Thursday, March 30, 2017

Get on Board – Part 1 - Fellowship


This week, Micheal writes that Fellowship = Fellows in the Ship. 1 John chapter 1 is about what we call "fellowship" in Christian circles.  Fellowship with Jesus Christ requires "transparency" before our loving Heavenly Father.  How do we portray ourselves?  Do we see ourselves in light of his glorious gospel of truth or according to the darkness of this fallen world?  God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.  According to the gospel of John, light is anything that makes manifest; it is anything that reveals and illuminates so that we can clearly see.  The light of God enlightens so that we can perceive reality from a spiritual perspective.  Light reveals what already exists.  If there is sin and iniquity in our lives, then these dark places in our lives try to hide from the glorious light of the gospel of truth.  

1 John 1;1-10 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life — the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us — that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

Fellowship and light go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other. Our primary goal needs to be to walk in the light as He is in the light. What some Christians think is fellowship, others who attend church often think is "food and entertainment."  However biblical terms need to be defined in terms of their biblical definitions. The Greek word "koinonia" means to "share fully." It means that we need to share fully with our Savior Jesus Christ everything that He is. Fellowship denotes an intimate, participating, and sharing relationship of community and communion. As members of the body of Christ we must share the fellowship of the Holy Spirit: the righteousness of God in Christ in us.

In marriage God commands husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church.  Men often have a facade of toughness on the outside because they are overly sensitive on the inside. However, as David was “a man after God's own heart," David's prayer was "break my sinful heart and create within me a new heart." Women are often soft on the outside but tough on the inside. They are the stable ones who endure hardness and abusive relationships for the sake of the marriage commitment. Men can learn a lot from their wives in terms of biblical virtues of forgiveness, patience, long suffering and kindness.

Let’s continue Michael’s message on “Fellowship” on the next Post.

In Christ, Brian

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