Fellowship
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FELLOWSHIP [2842 koinwni,a :: koinonia]
FELLOWSHIP [2842 koinwni,a :: koinonia]
Love, Intimacy, Service, Reconciliation, Forgiveness, Bearing Burdens, Unity, Community
One of the first lessons of our Lord in His school of prayer was: Not to be seen of men.
NAS "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
Enter your inner chamber; be alone with the Father. When He has thus taught us that the meaning of prayer is personal individual contact with God, He comes with a second lesson: You have need not only of secret solitary prayer, but also of public united prayer. And He gives us a very special promise for the united prayer of two or three who agree in what they ask.
NAS "Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20 "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst."
As a tree has its root hidden in the ground and its stem growing up into the sunlight, so prayer needs equally for its full development the hidden secrecy in which the soul meets God alone, and the public fellowship with those who find in the name of Jesus their common meeting-place.
The reason why this must be so, is plain. The bond that unites a man to his fellow believers is no less real and close than that which unites him to God: he is one with them. Grace renews not only our relation to God but to man too. We not only learn to say “My Father,” but “Our Father.” Nothing would be more unnatural than the children of a family always meet their father separately, but never in the united expression of their desires or their love.
In the New Testament, koinonía signifies having a share in something, or sharing with someone in something, or you could say participation in something or with someone. When we drink the cup and eat the bread we share in the benefits of the slain body and shed blood of Jesus. We have a share in what death achieved (). They wanted to have a share in sending financial relief to the poor in Jerusalem (). Paul wanted to have a share in the sufferings of Christ; to participate with him in suffering for the gospel ().*
So koinonía can be a sharing in the benefits of the death of Jesus, or in the financial relief of the saints, or in the sufferings of Christ. So, when we talk about Christian koinonia — fellowship or sharing or participation that is unique to our relationship with other believers — what we are referring to is the shared union, the shared participation that we have together with Christ.
“Fellowship is a mutual bond that Christians have with Christ that puts us in a deep, eternal relationship with one another.”*
Believers are not only members of one family, but even of one body. Just as each member of the body depends on the other members, the full action of the spirit dwelling in the body depends on the union and co-operation of all members; so a solitary Christian cannot reach the full blessing God is ready to bestow through His Spirit, except as they seek and receive it in fellowship with each other. It is in the union and fellowship of believers that the Spirit can manifest His full power. [1] Fellowship with other Christians is thus at the heart of our Christian experience. Our relationship with God through Christ binds us together as the body of Christ.
Paul says in “You were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Which implies both sharing vertically in the union each of us has in Christ, and sharing together with other believers the common union we have with Christ and each other.
That sharing together in the Father and the Son is certainly the case in .
ESV That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us [that you may share in what we have seen and heard]; and indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. When you share with us in the realities we have seen and heard, namely the realities of Jesus, then you share not only with us, but you share with us in our sharing in the Father and the Son.*
The church is an active, living entity. It participates in the affairs of this world, it exhibits the way of life that God intends for all people, and it proclaims God’s Word for the present age. The spiritual unity and purity of the church stand in bold contrast to the enmity and corruption of the world. It is the church’s responsibility in all the particular congregations in which it becomes visible to practice unity, love, and care in a way that shows that Christ truly lives in those who are members of His body, so that their life is His life in them. [2]
[John Piper on Fellowship] –
So when I talk about Christian fellowship as a means of perseverance, the fellowship I have in mind is the mutual bond (and I think mutual would be the adjective form of koinonía in English) that Christians have with Christ that unites us in a profound and eternal relationship of love that should express itself in joyful and affectionate service to/for each other’s good.
Christian fellowship is aware of a profound, eternal relationship of love governed by Paul’s exhortation
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. ()
The most important passage in the Bible to make this point – that Christian fellowship is a means of perseverance in faith is
ESV “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God day. But exhort one another every day as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.”
“Making it to the end in faith shows that we were real — we had indeed come to share in Christ.”
Verse 14 is the ground or the reason for the two imperatives in verses 12 and 13, “Take care!” And “Exhort one another!” And the reason is this, the tenses are very important: Take care, and exhort each other, “because we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” It does not say, “If we hold our confidence firm, we will have a share in Christ.” It says, “If we hold our confidence firm to the end, we have shared in Christ.” This means that perseverance to the end in faith is a necessary confirmation that we have been born again. Making it to the end in faith shows that we were real — we had indeed come to share in Christ.
All sin is a lie because nothing is more preferable than God.
Therefore, all sin, which consists in preferring anything to God, is lying to us.”
So that’s the ground of these two imperatives in verses 12 and 13: “Take care!” and “Exhort one another every day.” Because you know that if your brother (and that is what he calls them in verse 12) — does not hold on to his confidence to the end, he will prove himself to have never shared in Christ. He will be lost — whether he is called brother or not. () And from that logic between verse 13 and verse 14 you infer, rightly:
“My (our) exhortation is one of God’s means for keeping my brother or my sister holding fast to Christ, and thus saving him from destruction.”
“You are God’s appointed means to keep your brother or sister from falling into sin.”
Look at the words of verse 12 and 13. Verse 12: Don’t let there be an evil, unbelieving heart leading you to fall away. Then look at the description of that process in verse 13b: Don’t be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. We have at least five huge realities about to create a catastrophe: Hardness (verse 13); Sin (verse 13); Sin’s deceitfulness (verse 13); A heart marked by evil (verse 12); and by unbelief (verse 12).
How these actually work to bring about the catastrophe warned against is what Christian fellowship is designed by God to prevent: Sin can be spoken of subjectively, as something that we feel or do, or objectively, as something we are drawn to feel or do. In either case sin, in essence, is a preference for anything over God. Therefore, all sin — whether alluring us or being experienced by us — is deceitful.
All sin is a lie because nothing is more preferable than God.
Therefore, all sin, which consists in preferring anything to God, is lying to us.
When that deceit insinuates itself into the human heart, one description of the effect is hardness. And hardness implies not easily touched or not easily penetrated with truth or beauty or preciousness. This hardening heart is called in verse 12 “an evil heart of unbelief.” Unbelief, therefore, is another way of describing what happens as the truth and beauty and worth of Christ become less and less desirable — less and less welcome, less able to touch and penetrate the hardening heart.
Because faith, in its essence, is not mere assent to truth about Christ,
but a heartfelt embrace of all the beauty and value that God is for us in Christ.
As the heart is deceived by the lie of sin — that anything is more desirable than God — it hardens, and the superior beauty and worth of Christ are no longer felt. And this is called unbelief. And the last thing to say about it is that it is evil. It is an evil heart of unbelief (verse 12), because it is in the grip of sin’s delusion that other things are more desirable than God. That is the essence of evil.
We know then what our job is in Christian fellowship. Our job is to help each other keep this catastrophe from happening. Specifically, in verse 13: “Exhort one another every day — while there still is a day — that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”
You are God’s appointed means to keep this from happening to your brother or sister!
That is one of the great callings on your life as a Christian — all of us. This is the calling of Christian fellowship — in all its forms.
If the essence of the deceit that leads to sin, hardness, unbelief, falling away (), and the eternal destruction, — if the essence of that deceit is making anything look preferable to God, look more desirable than God, more valuable than all that God is for us in Jesus, — if that is what leads to destruction, then what will be the essence of these exhortations?
Will it not be, God is better! Christ is better! His way is better. And a thousand biblical and experiential descriptions of why his word, his way, his future, his greatness, his guidance, value, his beauty, his friendship is better. “The pleasures of even the reproaches of Christ are greater wealth than the pleasures of Egypt.” ()
“Every exchange with others counts for eternity.
We are either weakening people’s affections for God, or strengthening them.”
[End – J.P.]
Passage adopted from: We Need Each Other Christian Fellowship as a Means of Perseverance
By John Piper https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/we-need-each-other
This highlights the importance of recognizing a relationship problem, and reconciling with an offended or offending brother or sister. When we become aware of a relationship problem, we must immediately take steps to correct it. Such action is necessary for several reasons.
First wrong relationships with fellow Christians affect our relationship with God.
NAS If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
NAS "For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 "But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
NAS You husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
A second consideration – we are commanded to restore relationships no matter who or what the fault; it is our responsibility to reconcile.
NAS "If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
NAS Jesus *said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
NAS "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
Thirdly, we are to restore relationships because of our witness to the unsaved world and our testimony to other Christians.
NAS "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
NAS Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
Fourth, It may require a great deal of initiative, forbearance, and humility to begin the process of reconciliation, but without reconciliation bitterness will begin to seep into our hearts. A fruit we cannot allow to take root. As the saying goes ‘one bad apple will spoil the barrel’.
NAS See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;
The reconciliation process in begins at the altar. Following the process outlined in we are to return to the altar in forgiveness and restoration in our fellowship with God, even if not reconciled with the person. We end the process where we began before God in worship.
Copious scriptures are consistent with the principle –
NKJ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the
brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.
NKJ And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love
his brother also.
NKJ My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
NKJ 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.
NKJ And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors…14 "For if you forgive
men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
NKJ "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."
NKJ "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
NKJ "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your
brother has something against you, 24 "leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
NKJ Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through
Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
NKJ " Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between
you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 "But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' 17 "And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
NKJ For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not
to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
(2842 koinwni,a koinonia; intimacy communion
(2266 rb;x' chabar {khaw-bar'} couple together, join together (Very uncommon in the OT.)
The koinonia of believers is the opportunity to be accepted and found acceptable through the forgiveness offered to all sinners equally in Christ’s shed blood and the exchanged life. () It is the opportunity to be trustworthy encourager for another fellow believer in their quest to discover the fullness of life in Christ. () It offers the opportunity to be led into a greater intimacy with Christ by maturing believers, to achieve like-mindedness with Christ. ()
Fellowship is founded on the agape love seldom achieved but constantly in need of pursuing. The selfless charity to encourage, shore up, bear one another, and receive the same from others believers without fear of prejudice; an intimacy not found in the secular world () can be experienced only through the presence of the binding of Holy Spirit. ()
Jesus says continually in John that this life results from His indwelling presence through His indwelling Holy Spirit (; ; ; ; , ; ; ;). The real Christian life is the life of the Lord Jesus lived within the life of the believer (). He is our abundant life. () This is the shared koinonea experience.
The very prayer of Christ brings koinonea to bear:
NAS "I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me. 22 "And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me. 24 "Father, I desire that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am, in order that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me; for Thou didst love Me before the foundation of the world. 25 "O righteous Father, although the world has not known Thee, yet I have known Thee; and these have known that Thou didst send Me; 26 and I have made Thy name known to them, and will make it known; that the love wherewith Thou didst love Me may be in them, and I in them. "
From Christ’s prayer in , we see revealed the unity of fellowship is founded in a few fundamental premises: Belief in Christ as God (20); Unity with God (21), Communion with God (22), Love through the Spirit (Agape)(23,25), Spiritual Discernment (24) (), and Participation (26).
The presence of the peace of God depends on the unity of believers and freedom from the anxiety attendant upon divisiveness, but the presence of the God of peace depends on the purity of one’s thoughts. Peace and purity are two great goods of Christian experience that cannot be separated. [3]
NAS Now flee from youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not tell the truth: 7 but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another,
To walk in the light we must be partakers of His nature. The word rendered “walk” suggests the habitual or constant course of life. The combined statements, “we lie, and do not tell the truth,” are significant. The truth is not merely a creed. It is always that which has a bearing upon the life. The truth is doctrine “according to God” that is, it is consistent with His character. Right action is an expression of the truth, and those who walk according to the truth thereby express the character of God. There is first union with God, and then communion with God and other believers. There cannot be the latter without the former. To be walking in the light as He is in the light is both to have relationship with God and to live in a manner corresponding to the relationship.
The “fellowship with one another” is the fellowship of believers with each other, though that is the evidence and expression of fellowship with God. For the further use of “one another” in this ; ; ; , ; see also —seven occasions in the two epistles. This fellowship is the outcome of walking in the light. [4]
Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual,
restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.
Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.
NAS Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Unity of believers [5] is based upon:
First – The New birth – Exchanged Life
For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. 16 Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if any man is in Christ he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come.
Second – The Indwelling Spirit Presence
Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
Third – Union with Christ
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you – unless indeed you fail the test?
NAS "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.
NKJ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
Unity of believers is expressed by
First – Oneness of Mind
To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;
…we have the mind of Christ.
KJV Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Second – Unity of Spirit
NAS I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Third – Unity of Faith
There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
Fourth – Unity of Concern
Paul encouraged a life of self-denial and consideration for others within the fellowship of believers. He specifically referred to the duty of the stronger toward the weaker members of the body of Christ (see , ). He set before the Roman Christians the example of Christ. The Greek word translated “bear” () is the same word used of Christ bearing His Cross (). Paul realized that people change more quickly in an atmosphere of love than in an atmosphere of criticism. A genuine consideration for the concerns and needs of others promotes harmony and unity within the church. Such unity () brings glory to God. Strength in a person of God is evident by their willingness to focus on the needs of others and their desire to foster a spirit of genuine harmony among God’s people.
that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Fifth – Fellowship
And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; 45 and they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. 46 And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Two youngsters were playing. One turned to the other and asked innocently, “What abomination do you belong to?”
It is interesting to survey the various New Testament concepts of the church. Scripture refers to the early Christians as God’s family and temple, as Christ’s flock and bride, as salt, as leaven, as fishermen, as a bulwark sustaining God’s truth, and in many other ways. The church was thought of as a single worldwide fellowship of believers, of which each local congregation was an outcrop and a sample. Early Christian writers often referred to the church as the “body of Christ” and the “new Israel.” These two concepts reveal much of the early Christians’ understanding of their mission in the world.
Paul describes the church as “one body in Christ” () and “His body” (). In other words, the church encompasses in a single communion of divine life all those who are united to Christ by the Holy Spirit through faith. They share His resurrection (), and are both called and enabled to continue His ministry of serving and suffering to bless others (). They are bound together in a community by grace to embody the love within the kingdom of God before the world.
Because they were bound to other Christians, these people understood that what they did with their own bodies and abilities was very important (; ; ). They understood that the various races and classes become one in Christ (; ), and must accept and love each other in a way that shows this to be so.
By describing the church as the body of Christ, the early Christians emphasized that Christ was head of the church (). He directed its actions and deserved any praise it received. All its power to worship and serve was His gift.
NAS I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.
11 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 fullness 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.
25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH, EACH ONE of you, WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another. 26 BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity. 28 Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need. 29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
NAS I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;
Because of the unity of all believers in the body of Christ, growth and maturity come from “the effective working by which every part does its share” (). This involves the exercise of spiritual gifts in love. Paul exhorts the readers to “put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man” () “and put on the new man” () that will be manifested by a walk of integrity in the midst of all people. They are also to maintain a walk of holiness as children of light (). Every relationship (wives, husbands, children, parents, slaves, masters) must be transformed by their new life in Christ ().[6]
Some common qualities emerge from the many images of the church that we find in the New Testament. They all show that the church exists because God called it into being. Christ has commissioned His followers to carry on His work, and that is the church’s reason for existence.
The various New Testament images of the church stress that the Holy Spirit empowers the church and determines its direction. Members of the church share a common task and common destiny under the Spirit’s leading.
Religious denominations have evolved within the larger body of Christ in recent centuries. But distinct groups of dissenting believers also surfaced in the first decades of the early church. As the gospel spread from “Jerusalem … Judea … Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (), the fellowship of believers was often interrupted by human separations based on ethnic, geographical, sociological, and doctrinal distinctives.
The early Christians identified themselves with Israel, God’s chosen people. They believed that Jesus’ coming and ministry fulfilled God’s promise to the patriarchs (cf. ; ; ), and they held that God had established a new covenant with Jesus’ followers (cf. ; ; ).
God, they held, had established His “new Israel” on the basis of personal salvation, rather than family descent. His church was a spiritual nation that transcended all cultural and national heritages. Anyone who placed his faith in God’s new covenant by surrendering his life to Christ became Abraham’s spiritual descendant and as such a part of the “new Israel” (; ; ; ; ; ).
The fellowship of believers is to be inclusive rather than exclusive. Paul emphasized the unity of Jew and Gentile within the body of Christ. Christ came to His own people, to the “circumcision” or the Jews, but they did not receive Him (v. 8; ). Christ also came for the Gentiles. Paul quoted the OT to show the place of the Gentiles in God’s plan (; ; ; ; , ). Because Christ has freely welcomed all into His family, His family members should welcome one another with full acceptance.[7]
If God morally justifies all sinners because of their faith in Jesus and not because of any works of the Law (), is there ever justification for discrimination or separation among believers?
Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6 not by way of eye service, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. 9 And, masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
HONEST<TRANSPARENT<RELIABLE<EDIFY<ENCOURAGING<LOVING<SINCERE< GENEROUS
[1] Heritage of Great Evangelical Teaching : Featuring the Best of Martin Luther, John Wesley, Dwight L. Moody, C.H. Spurgeon and Others. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1996
[2]Packer, J.I. ; Tenney, Merrill Chapin ; White, William: Nelson's Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. 545
[3]Hayford, Jack W. ; Snider, Joseph: Prisoner of Joy : Living in Christ's Fullness and Freedom: A Study of the Prison Epistles (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon). Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994 (Spirit-Filled Life Bible Discovery Guides)
[4]Vine, W.E.: Collected Writings of W.E. Vine. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1996
[5]Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nelson's Quick Reference Topical Bible Index. Nashville, Tenn. : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995 (Nelson's Quick Reference), S. 631
[6]Wilkinson, Bruce ; Boa, Kenneth: Talk Thru the Bible. Nashville : T. Nelson, 1983, S. 403
[7]Thomas Nelson, Inc: Woman's Study Bible . Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S.