Fellowship of the Spirit

I hate preaching a sermon on things I don’t think I do very well. It seems dumb to get up here and speak about things I haven’t figured out. It’s like when I was teaching Physics in a college level course just hoping I knew more of it than everyone else. There is a whole lot of inferiority.

I am a leader of this church, called by God, but in no way am I God or perfect. I am not. There are times when I come at a verse in the Bible and go I really don’t get it or I get it but I don’t think I live it.

I stand before you a person willing to change. I hope as you sit, you too are willing to listen to God, have faith that God has something for you, and your willing to do what He calls you to do today.

We have been reviewing the purpose of New Day church that we say every week and we have gone phrase by phrase, even getting nerdy and looking at the original language it was written in, but the most important part is we make this an essential part of our life, because what we are dealing with today is not just about Sunday but everyday. Today I tell you; that you and I, we need to work on doing better at this.

We are still looking at the first part

Philippians 2:1 HCSB

1 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,

You might want to keep going and I might frustrate you by stopping but we are going to keep moving because the phrase today is critical.

Nestle Aland 26th Edition Greek New Testament Morphological Edition Chapter 2

εἴ τις κοινωνία πνεύματος

That is close to the original way the first people to read today's phrase would have read it. What does it say in English?

Nestle Aland 26th Edition Greek New Testament Morphological Edition (Chapter 2)

εἴ τις κοινωνία πνεύματος

if any fellowship with the Spirit

To get a little more nerdy here, Greek changes the spelling of words based on the grammar. Before you get all weirded out, realize we do a lot of changing spelling of words in English, like adding ing to the end of the word, how we make some words plural, or the word is based on when and how many people are involved.

Anyway the last word spelling changed from its standard spelling

πνεύματος

Is the noun, neuter, singular, genitive form of the word pe-nem-ah, which means wind or spirit.

πνεύματος - wind or spirit

Genitive form usually means, simply, we add the word “of or with” to it. Like Brock Purdy of football, or Donald Trump of Politics, etc.

πνεύματος - genitive form, meaning “of wind/ spirit”

So Bible nerds, what I mean by that is really smart scholars get together and try to figure out for sure what Spirit is meant, What fellowship of what Spirit.

Here is what one cool book wrote:

A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (Philippians 2:1)

The genitive construction “fellowship of the Spirit” should not be interpreted in the subjective sense of “fellowship made possible by the Spirit”, but in the objective sense of “participation in the Spirit” or “fellowship with the Spirit”

I loved when this author went further into how this phrase would have to be translated into other languages. They wrote that other languages would have to come up with different phrases to make sense in their language, but for us it helps us get a clearer understanding:

A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Philippians Philippians 2:1

“you and Christ’s Spirit talk together.” “you and Christ’s Spirit go hand in hand,” or “there is a oneness between you and Christ’s Spirit.”

What an incredibly powerful picture. When two people walk together hand in hand they are close, going everywhere together, as long as they don’t let go.

In some cultures Men who are friends will show they are friends walking around together holding each others hands. In our own culture, Parents will hold the hands of their children as a way of safety and security. I teach six, seven and eight year olds and every once in a while when I lead the line, I will feel a hand rap around my pinky. We walk together.

εἴ τις κοινωνία πνεύματος “You and Christ’s Spirit go hand in hand”

The idea comes both from the “pe-neh-matos” and the word that came before it Koinonia.

Koinonia is one of the most important words in the the New Testament. It is translated as fellowship but it is much more intense than simple party or gathering. Churches used to have places called fellowship halls. A large gathering is not the kind of fellowship the Bible is speaking of, it is an intimacy that brings two together into more than a separate group.

When we speak of fellowship of the Spirit, of walking hand in hand with Christ’s spirit, we don’t mean that Jesus takes the wheel, and then you take it back. But in this fellowship there is a unity stronger than any marriage, any childhood bond, a never giving up feature.

This is a tremendous fellowship. Jesus called it this way

Luke 14:25–27 CSB

25 Now great crowds were traveling with him. So he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

Take that in.

It’s easier to understand if you remember that story written by J.R.R. Tolkien called Lord of the Rings.

In it, the ones who joined the Fellowship of the Ring felt that they could rid the world of evil simply by fighting with an enemy and destroying a tool that was so powerful one could rule the world with it and that was destroying the world.

Yet in the very first book, characters began to realize what they had to do, in order to put the purpose of fellowship of the Ring first in their lives. The Hobbits had to deny the simple life they had in the Shire. The prince had to deny his desire to live in the world without purpose, just he and his girl. He had to fight with and for other men. And one man failed because he thought he was better than everyone else and couldn’t get past what he thought was best for him. Still others had to get passed their hatred of others, their racism if you will. Others had to reject their own kind and their own friendships. Even the wizard himself had to die. Each and every person in the fellowship had to realize that the purpose of their unity was greater than their life itself.

That is fiction.

When I speak of real life, Jesus calls us to a purpose greater than life itself, the fellowship of God.

Do not be deceived. I am not talking about following me. I am not talking about people who put on a great church service. Nor do I mean being manipulated by people to take up your time, money, and everything they are to give themselves power. This is when religion becomes a waste of politics, capitalism, and selfishness.

I am talking about a fellowship with God. A fellowship with God can be had by a small child to a 100 plus adult. A professional athlete to a disabled person. A homeless, dweller in the trash heaps to a billionaire. Each with their own challenges but united by a fellowship with the Lord Jesus above all others.

This is exactly the first purpose of this scripture we read every week.

As one Dr. Kenneth Wuest put it in his book, if each of the hearers of this part of scripture,

“participates with the Holy Spirit in a common interest and activity, and therefore, if each saint is interested in the things of the Spirit, and thus in the same things, there should naturally follow a unity.”

The Holy Spirit … controlling each saint, produces this unity and (agreement).

We see something similar a lot in our current culture but it is unified around an enemy. A hatred. A hatred of protesters, a hatred of a political party, a hatred of those with an agenda. It is so easy to fall into, as I find myself, realizing that conversations with some are only built around the dislike of another group or person. It might be silly and fun when it’s Dodgers or Giants, Niners or Raiders but our alliance together as a church should not be around the dislike, dissatisfaction, disagreement of those who do not follow Jesus.

Even when we have someone or a group of individuals actively attacking us we need to remember what God tells us through the Bible,

Ephesians 6:12 CSB

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.

We are talking demons, not silly stupid horror movie demons but the spiritual forces that are against God. That warp sometimes slightly and sometimes dramatically what God would have us do. Even though anything that goes against what God would have us do is demonic our attack against it is not with gossip or political power but exactly what God tells us to do in the Bible

Ephesians 6:13–17 CSB

13 For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, 15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. 16 In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God.

Our actions against demonic powers is being truthful, doing right, giving the Good News of God’s peace, Having faith in God, realizing we are Saved by Jesus and knowing our Bible. Not salt poured around in a circle or finding a hidden artifact. Our power against demonic forces is in the fellowship of the Spirit. It is in walking hand in hand with Christ’s Spirit. It is in a daily journey with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

This is what the Holy Spirit is about producing in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

So if the Holy Spirit is about peace, faith, truth, doing right and bringing good news if you find people online or in person trying to pull you into a friendship based on attacking another group without love, by claiming that if your groups way of thinking doesn’t win their is no hope, that is not of Jesus. That is not the fellowship of the Spirit.

The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit always points to who God is. The Hope, the Judge and the one who paid the price for the judgement, The Savior of the World, the rescuer of lost sheep, and the one who gives us a purpose and a hope.

Dr. Wuest made a point about us as it relates to this part of the Bible, “One might ask here, “If (each follower of Jesus has the Holy Spirit inside of them) why is there not that unity among them...?” The answer is, that

this joint-participation in an interest and a mutual and active participation in the things of God is produced by the Spirit, not (because the Holy Spirit is in them) but (Because) of His control over the believer.

The trouble in the Philippian church (the first church this part of the Bible was written to) was that all the saints were not living Spirit-filled lives. If they had been, there would have been unity. Paul’s (shout-out) to unity among the Philippian (followers of Jesus) was therefore given upon a reasonable and workable basis. There could be unity if they would all live Spirit-controlled lives.” It is worth repeating:

that this joint-participation in an interest and a mutual and active participation in the things of God is produced by the Spirit, not (because the Holy Spirit is in them) but (Because) of His control over the believer.

In a great men’s gathering this past Friday as New Day men united with men of The word church, Lifesong, Bear Creek Community, Lifeline, and Gravity and probably more churches we heard about investing in spiritual preparation. That what we do in the daily discipline of our lives has eternal impact. Pastor Elliot pointed out that when David defeated Goliath, before David went out to fight, he told the King that he could fight him because while he was a shepherd he had fought Bears and Lions. He was ready before the battle came.

Pastor Elliot related this to being spiritually prepared in our daily lives so that we are prepared when the battle comes. We can be victorious because we have been victorious before in the smaller aspects of our lives.

When I began I told you that I do not believe that I am an expert at being in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. I think anytime you grow in relationship to God, you will know how well you really don’t know Him.

I know that God desires what is best. Sometimes I let my anxieties, my lack of faith, my selfishness and even my coveting which is the sin of wanting what I don’t have but see others have, to break my fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

The great news is the Holy Spirit doesn’t inspire guilt. Guilt is fake. Guilt makes you think something is changing because a person feels bad about it.

Conviction brings change and any follower of Jesus will stand both convicted, changing and knowing that they are in God’s marvelous grace of forgiveness, right now. Ready to change, ready to grow and ready to be united together.

Frank Theilman wrote this powerful line,

Philippians (Standing United against Dissension from within (2:1–4))

The “fellowship with the Spirit” is the fellowship that (all who follow Jesus) experience because the Spirit who helps believers in their weaknesses (is in) them both.

The Spirit who forgives is in any who follow Jesus. The Spirit who loves is in any who follow Jesus. The Spirit that pursues what is right is in any who follow Jesus.

The Spirit is a healer, a teacher and a counselor.

Romans 8:26 CSB

26 In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.

The Holy Spirit helps us to pray, helps us to grow in the Lord

as Jesus told us

John 14:26 CSB

26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.

Today, see that the Holy Spirit is at work bringing you into completion in Christ Jesus. Therefore since this change is happening with you, you can accept your fellow follower of Jesus, you fellow member of New Day because the Holy Spirit is working there too. You can open your heart to be the kind of friend that Jesus is to you to others here.

This is your responsibility. You are to unite with others here in this New Day community.

We can unite around our love for God and what He is doing in our lives. Our hand-in-hand walk with Jesus. This is key.

Church is not about you, it’s not about me, and surprise it’s not just about God. It’s about US too. Church is meant to be a fellowship of people who have fellowship with God.

or let’s put it in that nice way we had earlier, Church is meant to be a people holding hands together as they walk hand in hand with God.

It’s a symbol yes, but it’s powerful.

I hang out with Kindergartner students everyday. They are often told to hold hands so the teacher can keep track of them. Imagine us, no matter the age, wisdom or toughness, compared to God we are all holding on like a small child and then God says to us, hold each others hand too! Let’s all stay safe together.

This is why we need to continue to find ways to grow together. We need to spend some time together. Fun times. Study times. Meal times and work times. Take the time to get to know each other. Take the time to remember things about each other. Take the time to realize that you, yes you follower of Jesus who only barely knows anything, is in the same fellowship as you follower of Jesus who has been worshipping God for decades. We all need fellowship with one another. We can unite under the fact that God has fellowship with us.

God talk isn’t weird. It’s certainly not weird here in God’s house. Let’s do, as the kids say, normalize talking about the great things and the tough lessons that God is doing with us.

Let’s normalize gathering together to encourage each other, our unity in Christ’s spirit.

Look around the room and commit to laying down your own life so that you can grow in the love of Christ and his people.

Let’s pray.