By Pastor Naomi Mitchell
For Carter County Times
Fellowship is more than sharing coffee after a Sunday meeting or gathering in a midweek group. It is partnering in the very life of Christ with other believers, because while faith must be personal, it can never be private. When we come to Christ, we also come to others who have come to Him, and so we are called to experience our salvation, not just individually, but together in fellowship.
The Greek word for “fellowship” means a partnership of any kind, whether a business partnership, some other common enterprise, or even marriage. It means having something in common with someone. Both a person and a thing are involved. This is what Biblical Christianity is about; not just believing the same things as others but joining with them to invest everything we are and have in the great project to which God has called us in Christ.
Sometimes the word “fellowship” is used in the New Testament as a substitute for church (1 Corinthians 5:2), but generally, when the New Testament talks about fellowship, it is thinking about what Christians have a share in. In the following references, the Greek word for “fellowship” (or a word based on its root) is sometimes translated differently in English. So we find that Christians have fellowship 1) with the Father (1 John 1:3); 2) with Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 John 1:3); 3) with the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians13:14; Philippians 2:1); 4) with one another (Acts 2:42; Romans 15:24; 1 John 1:7); 5) in the blood and body of Christ in communion (1 Corinthians 10:16-18); 6) in Christ’s sufferings and death (2 Corinthians 1:7; Philippians 3:10).
What we cannot have fellowship in, however, is anything to do with darkness, that is, Satan’s realm, however that might be culturally expressed (2 Corinthians 6:14-18, 1 John1:6).
However, fellowship isn’t just about what we receive; it is also about what we give. Fellowship in the New Testament means active, personal engagement in the church’s life. In fact, the early church was born in fellowship. An immediate consequence of the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost was that “all the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship” (Acts 2:42). That fellowship wasn’t just about going to meetings together. It found expression in the believers sharing their resources and their lives in ways that made a great impact on the surrounding community (vv. 43-47; 4:32-37). That is what real fellowship does. Both receiving fellowship and giving fellowship are fundamental to being a Christian!
Amen! So be it!
JOYFUL House of Prayer, 2519 Quicksand Road, (P.O. Box 856), Jackson, Kentucky 41339. Send Comments/Prayer Requests: Pastornaomi4god@gmail.com. FB: JoyfulHoprayer. Services: 10am Sunday and Joyful Kids Class at 10:30am, 6:30pm Thursdays. Radio Broadcast: WJSN 97.3 FM & WEKG 81.0 AM Sundays 1-2pm.
