Thursday
Evening Bible Study
March
4, 2021
Today’s topic
is about Fellowship.
The word in the
New Testament translated “Fellowship” is koinonia.
The first time
you see this word in the New Testament is on the day of Pentecost, Peter
preaches, and the church was born.
(Acts 2:42 NKJV) And they
continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the
breaking of bread, and in prayers.
The word koinonia
is built upon the word for “common”.
It has to do
with things you have “in common” with others.
It is sometimes translated “communion” because when we share the bread and juice together,
we have Jesus “in common”.
In John’s first epistle, he uses the word four times in the same passage.
(1 John 1:3–9 NKJV) —3 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.
John wants his
readers to have something “in common” with him. He wants them to have the same
relationship with God as he does.
4 And these things we write to you that your
joy may be full.
5 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. 6 If we say
that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do
not practice the truth.
If we say we
have something “in common” with Jesus, who is “light”, and yet our lives are filled with
“darkness” (continuing in sin), then something is wrong.
How can you be in the “light” when your life is filled with “darkness”?
7 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. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The thing we
want to have in common with each other is that we are walking in the light.
Walking in the light doesn’t mean we are perfect or that we don’t have any
sin in our lives. John tells his readers in verse 8 that if they think they
don’t have sin, they’re deceiving themselves.
Yet when we
walk in the light, we find that our sins become evident, and we realize we need
to once again turn from them, confess them to God, and receive His forgiveness and cleansing.
When we walk in the light like that, we experience the truth that the blood of Jesus
cleanses us from all sin.
Yet in context, this cleansing
comes with “fellowship”, with relationship, with having a group of people in
our lives with whom we share a common connection with Jesus.
God intended
that the church be a “community” of people. He wants us to be a part of a
community of believers.
And yet some of us have this notion that we can get along all by ourselves.
The person who
doesn’t think they need anyone else is often called a “Lone Ranger”.
It's funny because even the Lone Ranger had his faithful friend “Tonto”.
Illustration
As the Lone
Ranger and Tonto were riding along towards the north, they spotted a war party of about 50 Apaches coming at them. They turned south, but another war party appeared.
They turned east
and met another party of 100 braves. They turned west as their last remaining hope and saw a party of 500. The Lone Ranger turned to his friend and said,
“Well, faithful friend, this is the end, there’s not much we can do.” Tonto
looked back at the Lone Ranger. “What you mean WE, white man?”
Hopefully our friends in life will stick with us no matter
what.
God did not design man to be a lone
ranger.
When God first created man …
(Genesis 2:18 NKJV) And the Lord God said, “It is not good
that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
God created woman. He designed us
to be with others, in community.
Even in the book of Leviticus we
see God building into His nation of Israel times for the people to get
together.
(Leviticus 23:2 NKJV) “Speak to the children
of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy
convocations, these are My feasts.
The rest of Leviticus 23 talks
about all the times God wanted His people to get together.
Weekly they were to assemble each
Sabbath.
There were also special “Feasts”
each year where God wanted His people to come together.
Paul gives an excellent picture of how the church is to
operate:
(Ephesians 4:11–16 NLT) —11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles,
the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and
build up the church, the body of Christ.
Leaders in the
church have a responsibility to teach and guide the church.
The goal in
teaching should be so that all of us find our part in the ministry and serve
others.
13 This will continue until we all come to such
unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the
Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed
and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when
people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
When you are in
a church with a healthy teaching ministry, teaching you the Bible, you will be
less likely to get carried away by strange teachings.
15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love,
growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is
the head of his body, the church.
We all have a
responsibility to “speak the truth in love” to each other.
There are going to be times when we all can get a little off course in our
relationship with Jesus.
We need people
who know us enough and love us enough to speak up and get us back on track.
Being a part of the church is not just sitting with people in a building, or
watching online, but
developing relationships were we get to know, talk,
share, and pray with others.
16 He makes the whole body fit
together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the
other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of
love.
Just like a
body has many parts, and each part needs to do it’s job, we all have a role to play in the church.
Having
relationships like this is how we grow and mature. We need others in our lives.
Many times Paul calls the church
“the body of Christ”
A body has different body parts,
and all are important.
Each body part may function in a
different way, but we all need each other.
(1 Corinthians 12:15–22 NLT) —15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the
body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the
body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not
an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would
you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? 18 But our
bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How
strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one
body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head
can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” 22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem
weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.
You may not be the
famous pastor of the church, but you are necessary.
We all have a part
to play. We all contribute.
Fellowship in
the New Testament isn’t always too obvious, you see it sometimes lying beneath
the surface of a passage.
One of the ways
“fellowship” shows up is in the verses we call the
“one anothers”.
As I read each verse, ask yourself, “how does this affect the way I relate
to other believers?”
(John 13:34–35 NKJV) —34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another;
as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all
will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Just how did He love us?
(Romans 12:16 NLT) Live in harmony with
each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And
don’t think you know it all!
Be careful about playing
“favorites” at church. Be careful about falling into the trap of only looking
to hang out with the “cool” people.
(Romans 14:13 NLT) So let’s stop
condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not
cause another believer to stumble and fall.
Romans 14 is all about those “gray
areas” in life. Sometimes things are not clearly prohibited in the Bible, and
people have different ideas about what is right. We need to be careful that our
conviction over something doesn’t cause another person to stumble.
(Galatians 6:1–2 NLT) —1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some
sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the
right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of
Christ.
We need to keep
an eye out for those who are struggling. We need compassion and gentleness in
how we seek to help them get back on track.
Yet this can only happen when we have relationships with others.
If nobody knows you at church, how will they be able to
help you when you struggle?
(Ephesians 4:32 NLT) Instead, be kind to each other,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven
you.
Forgiveness is
so important in all relationships. Don’t hold grudges.
(Colossians 3:16 NKJV) Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
We all have a
role in teaching. Let God’s Word be a part of our your
life. We all can share encouraging lessons from God’s Word.
Sometimes
teaching comes through our singing, through our corporate worship together.
(Hebrews 10:24–25 NLT) —24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and
good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting
together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the
day of his return is drawing near.
Fellowship
requires that we “get together” with others. We do this to encourage each other
to follow Jesus.
(James 5:16 NLT) Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you
may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and
produces wonderful results.
Forgiveness comes when we confess our sins to God, but sometimes we need to open up and confess something to a person as well.
Chains of addiction can be broken when we bring our
struggles into the light and let a few select people know and pray for us.
(1 Peter 5:5 NKJV) Likewise you younger
people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be
submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
We need to be humble towards one
another. We need to learn to “submit” to one another.
Healthy fellowship is such an important part of growing as a Christian.
Illustration
A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services
regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him.
It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing
fire. Guessing the reason for his pastor’s visit, the man welcomed him, led him
to a big chair near the fireplace and waited. The pastor made himself
comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the play of
the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the pastor took the
fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of
the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host
watched all this in quiet fascination. As the one lone ember’s flame
diminished, there was a momentary
glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and “dead as a doornail.”
Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. Just before the pastor
was ready to leave, he picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the
middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and
warmth of the burning coals around it. As the pastor
reached the door to leave, his host said, “Thank you so much for your visit and
especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday.”
We burn much better for Jesus when we are burning together.
We need each other.
Hope that helps