to go dim, our passion wasn't what it once was, our Christian witness fades behind a veil of cultural influences. And as we observe others or look hard at ourselves we begin to distinguish wisdom from foolishness.

So the question we are challenged with today, is are we like the wise bridesmaids or are we like the foolish. Are we peacemakers, or problem makers? Are we understanding and merciful, or do we just not give a hoot? Are we focused on the kingdom of God, or are we focused on ourselves?

Are we prepared to meet Jesus when he comes, and are we prepared for his delay, meaning are we willing to be faithful over the long haul until he does come, or are we happy being nominal Christians, what John Wesley calls "almost Christians?"

Are we prepared to keep the faith through good times and bad, the up times and down times, through the desert times and mountain top times? We have a choice and it's not too late to make the choice to accept God's grace, to accept Jesus, to begin a new life, and to begin preparing for the coming of Christ.

The years we lived without Christ are gone, the years we lived as nominal Christians are gone, they can't be recaptured, we can't have a mulligan or a redo. We can't rewind our life and try again. The past is the past, and what's done is done.

But this doesn't mean it's too late. We can still get prepared and be ready for the coming wedding feast. What matters most is what we do from this moment forward. Do we take the time to prepare, or do we wing it hoping we can fool God?

So how do we get prepared? Do we have to do some ritualistic thing; do we have to say some special words?

No, what we need to do is accept the saving grace of Jesus, recognize that he is the Son of God, and follow his teachings. We need to live the Gospel in a wise and persuasive way, not foolishly or hypocritically.

We need to take the time every day to take that next step on our faith journey, to grow in our understanding of God and his call on our lives. We need to read scripture every day even if it's just a verse or two and pray to God to help us apply it to our lives. We need to seek to understand better our faith and what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and we need to serve others with our whole heart.

This is what it means to prepare and if we're to busy to prepare, then we're just too busy, and something needs to change with how we prioritize the things we do in our lives. Preparing for the coming of Christ is eternally wise; blowing Jesus off is eternally foolish!

So be prepared, stay faithful to your Christian witness, keep the lamp of hope burning, and be ready, because when Christ comes, he comes for the wise not the foolish. Amen!

Fellowship part -2

Companionship: The Method of Fellowship

Fellowship With God: the Vertical Dimension
Companionship, as suggested previously, involves communion or communication, interchange, intimacy, sharing and receiving. If there is going to be fellowship with God, we must first draw on the Lord’s resources as we listen to Him in His Word, as we allow the Spirit of God to talk to us through Scripture and through the various providential events of life (trials, blessings, etc.) and through the lives of others around us. We need to be open to Him, receptive, teachable. In our communion with the Lord, we need to listen to His voice and respond in obedience.
Note this emphasis in these words from the Psalms and Proverbs:
Psalm 78:1 Listen, O my people, to my instruction; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
Psalm 81:8 Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would listen to Me! … 11 But My people did not listen to My voice; And Israel did not obey Me. …13 Oh that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!
Psalm 106:25 But grumbled in their tents; They did not listen to the voice of the LORD.
Proverbs 8:32 Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, For blessed are they who keep my ways. 33 Heed instruction and be wise, And do not neglect {it}. 34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts.
In communion, we also talk to God in prayer and pour out our needs and burdens to Him as is seen, for instance, in the Psalms.
Psalm 4:1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! Thou hast relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
Psalm 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.
Psalm 39:12 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with Thee, A sojourner like all my fathers.
Psalm 54:2 Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth.
Psalm 84:8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob!
Psalm 102:1 A Prayer of the Afflicted, when he is faint, and pours out his complaint before the LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD! And let my cry for help come to Thee.
Psalm 143:1 A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O LORD, Give ear to my supplications! Answer me in Thy faithfulness, in Thy righteousness!

In communion we give as we make our requests to Lord and we receive as we listen and He answers and directs our paths.
But this is only part of the communion or fellowship aspect of our relationship with God. There is another aspect as seen in some of the verses quoted above and in a number of verses in the New Testament on fellowship. This actually involves a result, but nevertheless, a vital part of communion or fellowship. It is the aspect of loving obedience. Obedience becomes one of the proofs of our communion and fellowship with the Lord. Listen to these words of our Lord.
John 14:23, Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him.’
“Abode” is monh, the noun form of menw, “to abide, remain, live with.” In essence the Lord said, we will come and make our ‘abiding place’ with him. In the upper room the Lord taught the disciples, and as such He teaches us, that obedience to his commands would bring with it the continued experience of His Father and Himself in deep communion with one another. Now, this is not to be understood as a condition by which we merit fellowship by the good deeds of obedience. He had just finished discussing the promise of the Holy Spirit whom He called the Helper, the Enabler, the One given to us to enable us to live obediently and victoriously through the process of fellowship (cf. John 14:16-17). Failure to walk obediently hinders fellowship without deep seated confession. As we saw in Amos 3:3, two can’t walk together unless they be agreed.
Scripture gives us a number of illustrations of fellowship and communion.

Illustrations of the Vertical Dimension of Fellowship
Abiding in the Vine
The first illustration of communion or of maintaining a right relationship with the Lord in the sense of fellowship is that of the vine in John 15. In essence this forms a discourse on fellowship in the key relationships of life. In this passage we see three areas of relationships: (a) the relationship of believers to Jesus (vss. 1-11); (b) the relationship of believers to each other (vss. 12-17); and (c) the relationship of believers to the world (vss. 18-27).
The first thing this passage demonstrates is the concept of priorities. The most important of all relationships which must be maintained is our relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the foundation and source of all our other relationships and our capacity for fellowship. To enforce this truth, the Lord used the analogy of the vine and the branches, one not unfamiliar to the disciples because of their culture.
The passage stresses:

The Right Stock Verse 1 “I am the true vine”
The Right Vinedresser Verse 1 “My Father is the husbandman”
The Right Cultivation Verses 2, 6 “He prunes”
The Right Connection Verses 4 “Abide in me, and I in you”
The Right Fruitage Verses 5, 8 “That you bear much fruit”

There are four ways people seek to have fellowship and try to live the Christian life.
(1) By their own ability, effort, and will power. But Christ said, “apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). While we have a responsibility to appropriate our new life in the Lord, while diligence on our part is called for (1 Tim. 4:7), the fact remains that in and of ourselves we are totally incapable.
(2) Do nothing at all, just let go and let God. But the Lord said, “abide in the vine” (John 15:4). This means we have the responsibility to abide, to depend on Him, to do the things abiding requires. Note the emphasis of Scripture:
Ephesians 6:13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Philippians 2:12-13 … work out (appropriate, put to work) your salvation with fear and trembling,
1 Timothy 4:7b … Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.
2 Peter 1:5 Now for this very reason also (the reason of God’s abundant supply of everything we need for life and godliness), applying (bringing alongside of God’s grace) all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence

(3) The partial approach (“Lord, help me to do it”). In this approach, “there is the assumption—unconsciously perhaps, but still very real—that there is a certain reservoir of goodness, wisdom, and spiritual strength within my own character that I should draw on for the ordinary duties of life, but that beyond that, I need the Lord’s help.”10
(4) The abiding approach (John 15). This is the approach that results in and describes true fellowship. The relationship that believers are to have with the Lord is illustrated in the visual image of the vine/branch analogy.
The vine/branch analogy does not in any way illustrate the picture of salvation. Rather, the text and context suggests that it is related to the discipleship relationship, the relationship of those who are believers in Christ. Only the disciples are present and Christ is talking directly to them about their relationship to Him and their responsibility of fruitfulness. Judas had already departed to do his dirty work. Further, the Lord’s final words about this vine/branch relationship are related to fruitfulness and discipleship (cf. vs. 8, “and so prove to be My disciples,” i.e., become what disciples ought to be).
The subject of the passage is the vine/branch relationship for the purpose of maximum fruitfulness for the glory of God. Our Lord is showing the need for maintaining a proper connection with Him for fruitfulness: from fruit to more fruit to much fruit so that God is glorified in the believer’s life. The means of this fruitfulness is the work of the Vinedresser (vs. 2). Abiding is the duty of the branches (vss. 3-5, 7), but it is also promoted by God’s loving discipline (cf. vs. 6 with Heb. 12:5-11).
In John’s writings, the phrase “in Me” (used in some 24 verses) refers not to a common essence or organic connection as the phrase “in Christ” does in the writings of Paul, i.e., position. Instead, it refers to fellowship, to a commonality of purpose and commitment. Because of this, a branch “in Me” is not a branch organically connected to Him as a literal branch is organically connected to a vine. Instead, it pictures a branch that is deriving its sustenance from a literal vine by which it is able to bear fruit.
The analogy of the vine and the branches depicts a relationship that mature and growing Christians sustain with Christ because of remaining in close fellowship to him, rather than a relationship that all Christians have because of salvation (Pauline theology). Fellowship rather than organic union or spiritual position is the picture. To be “in Me” means to be in fellowship, living obediently through having communion with the Lord, and this is evident from the command “abide in me.”
The Greek word for “abide” is menw which means “to stay in a sphere, to stand against opposition, to endure, to hold fast.”11 It means to continue in a place and, when a place is involved, it can be close to the idea of living in that place or sphere.

When we do not abide we lose our fellowship with the Lord, we are severed from fellowship with the vine. Because of John’s use of the term, it has nothing to do with salvation. It means we are no longer drawing upon His life as the means of our sustenance and fruitfulness. If we continue in this state, we come under the discipline of the Lord (vs. 6). But how are we to understand this verse? The statement of verse 6 has caused needless perplexity. Hodges writes:
The main reason for that is the strong impulse many readers have to identify the reference to fire with hell. But this is an unjustified interpretive leap. There is no reason at all to think of the fire as literal, just as we are not dealing with a literal vine, literal branches, or literal fruit. “Fire” here is simply another figurative element in the horticultural metaphor.
What happened, therefore, in vineyards all over Palestine, could happen to the disciples as well. If they failed to “abide” in Jesus, they would be separated from their experience of fellowship with Him: they would be “cast out as [or, like] a branch.” Intimate contact with the True Vine would be lost. But more, this loss of vital communion with the True Vine would result in the “drying up” of their spiritual experience: they would be “withered.” And finally, they would be cast into the “fire” of trial and divine chastisement: “they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”14

Dining With Christ
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.
Our Lord is addressing a Christian church here and, while there may have been some professing Christians there, the passage is addressed to the church as a whole. He is talking to believers who had become spiritually destitute, who were materially rich, but spiritually poor in their spiritual independence and failure to have real fellowship with the Lord. It was a lukewarm congregation. Though they had works, they were like lukewarm water that the Lord said he would vomit out of His mouth to show His displeasure with their spiritual condition.

Walking in the Light
1 John 1:5-9 And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Amos 3:3 Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment (have agreed)?
As these passage show, another picture of communion or personal fellowship with the Lord is that of walking in the light. Walking in the light means to walk in an open, honest-to-God fashion, so one is open to what His light reveals with a willingness to confess and deal with sin and apathy and self-dependent ways.
Quite clearly John teaches us that regardless of our verbal claims or our religious actions, if we are not walking in the light, honestly dealing with our attitudes and actions in the light of the Word through confession and the filling of the Spirit, we are not having true fellowship. Without God’s means, we can’t have fellowship with the Lord or with one another. As seen in these illustrations, fellowship with God means we are walking with God, dining with Him, abiding in the Vine, but this is done through the control and in the energy of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:16; Phil. 3:1-3). Known sin grieves the Spirit’s person (Eph. 4:30) and quenches His power; it short circuits His ministries in one’s life and hampers one’s capacity for true fellowship (1 Thess. 5:19, cf. Amos 3:3 and Isa. 59:1-2 with 1 John 1:5-9). This results in carnality, the control of the flesh rather than the Spirit (1 Cor. 3:3; Rom. 8:2-4). This means we are operating by our resources, using the weapons of the flesh (2 Cor. 10:3) not God’s (Eph. 6:10f; Phil. 3:3). As a result, we become controlled by our desires, our opinions, by our wisdom, by our own methods for meeting our needs, by our everything.
We can all appear to be having fellowship when we go through the motions of churchianity. We can appear to be in fellowship by our presence in a worship service, by our involvement in various religious activities, or when we find those who happen to agree with our viewpoint, but if the Holy Spirit is not in control, if we are not abiding, if we are not walking in obedience, then, there is no fellowship. This is why differences among carnal people cause divisions, rather than growth and the sharpening of character (Prov. 27:17).



Fellowship With Christians: the Horizontal Dimension
The Basic Principle
God has created us to be dependent people—dependent on Him and on one another. His judgment in Genesis 2:18, “it is not good for the man to be alone,” is a principle that speaks not only to marriage, but to all of life and especially to the spiritual fellowship of all believers. Marriage is a miniature cosmos of relationships which forms the foundation and soil for other relationships of community life.
No man is an island. None of us has the ability to go it alone. We need the communion or companionship of one another. Spiritual fellowship both on the vertical and horizontal planes are absolute necessities. They are not options nor are they luxuries we can do without.
We should not … think of our fellowship with other Christians as a spiritual luxury, an optional addition to the exercises of private devotion. We should recognize rather that such fellowship is a spiritual necessity; for God has made us in such a way that our fellowship with himself is fed by our fellowship with fellow-Christians, and requires to be so fed constantly for its own deepening and enrichment.16

The Basic Principle
God has created us to be dependent people—dependent on Him and on one another. His judgment in Genesis 2:18, “it is not good for the man to be alone,” is a principle that speaks not only to marriage, but to all of life and especially to the spiritual fellowship of all believers. Marriage is a miniature cosmos of relationships which forms the foundation and soil for other relationships of community life.
No man is an island. None of us has the ability to go it alone. We need the communion or companionship of one another. Spiritual fellowship both on the vertical and horizontal planes are absolute necessities. They are not options nor are they luxuries we can do without.
We should not … think of our fellowship with other Christians as a spiritual luxury, an optional addition to the exercises of private devotion. We should recognize rather that such fellowship is a spiritual necessity; for God has made us in such a way that our fellowship with himself is fed by our fellowship with fellow-Christians, and requires to be so fed constantly for its own deepening and enrichment.16

The Basic Problem
But this is not easy for us to grasp particularly in our country today because of the negative impact society , culture and the church. Believers are supposed to be a people who avoid conformity to the world by the habitual renewal of their minds in the Word. But society always influences believers to some degree as we see so clearly in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. And to the degree this happens, we obscure the teachings of the Word or eclipse the light of the Word of God on our lives.
The church is allowing our culture to eclipse the light of Scripture. We are being affected by a number of the forces of this world’s darkness which, as a part of the New-age Movement and Satan’s strategies for the last days, are moving us into a kind of neo-paganism. Three of these forces have definite negative affects on fellowship.

The first force is relativism. Relativism maintains there are no absolutes of truth, of good and evil, or of values and priorities. It is just as Isaiah warned Israel:
Isaiah 5:20-21: Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And clever in their own sight!
The second force is privatization. Describing this force, Peterson says:
The second force, privatization, accommodates relativism. It says, ‘What I believe and do is my private business. Since it doesn’t really matter if you believe in God and I believe in Mother earth (pantheism, another influence), let’s agree to keep our beliefs to ourselves.’ The church is no longer able to function as a public conscience; its role has been reduced to serving the private spheres of its members. (emphasis mine)
But the problem is further aggravated by the fact that this influence has even influenced the private life of the church and its fellowship as outlined in the New Testament. Believers too often don’t want to be involved in the lives of others and they especially don’t want anyone getting too close to them.
The third force is individualism. When the third force, individualism—which is at the very core of culture—is mixed with relativism and privatization, the cocktail becomes deadly. A way of life emerges in which self is at the center. The all-consuming pursuit of self-fulfillment that characterizes this brand of individualism inevitably leaves wreckage in its wake.18 (emphasis mine)
As Christians, we may realize the Word is our authority, at least intellectually, but many do not live with it as their authority. Tradition, personal aspirations, expedience, personal preference, and other forces too often eclipse the authority of Scripture. We allow the viewpoint of our culture to invade and take control of our lives and actions. This is not to suggest there is no place for privacy and individualism in the Christian life. We are each believer priests with the privilege of going directly into God’s presence in prayer and we are warned against being busy bodies (1 Thess. 4:9-11; 2 Thess. 3:11; 1 Tim. 5:13).
The Bible does not stamp out all aspects of individualism. It teaches we are each individual people with gifts and talents given to us by God for His glory, but these gifts are for the blessing, encouragement, help, and edification of the body of Christ. We are members of the body who need each other and who have specific responsibilities to each other. It is the Bible that guides us in the how and what of these responsibilities.
The Word does provide for privacy and warns against becoming busybodies, but this does not eliminate the need for intimacy in the body of Christ, dependence on the body, and the ‘one another’ commands of Scripture. It does not in any way eliminate our need to be responsible to and for the body of Christ. The problem is, because of culture and nature, we are prone to be so caught up in our own individual pursuits and concerns, that we have no time or concern for others—especially the body of Christ.
Because of these cultural influences and our natural tendencies to take the spirit of individualism and privatization to the extreme, let’s consider the scriptural foundation for the horizontal aspect of fellowship to further stress its importance.


Scriptural Foundations for Fellowship on the Horizontal Plane
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. 10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.
This passage shows how man, through his natural limitations, needs the help of others. Bridges writes:
Solomon intended more than simply a literal application of these truths to physical situations. In his rather picturesque way, he was emphasizing the importance of fellowship. Two are better than one, first because of the synergistic effect; Two together can produce more than each of them working alone … two people together can help each other up when they fall or even when they are in danger of falling. One of the many advantages of fellowship is the mutual admonishing or encouraging of one another in the face of a temptation or an attack of Satan.19
Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.
This passage shows us how our relationship and contacts with one another stimulate and sharpen us in our walk with God and life in general. We are able to grow and be sharpened and aided by the insights, gifts, and God’s workings in the lives of others.
1 Corinthians 12:12-18 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.
These verses emphasize the fact we are members of the body of Christ and, as these verses show, this necessitates our fellowship.
Ephesians 4:11-16 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
This passage stresses the importance of every believer working and serving in the fellowship of the body.
Romans 1:12 … that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.
This verse shows how our mutual faith, through God’s working in each of our lives, becomes an important ingredient to our mutual encouragement.
I Thessalonians 5:11-12 Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing. 12 But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction,
Here we see how the deceitfulness of sin and temptations of life necessitates our fellowship together, not only in the worship service but in more intimate ways. Compare also Hebrews 3:13 and 10:22-25 for this same emphasis.
Malachi 3:16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name.
“Those who feared the Lord” were those who had not been wrongly influenced by their society and who had not given way to doubts and the cynicism of the rest of the nation. Various translations of this text are, “spoke to one another” (NASB), “talked with each other” (NIV), “talked often one to another” (Amplified), “spoke often one to another” (KJV). The Hebrew has the imperfect tense of continual action or frequent action.
In the face of the widespread complaining against God and the apostasy of the day, a remnant sought encouragement and strength in frequent fellowship. It is obvious that this fellowship is what promoted their faithfulness against the widespread complaining. This fellowship then, along with their faithfulness, was so important to God that a scroll of remembrance of their response was written and is kept in heaven.
Stewardship: The Overflow of Fellowship
Persecution of the believers in Jerusalem, which had led to extreme conditions of poverty, caused the Apostle Paul to encourage the church, especially Gentile assemblies, to give to their need. This would not only demonstrate the oneness of Jew and Gentile in Christ, but gave the body of Christ to share with others in the body as partners Christ’s enterprise on earth. In writing to the Corinthian church to be a part of this ministry, the Apostle Paul used the Macedonian believers as an example. Regarding their giving Paul wrote:
2 Corinthians 8:1-12. And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 3 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. (Italics mine)

In Short

Fellowship in the body of Christ is certainly no side issue. It was one of the four things the early church devoted itself to, and from this brief study, we can see why. It is a means of support and encouragement to others and of ministry in the Savior’s enterprise on earth.
We have seen four words (relationship, partnership, companionship, and stewardship)20 that describe the general emphasis of this New Testament concept, but how does this carry over into specifics? How do we have the kind of fellowship that encourages, edifies (builds) and serves one another? How do we find the strength, the wisdom, and the courage to have true fellowship?
At least part of the answer comes through obedience to the many ‘one another’ commands of the New Testament. Over and over again, we are exhorted in various ways to be involved with and caring for one another. For instance, we are told to admonish one another (Rom. 15:14), to comfort and encourage one another (1 Thess. 4:18; 5:11; Heb. 3:13), to worship with one another (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; Heb. 10:25), to bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2), to always seek the good of one another (1 Thess. 5:15), to be honest with one another (Col. 3:9), to show hospitality to one another (1 Pet. 4:9), and to be at peace with one another (Mark 9:50). There are many others, some fifteen categories in all, but this illustrates the point.
The expression ‘one another’ is a translation of a reciprocal pronoun in the Greek New Testament. Reciprocal means mutual, shared, shown or felt alike by both sides, united in feelings, actions, responsibilities, and attitudes. Synonyms include: common, mutual, fellowship, and shared—ideas that are at the heart of the doctrine of fellowship. In usage, this pronoun is used in statements and injunctions to believers regarding shared and mutual responsibilities. In emphasis, it focuses us on our need of the ministry and aid of others, of our duty to care for others as partners in the body of Christ, and of how we can experience true fellowship. Therefore, a study of the ‘one another’ commands of Scripture would be tremendously helpful in the matter of New Testament fellowship The Psalmist wrote: “Look to the right and see; For there is no one who regards me; There is no escape for me; No one cares for my soul” (Ps. 142:4).

What is Fellowship

English Definition of Fellowship
Before we begin , let’s get a glimpse of our word “fellowship” from the English dictionary to see what it might add to our understanding. An English dictionary can shed a lot of light on the Bible if we would use it in our Bible study. The translators chose English words according to their real and exact meanings. When we study our Bibles we assume we understand the full significance of a word, but often our ideas are very incomplete. This is particularly true of the word “fellowship.”

According to Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary it means: (a) companionship, company, associate (vb.); (b) the community of interest, activity, feeling or experience, i.e., a unified body of people of equal rank sharing in common interests, goals, and characteristics, etc.; (c) partnership, membership (an obsolete usage but an important one. It shows what has happened to our ideas of fellowship).

There are three key ideas that come out of this:

(1) Fellowship means being a part of a group, a body of people. It is opposed to isolation, solitude, loneliness, and our present-day independent kind of individualism. Of course, it does not stop there because we can be in a crowd of people and even share certain things in common, but still not have fellowship.

(2) Fellowship means having or sharing with others certain things in common such as interest, goals, feelings, beliefs, activities, labor, privileges and responsibilities, experiences, and concerns.

(3) Fellowship can mean a partnership that involves working together and caring for one another as a company of people, like a company of soldiers or members of a family.
When Do We Fellowship?
1. We are having fellowship when we sing with a congregation with or without instrumental music.
2. We are having fellowship when we pray with a congregation of a church of Christ or a denomination.
3. We are having fellowship when we invite a preacher to come and preach for us. He may be a faithful preacher of the gospel. He may be an unfaithful preacher of the gospel. He may be a denominational preacher.
4. We are fellowshipping when we appear on a program with a faithful preacher of the gospel, an unfaithful preacher, or a denominational preacher. God's faithful servants must speak out against false teachers and false doctrine if they appear on a lectureship program with them (Eph. 5:11). It is a sin to be on a lectureship with false teachers and know them to be so but refuse to speak out against them and their false doctrine (II John 9-11).
5. We are fellowshipping when we announce and encourage people to attend a gospel meeting. Would a faithful church of Christ announce a revival for the Baptist church, the Methodist church, the Catholic church, or any other denomination? This would be a sin (Rom. 16:17-18). How then could a faithful church of Christ announce and encourage people to attend a meeting with an unfaithful congregation or a congregation using an unfaithful preacher?
6. We are fellowshipping when we encourage people to attend a vacaction Bible school whether it is with a faithful church of Christ, and unfaithful church of Christ, a Baptist church, a Methodist church, a Catholic church, or any other church. What faithful church of Christ would encourage peole to attend a vacation Bible school at any denomination? What faithful preacher of the gospel would go preach for a denomination in their vacation Bible school without letting them know of their denominational wrong?
7. We are having fellowship when we announce the homecoming of a faithful church of Christ, an unfaithful church of Christ, or any denomination. What faithful church of Christ would announce the homecoming services of a denomination?
8. We are having fellowship when we go and participate in a homecoming of a faithful church of Christ, an unfaithful church of Christ, or any denomination. If we worship with them in any way—in congregational singing, quartet singing, small-group singing—then we are fellowshipping with them. If a denominational church or an unfaithful church of Christ has a fellowship meal and we participate in it, then we are fellowshipping with them.
9. We are fellowshipping when we ask a person to pray at a religious gathering. No faithful congregation would ask a person living in adultery to lead in prayer. No faithful church of Christ would ask a Baptist preacher to lead a prayer in the worship services. No faithful church of Christ would ask any denominational preacher to lead in prayer.
10. We are having fellowship when we ask a person to teach a Bible class. This is why faithful Christians are used to teach. No faithful congregation would think of asking a Catholic priest to teach a Bible class. How can brethren think they are doing right when they ask an unfaithful preacher in the church of Christ to teach or preach at any gathering of the church?
11. We are having fellowship when we ask a person to pass the Lord's Supper or to wait on the Lord's table. This is why brethren will not use unfaithful members to serve at the table. What faithful church would ask a Baptist, Methodist, Mormon, Presbyterian, or any other member of a denomination to serve at the Lord's table? How then can we use any member of the church that will not obey the Lord's command relative to Christian fellowship (Eph. 5:11; II John 9-11; Rom. 16:17-18)?
12. We are having fellowship when we support radio and television programs and announce them. Churches and individuals should make sure the preacher on these programs is sound in the faith as well as the congregations that oversee these programs.

But what about Christian fellowship according to the Word of God and the words for fellowship as they are used in the New Testament



Concepts of Fellowship in the New Testament
A. Relationship
In the New Testament, what is shared in common is shared first of all because of a common relationship that we all have together in Christ. Koinwnia was an important word to both John and Paul, but it was never used in merely a secular sense. It always had a spiritual significance and base. The idea of an earthly fellowship founded upon just common interests, human nature, physical ties like in a family, or from church affiliation was really rather foreign to the apostles.
In the New Testament, believers can have fellowship and share together because they first of all have a relationship with Christ and share Him in common (1 Cor. 1:9; 1 John 1:3). The New English Bible translates 1 John 1:3 as follows: “what we have seen and heard we declare to you, so that you and we together may share in a common life, that life which we share with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”
Fellowship is first the sharing together in a common life with other believers through relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Fellowship is first and foremost a relationship, rather than an activity. The principle is that any activity that follows, should come out of the relationship.
In Acts 2:42 the early church was not merely devoting itself to activities, but to a relationship. It was this relationship that produced an active sharing in other ways. It is so important that we grasp this. Fellowship means we belong to each other in a relationship because we share together the common life and enabling grace of Jesus Christ.
There is also, however, a negative aspect. Because of our relationship with Christ, there can be no legitimate fellowship with the world, demonism, idolatry, or anything that is contrary to Christ and our relationship with Him (cf. 2 Cor. 6:14f).

B. Partnership
Whereas the word relationship describes believers as a community, partnership describes them as the principals of an enterprise. A business partnership is always formed in order to attain an objective, such as providing a service to the public at a profit for the partners. In the same way, the concept of a spiritual partnership implies that it is created with the objective of glorifying God. Just as all believers are united together in a community relationship, so we are all united together in a partnership formed to glorify God …
… Biblical fellowship, then, incorporates this idea of an active partnership in the promotion of the gospel and the building up of believers.3
This element is strongly brought out in the argument of the author of Hebrews who shows us that believers are both partakers of and partners with Christ in His salvation, kingdom, and purposes for earth and man.
In Hebrews 1:14 this “salvation” which believers are to inherit, within the context of the passage, includes the believer’s share in the Son’s triumphant dominion in which He has partners, those who belong to Him and are involved with Him in His kingdom and reign (1:9; 2:10,13; 3:1). This partnership, however, begins here on earth, and this forms the foundation for what believers will share with Him in the future kingdom. We are responsible to share with Him in the work He is now doing on earth so we can share in the blessings of the future by way of rewards (cf. Luke 19:11f; 1 Cor. 3:12f). A steadfast confidence in Christ is vital or we will defect and fail to carry our responsibilities as His companions. As those who share in His life through faith, we are also partners with Him in His enterprise and purposes here on earth. We are His representatives on earth (cf. 1 Pet. 2:5f).
Note Hebrews 3:14 which may be rendered, “… we have become partners with Christ.” It can mean “sharer, partaker.” “Of Christ” then becomes what we share in: we partake of His life. This is true, but I don’t believe this is the point here. As in Hebrews 1:9, the author is saying we become companions, partners of the Christ, the Messianic King, but to share in what He is doing now and in the future, we need fidelity and confidence in Him (cf. Rev. 2:26-27).

Distinction Between Relationship and Partnership
Relationship describes what we are: a community of people bound together by our common life and blessings that we share together through our relationship with Christ. Partnership describes how we are related to each other in that relationship: we are partners in an enterprise and calling in which we are to work together in a common purpose to obtain common objectives for the glory of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ (cf. Phil 1:27).
Later, as we look at the foundation for fellowship, we will see that our relationship with Christ is like a coin, it has two sides, union and communion, or relationship (the positional side) and fellowship (the experiential side).

C. Companionship
Companionship is the interchange or communication (communion) that exists among companions, those associated together through a relationship they hold in common. The key ingredient in companionship is communication. Key words that describe companionship are “interchange, communion, sharing.” Communication is the sharing of concepts, feelings, ideas, information, needs, etc. through words or other symbols like body language and actions so that all members of the relationship hold these things in common.
In the Christian community, companionship includes communicating on a spiritual level through a mutual sharing of the things of Christ: the Word, the filling of the Holy Spirit, and the ministries and gifts of the various members of the body of Christ.
Companionship through communication would include:


(1) The Vertical: This is our communion and fellowship with the Lord through the Word, prayer, the filling of the Holy Spirit, and the abiding life.
(2) The Horizontal: This is our communion and fellowship with the body of Christ, other believers. This includes: (a) assembling together as a whole body (Acts. 2:42; Heb. 10:25); (b) assembling in smaller groups (2 Tim. 2:2); (c) meeting together one-on-one (1 Thess. 5:11); (d) sharing and communicating truth together and building up one another (Rom. 1:11-12; 2 Tim. 2:2; 1 Thess 5:11; Philem. 6); (e) sharing together in worship, i.e., the Lord’s supper (1 Cor. 10:16), the singing of hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16), prayer (1 Cor. 14:16-17), the ministry of the Word (Acts 20:20; 2 Tim. 2:2; 1 Pet. 4:10-11); (f) sharing together as partners in the needs, burdens, concerns, joys, and blessings for the purpose of encouragement, comfort, challenge or exhortation, praise, prayer and physical help according to the needs and ability (cf. Phil. 1:5 with 1:19; and 2:4 with 1:27; also 4:3; Rom. 12:15; and 1 Thess. 5:11,14,15; Heb. 10:33).
This means we must develop the loving art of communication. We need to be willing to share our own burdens and aspirations and be available to hear what others are saying so we may minister to needs according to the directives of the Word. The ultimate goal is to build up and enrich others in the things of Christ that we may all together experience the sufficiency of His life and tune our lives into His. We need others for that. As the early church was first devoted to the apostles’ teaching, they were also devoted to caring for one another and to sharing with one another what they were learning and what Christ was meaning to them (Acts. 2:42; Heb. 3:12-14).

D. Stewardship
A steward is one who manages the property of another. A steward is not an owner; he is a manager. As stewards we must recognize that all we have belongs to the Lord and has been given to us as trusts from God to invest for His purposes. Believers need to be willing to share their material possessions for the promotion of the gospel and to help those in need. Good stewardship stems from recognizing our relationship to Jesus Christ, but it also means recognizing our partnership in Christ’s enterprise on earth.
In any good partnership, the partners share equally in both the privileges and responsibilities, the assets and liabilities, and the blessings and burdens. What kind of partnership would it be if one partner took all the income and enjoyed all the privileges while the other partner did all the work and paid all the bills? Would you enter a partnership like that? No, of course not! Partners are to share and share alike in all the aspects of their enterprise. They may not do the same things. In fact, they will be much more successful in their enterprise if they work and share according to their abilities, expertise, and training, but still share the load.
It is interesting that one of the most prominent uses of the koinwnia group of words is its use in connection with sharing material blessings—giving money to meet financial needs. Of the 36 usages of these words, they are used 9 times specifically in connection with giving, and in a couple of other passages giving would be included among other aspects of fellowship (Acts 2:42; Phil. 1:5; Heb. 10:33).
The concept and application of this partnership/stewardship combination is seen clearly in 2 Corinthians 8:12-15. “Paul envisioned a continual flow of believers’ possessions toward those who have needs. This is an outworking of koinwnia, and an important expression of true fellowship.”6
What was happening here? What was Paul wanting to see done? Paul was asking the Corinthian believers to have fellowship as partners, as fellow sharers in Christ and laborers together in the gospel. As partners, they were to give out of their abundance to other partners, to other believers, even though they had never met. Why? Out of love, certainly , but also because they were partners in the Savior’s enterprise on earth.

Relationship: The Foundation for Fellowship
As we’ve seen, fellowship is first a relationship. But, sometimes the term relationship is used of our subjective experiences. A man might say, “I have a good relationship with my wife.” He means that they get along well, they communicate and enjoy one another’s company. But the most basic meaning of relationship deals with objective fact. It refers to the condition or fact of being related to someone as a son to a father or a wife to her husband. This is particularly true with the concept of relationship as we use it theologically. Relationship refers to an objective fact.
Relationship means we are related to God as His children, born into His family by the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ. Then, as believers in Christ, we are related to Christ and to each other in that we have been joined into union with Him; we are members of His body through the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. Fellowship means we share this relationship and it is an objective fact regardless of our spiritual condition (cf. 1 Cor. 1:2 with 3:1-3). In this sense, we must understand and act on the following concept: RELATIONSHIP stands to FELLOWSHIP as UNION stands to COMMUNION.
This means we must ever keep in mind that our experience with God and with one another grows out of the objective fact of our relationship with the Lord Jesus (cf. Eph. 2:5, 6). Only those who are in relationship with one another (objective fact) can have true fellowship (subjective experience).8 We must first have a real living relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ before we can have experiential fellowship with God. As this is true with God, so it also becomes true in our fellowship with one another (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1).
In the Bible, fellowship embraces both the objective and experiential aspects. However, for the experiential to occur, we must first have the objective fact. Why? Because the relationship aspect of fellowship (the objective fact) forms the foundation for all the other aspects of fellowship. In relation to God, relationship/union provides the motivation, the means, the confidence, everything we need to reach out to appropriate our new life as those who are related to the living Christ. It is because we are related to Christ that we are partners and related to each other. It is because we are related as a household of God’s people that we share and give (Gal. 6:10; 3 John 8).

Partnership: The Means of Fellowship
As pointed out earlier, Paul and John never used the term fellowship in a purely secular sense. It always had a spiritual base and a spiritual means. The idea of an earthly fellowship founded upon simply common interests or common likes or dislikes or similar personalities or human opinions or purely physical ties was a foreign idea in connection with Christian fellowship.
For these human authors of Scripture, Christian fellowship was tied directly into spiritual realities. Certain things must be involved or we do not have Christian koinwnia. The first essential is the foundation (the objective aspect), but it also includes the means of fellowship (the subjective aspect).
If we are to share experientially in the life of Christ, and if we are to share together as partners and as companions in an effective and meaningful way, certain things are a must. Without God’s means of fellowship, we can’t have true Christian fellowship. What we end up with is mere religiosity as it pertains to God, and simply social interchange and a compatibility of old sin natures as it pertains to men.

The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit
In 2 Corinthians 13:14 we have the clause, “fellowship of the Holy Spirit.” A question arises as to whether “of the Holy Spirit” is objective (the object of our fellowship, a participation or sharing in the Holy Spirit), or subjective (the fellowship or sharing which the Holy Spirit produces or provides as the means, the agent). In Philippians 2:1 we have the same construction and the same question. There is no question that all believers mutually share in the person and ministries of the Holy Spirit as is clear in Hebrews 6:4 (metochos).
2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
This verse has three “of” clauses in the Greek, each referring to the three persons and gifts of the Trinity. Normally we would expect such clauses to be parallel grammatically. If we can determine the pattern of one by the nature of the clause, the others would normally follow the same pattern (cf. Tit. 3:5).
(1) “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.” It is the grace which the Lord Jesus Christ gives (subjective), not grace which the Lord Jesus Christ receives (objective).
(2) “The love of God” is clearly the same. It is the love we receive from God (subjective), not the love we give to God (objective). This follows by the pattern set in the first clause, but also from the last statement, “be with you all.” The context deals with what we receive, not give.
(3) “The fellowship of the Holy Spirit.” Following the above examples, it is more likely that the third genitive (tou @agiou pneumatos) is also subjective (“the fellowship engendered by the Holy Spirit”; cf. Eph 4:3) than that it is objective (“participation in the Holy Spirit”).9
Philippians 2:1 If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
This passage likewise consists of three clauses, one with “in,” and two with “of.” Again we have a similar parallel. “Encouragement in Christ” is an encouragement which comes from being in Christ. “Consolation of love” is a consolation which comes from love. So likewise, “fellowship of the Spirit” is a fellowship which the Spirit gives.
All aspects of fellowship are dependent upon the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Before salvation, fellowship with God in the sense of relationship (union) depends on His pre-salvation work, the conviction of truth, followed by His work of regeneration and baptizing accompanied by the Spirit’s indwelling as a gift of the Father and the Son (John 16:8f; 2 Thess. 2:13; Tit. 3:5; 1 Cor. 12:12,13). After salvation the experience of fellowship in communion with God depends on the filling of the Spirit. Carnal Christians cannot have true fellowship either with God or with one another. They simply will not be functioning as partners, companions, and stewards. About the best they can have is a compatibility of human friendship, or backgrounds, or of likes and dislikes, but true fellowship engendered by the Spirit will certainly be hampered because carnality grieves and quenches the Spirit. In a question designed to show how Israel’s sin had hampered their fellowship with the Lord and ability to function as God’s people according to His purpose for the nation, Amos asked, “Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment (an agreement)?” (Amos 3:3).


Fellowship in the Gospel
Acts 2:42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Central to these believers’ fellowship was the teaching of the apostles. Being devoted to our relationship, partnership, companionship, and stewardship depends on our devotion to Scripture.
Philippians 1:5 “in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.” This partnership for all the churches of Macedonia as with the Thessalonians began with hearing and receiving the Word (cf. 1 Thess. 2:13).
1 John 1:1-3 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life—and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
The coming of the Son and the proclamation of His Word was not an end in itself, its purpose was fellowship. Fellowship in all its aspects comes from the proclamation of the Word of Christ. True fellowship must have its foundation in the Word and it must get its energy, direction, and scope from the Scriptures. This is central, but unfortunately in our day of the “feel good” kind of Christianity other things have become central and the Bible has been given a back seat.
A passage that is pertinent here is 1 Corinthians 1:10-2:5. These verses deal with the division brought about by the variance of men’s opinions concerning personalities and forms and emphasis in worship as it pertained to such things as baptism and its importance, and the use and function of showy gifts like tongues. What the Corinthians were emphasizing in their meetings was undercutting the ministry of the Word which proclaimed the sufficiency of Christ, a wisdom certainly not of this world. Furthermore, because they had failed to grasp the very heart of the gospel, their fellowship with Christ, they were cliquish and snubbing the poorer saints when the church came together (11:17-34). So, Paul sought to demonstrate that what men need is the wisdom of God’s Word and its message of Christ. This is the basis of fellowship, not forms of worship or showy gifts.
So we should also note the preceding context, 1:9, “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” As we have seen, fellowship has as its fundamental meaning the concept of having a share in, partnership, having a common share. All believers share in common the life of Christ positionally and experientially. Consequently, they also share with one another in Christ’s enterprise on earth. This is the hinge upon which Paul attacks the party spirit in the verses that follow.