Practical Issues
Fellowship
A Full Share
Giving
Suffering
Separation
Blessing
Fellowship
by Graham Jones - The Church at Gun Hill"And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." Acts 2 v 42.
In this study we shall consider the topic of fellowship, but as an additional reading, let us read from I John 1 vv 3-7. "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto 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 write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto 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 the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."
The Holy Spirit
This is again a study in the practical issues of the life of faith. We started by examining the idea of being filled with the Spirit. We cannot do anything for God unless we know, not simply the work of the new birth, but the fulness of the Spirit. The disciples waited in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from high. There is nothing that we can do of ourselves for God. We must be vessels in His service, filled with the Holy Spirit. It is what the Holy Spirit does. When the Holy Spirit comes, He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. We cannot do it. We are no use to God if we try to go out in our own strength and power. The disciples would have been no good, but filled with the Spirit, what a tremendous effect they had. And so can we. Jesus said that without Him we can do nothing. That is very important as a practical issue. Lots of Christians are struggling, wondering how to live their lives, wondering how to be pleasing to God. Be filled with the Spirit! Of course, we have looked at what that phrase in Ephesians means: it does not simply mean to be full of the Spirit - that is assumed. The command here is a command to Spirit-filled believers, to be filled with what the Holy Spirit was supplying. The construction is such that the Holy Spirit is presented as the agent who fills. So we can translate the phrase as "Be filled by the Spirit." Let the Holy Spirit fill you with all that He desires. Jesus said that, when the Holy Spirit came, He would lead us into all truth, that He would speak of Jesus and glorify Him. Day by day, as we go on being filled by the Spirit, we are letting the Holy Spirit minister those things that are needful in our lives. This is practical, not a course of 'how-to' lessons, but letting the Lord do the work.Sound Doctrine
Then there is sound doctrine. How important that is! Of course, many nowadays go all for the 'being led of the Spirit' side, but, through neglect of the Scriptures, go astray on sound doctrine. We need to know the Word of God. I am persuaded that if we are being filled by the Spirit and if we know sound doctrine, we shall want to do these things which are the subject of our studies in practical issues. We will not have that attitude which regards prayer and Bible reading as a chore to be done before we can get on with the rest of the day. Now people often think that I am dispensing with a disciplined life, and advocating that prayer and reading be done when one feels like it. No, I do believe that discipline is necessary, that one should set aside a regular time for reading the Word and for prayer every day. If you are filled with the Spirit you will want to. You will want to defeat those weaknesses of the flesh which otherwise hinder progress. Then the whole of your day will be lived as unto the Lord.Practical Issue
Fellowship is very important too as a practical issue, for if we get fellowship right as well, we shall find that the Lord's purposes will become clear to us and we shall know that we are walking in the place where God wants us to be. We will have an assurance in our hearts: it is wonderful how it works. I feel that I John 1 sums it up very clearly, that we have a fellowship that is a fellowship with the Father, a fellowship with the Son and a fellowship one with another. It also tells us not to have fellowship with evil things, with darkness. If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. There is a wonderful cleansing operative when we are in this place of fellowship. We shall find that there is cleansing in reading, knowing and taking heed to the Word. These are very practical issues, because if we are in the right place, being filled with the Holy Spirit, if we have got sound doctrine and know what the teaching of the Scripture is, then these will be of practical use in our Christian lives. You see, a lot of people get confused about doctrine. That is why we read that verse in Ephesians which says, "that you henceforth be not children, tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine." People seem to get confused about doctrine and will not have anything to do with it. That is a wrong attitude. Doctrine is so important yet so simple. When we have that sound doctrine then we can go on in the things of the Lord.What we so often mean and understand by fellowship is probably not what the Scripture means by fellowship. We often say on a Sunday evening, "We'll have a time of fellowship afterwards - a cup of tea or coffee, biscuits, cakes and a chat." Or, maybe we'll arrange a football match with another group and afterwards hold a barbecue. "Come and have a good time of fellowship," we say. What we understand in these instances is probably what the world understands by fellowship and that is having a good time, fun, socialising with others and then going home. But that is not really it. In the New Testament it is something permanent. It is the result of our Oneness, our unity in Christ. We could say that Christian fellowship is true communism - but do not confuse that with the corrupt, worldly, atheistic systems. In the Greek, the word koinonia means just that. In the Bible it is translated by the words 'communion', 'fellowship', and 'distribution'. It means 'common-ness' or 'having things common'. Marxism and Marxist-Leninism were and are miserable failures because they reject God. 'Koinonia' can only work when God is in the centre of it. Communism will never work in this world, but Christian fellowship is a beautiful reality to those who are saved. Koinonia is sharing, not in the sense of partnership or equal shares. There is a Greek word for that - metoche - and that word does carry with it the idea of equal sharing, possessing together. But koinonia bears the meaning of each one having a full share of everything. So when we are brought together into the body of Christ as Christians, we are brought into a community where each one of us and all of us together have a full share of everything, not part shares, but full shares. We are one Body: we have been baptised by one Spirit into one Body. We have a full share of everything - all things are yours (I Cor 3 v 21). We are heirs and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
It is sad that, in view of all that, we can be so separated from each other. Therefore, if we are separated, we are also powerless, because the things that God wants us to have are in the fellowship of His people. In I John 1 v 7, it says, "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship (Common-ness) one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."
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