Fellowship
Sermon Series: 5 Scriptures that remind us who
we are.
#3 of 5: Fellowship
February 29, 2004
John 13:34-35
1st Sunday in Lent
Galena-Warwick United Methodist Charge
Warwick & Galena, Maryland
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson
larry@larryjameson.com
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John 13:34-35
"A new command I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
By this all men will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another."
FELLOWSHIP
is one of the fundamentals of Christian discipleship.
You have heard me talk about SOFEW:
Stewardship, Outreach, Fellowship, Education, and Worship.
It is fitting that fellowship is right in the middle.
Fellowship stands at the heart of Christian faith.
We are in this together.
Whatever we do, our lives, our faith, our future is shared.
I love this aspect of discipleship.
Fellowship is central to everything we do as Christians.
WHAT IS FELLOWSHIP?
Fellowship is a Bible word.
In the original Greek language of the New Testament
it is the word “koinonia”
(2842 Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible).
What does “koinonia” mean?
The root meaning is “to share” or “have in common”.
In the Greek New Testament, the word “koinonia”
can be translated into a couple of English words.
Most often it is translated as FELLOWSHIP.
Sometimes it is translated as COMMUNION.
They mean the same thing
and they come from the same word in Greek.
“Koinonia” means sharing things in common.
THREE KINDS OF FELLOWSHIP
The Bible describes three kinds of fellowship:
1) our fellowship with God
2) our fellowship with Christians
3) our friendship with non-Christians
Let’s examine these one at a time.
ONE - OUR FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
The moment we accept Jesus Christ into our heart
we become a Christian.
That’s when our fellowship with God begins.
That’s when our communion with God begins.
God puts his Holy Spirit into our body
and THAT is why we have something in common with God.
In 1 Corinthians 1:8-9 the Bible says:
He will keep you strong to the end,
so that you will be blameless on the day
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God, who has called you into fellowship
with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
is faithful.
In this verse
the Apostle Paul talks about
our fellowship, our communion,
our relationship with God.
Paul says that it is our relationship with God
that keeps us strong as disciples.
Paul points out that
God is going to continue keeping us strong
and bring us to victory.
God is faithful.
He can be trusted
to keep us safe in our relationship with himself.
Let’s look at another example in Scripture
of our fellowship with God.
1 John 1:3 says
We proclaim to you
what we have seen and heard,
so that you also may
have fellowship with us.
And our fellowship is
with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
Fellowship is all about sharing and relationship.
The source of all Christian fellowship,
is our relationship with God.
Here is a basic fact of Christian faith:
as we get closer to God
and as our hearts, our characters are changed by him
we become better at
loving and sharing with others.
We love, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
It all starts when Jesus knocks at the door of our heart.
In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says:
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
THAT is fellowship with God!
That is the core meaning
of Christian faith.
At the foundation,
Christianity is not based on
how much you know, (what you have)
or how good you behave (what you do).
It is based on your relationship with God (who you are).
When you become a Christian,
God declares you to be NEW.
Your spiritual identity changes.
Your citizenship changes.
TWO - OUR FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRISTIANS
Everyone who has accepted Jesus Christ
into their life
is a Christian disciple.
We don’t all look the same,
and we don’t all act the same,
and we don’t all think the same,
but we share something in common,
that makes us one.
That is Christian fellowship.
The Apostle John describes this
in 1 John 1:3-9
3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have
fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son,
Jesus Christ. 4We write this to make our joy complete.
5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in
him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet
walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But if we walk in
the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the
blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness.
There is nothing in the world
like Christian fellowship.
It goes deep
because God is the source
and God has no limit.
It is sweet
because God is the source
and God is good.
It is real
because God is real.
Christian fellowship is amazing.
And the world wants what we have
more than you realize.
Jesus said:
A new command I give you:
Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
By this all men will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another.
John 13:34-35
Let me share a secret with you.
Do you want this church to grow?
Then forget every church growth gimmick
you have ever heard of
and do this one simple thing
I am about to tell you.
I guarantee you,
if you do this
the church will grow, dramatically.
Here it is:
Love one another.
If we obey the commandment of Jesus Christ
and love one another
people will be drawn to this church.
Why?
Because love is the greatest attractive force in the universe.
THREE - OUR FRIENDSHIPS WITH NON-CHRISTIANS
It is a good thing for us to have
friendships with non-Christians.
But friendship is not the same as fellowship.
Fellowship is based on a shared relationship with God.
A non-believer has not yet accepted Jesus
and so
a non-believer is not able to fellowship with Christians.
In 2 Corinthians 6:14
the Bible says:
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and
wickedness have in common?
Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?
What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
This is pretty strong language,
but let’s put it in perspective.
The Bible encourages us to have friendships
with non-Christians,
but we cannot share in unbelievers’ sinful lifestyles.
Let me give you an illustration.
Let’s say that God has inspired you
to become a prison chaplain.
In a way, every Christian is a prison chaplain.
You get the training,
you get accepted by the warden,
and you start to do your work.
Some of prisoners, and some of the guards
are going to be Christians.
Some are not.
You care for everyone in that environment:
laugh with them,
cry with them,
and share food with them.
But if you agree to do evil with a prisoner, or a guard,
then you have lost your way.
There is a difference between
friendship and fellowship.
Fellowship is based on a shared relationship with God.
The apostle Paul said this well
in Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve
what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
In a way, every Christian is a prison chaplain,
because we are surrounded
by people who are in cells of sin and pain.
Liberation is just a prayer away,
but we don’t have the power to set anyone free.
That is God’s work.
We love because God first loved us.
We fellowship with God.
We fellowship with Christians.
And we enjoy friendship with non-believers.
"A new command I give you:
Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
By this all men will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another."
PRAYER
Thank you, dear Jesus, for dying on the cross for
me.
You suffered for me. You died for me. You love me that much.
The cross was terrible, not only because of the physical torture,
but on that dark day, you paid for all the wrong,
and every shameful thought and action in my life.
There are no more dark corners. There are no hidden closets.
You have opened them all, and set me completely free.
I cannot possibly pay you back, but I can love and serve you.
Help me to embrace your cross and live every day with you,
changed by freedom, joy, and deep gratitude. Amen.