Fellowship with God
Notes
Transcript
Fellowship with God
Fellowship with God
Introduction
Today is the second Sunday in the Easter season in the Christian calendar. Today we will be exploring 1 John 1:1-2:2 which covers a lot of ground but our focus today is on fellowship. Fellowship is a word we hear often in different contexts or different settings. Today I want to define this word and explore what this passage is teaching us about fellowship. Before we go any further, listen to the passage and pay attention where you hear the word fellowship.
1 We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—
2 this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us—
3 we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true;
7 but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus 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 who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
2 and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
Definition
When I searched the bible I found it shows up 19 times in the New Testament and 4 times in our passage today. When I was looking up what setting or context, the definition I found in logos (which is the software I use to research scripture and write my sermons), I found they defined it this way.
Fellowship - participation context definition
“The act of sharing in activities or privileges of an intimate association or group; usually used of marriage and churches.”
stepbible.org, which is a site I used to get to the original word in its original language, defined it this way:
“fellowship, the close association between persons, emphasizing what is common between them; by extension: participation, sharing, contribution, gift, the outcome of such close relationships.”
When I look at these definitions, I see that it is both a relationship but also a participation in the group. There is activities such as sharing what is common and contributing and giving gifts to the group. When I read this definition, it helps me to have context for what I am reading in 1 John
The Word of Life - Fellowship
When you study this passage, your bible may break these passage down into something called pericopes or sections with a title. The idea of pericopes is that it breaks it down into a topic or section that shares commonality. In other words, it is like you reading a whole book which has many chapters that are all part of the one book, and within each of those chapters are sections that deal with one scene in the story or one thought being communicated. At any rate, don’t stress over this word or meaning because it is not what is important today. It is just to share with you the three sections I broke down exploring the way fellowship used in each of these sections in our passage for today. Your bible may break them down like mine or it may be different. These are not divine word or inspired word but just logical ways to break down chapters into small, understandable sections.
The first section is labeled The Word of Life. When we read this passage, fellowship occurs twice in verse 3. Listen again to verse 3.
3 we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
The Word of Life is also how Jesus is first identified in the Gospel according to John. This is the same way that gospel opens by identifying Jesus as the Word of Life, which has always existed, which came down from heaven and dwelt amongst humanity. While we could explore this in detail, lets focus on the fellowship aspect of verses 1-4. In verse 3 it says the author says we are sharing what we have seen and heard from the Word of Life, Jesus, so that this community which this letter is being written to may be part of the Christian fellowship, that is to become associated between this group sharing their testimony about Jesus, aka joining the Church, and participating in the activities and experiencing the privileges of being part of the Church.
Going back to our definition, what does that mean? It means, not only being identified with this group of Christians but actively being part of this group, which means sharing in the benefits of the gospel news and the privileges it bestows on the whole group. It also means not just being fair weather fans, but seeking close relationships and sharing what is common. In the early church, often this meant sharing what they had with the community group.
Wrapping up this section, verse three drives home how this fellowship with each other is directly linked or rolled up into fellowship with God. In other words, their fellowship with each other is based on their fellowship with God. In other words, the fellowship first begins with the Word of Life, Christ and the Father which in turn models what our fellowship with each other is modeled after or directed by.
God is Light - Fellowship with the Light
The second section is labeled God is Light and it covers verses 5-10 of Chapter 1. This section starts with the same introduction that it is about the message they heard, they witnessed Christ and the message needs to be shared. The message that the Word of Life is Christ and that in God, there is only light and no darkness can be found in God. This is the premise for what is spoke about the fellowship with God and each other should be like.
Verse 6 and verse 7 dig into the way to measure it. How is my fellowship with God and with others? First of all, there is and can be no darkness in God because God is light, where there is light like God, there is no darkness. Second, if we are in fellowship with God who is light, then we can’t bring darkness or sin into that fellowship. In other words, we can’t continue living in sin and also claim to be in fellowship with God.
What that means is that, your life and fellowship with God means turning away from a sinful life and entering into fellowship with God and the body of Christ, the Church. When we in our fellowship with other Christians, turn away from sin and choose to walk in the light of God, then sin is not part of our new life, sin is excluded from our fellowship with God and with other Christians. Now you can see when you bring in a group of people, none are perfect without Christ. We all need fellowship with God to be perfected. We all need to walk in the light of God in order to avoid sin. These two go hand in hand. If we claim to be Christians yet cause harm or sin against one another, then we are not in fellowship with each other because we are not walking in the light, or in fellowship with God.
While I am not suggesting that you are perfect, I do want you to pay close attention that the two are related. Jesus’ blood has cleansed us of sin. If you are struggling to love others as yourself, then are you also struggling to love God or is there something that getting in between God’s mercy and grace that you are struggling with? The point being, sometimes one is a reflection of the other. If you are struggling then turn to your fellowship with God and examine if you are walking in God’s light.
In summary, walking in the light in proof of our fellowship with other Christians (verse 1:7). If we have walk in the light, then we have fellowship with each other. If we have fellowship with each other, then we have fellowship with the Father and Christ.
Christ Our Advocate - Fellowship with Christ the Advocate
In our final section verses 2:1-2, it is labeled Christ Our Advocate. The section actually goes through verse 6 of chapter 2 but I encourage you to go back and read 1 John Chapter 2 as a whole. The part of this passage we are covering is sufficient for dealing with our fellowship with Christ who is our advocate. As built up in the previous section, we must walk with each other and with God in the light. Our fellowship with God is reflective of our fellowship with each other. However, just as God is light, Christ is also Advocate for us before God. Here in verses 1-2 the idea that we strive to have zero sin in our lives, Jesus is the one who can save us if we fail. Yes, we have failed already which is why our fellowship with God must be kept. The author of this book is saying clearly, don’t accept sin in your life. Don’t settle and think it is just part of living this side of eternity. This is true and the goal for certain but he also shares that, if we do fail that goal, then Christ is still our advocate before God.
While I am not saying our sinning is ok, I am saying, you are depending on Christ when it comes to the past, present, or future sin in your life and in the life of the church. Something that can easily be missed is the second half of verse 2. Sometimes, we mistake that Christ has atoned for past sin only or that Christ has only atoned for the sin of those who turn their lives over. However, 1 John 2:2 states it is for “not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” The point being, to live in fellowship with others, is to also accept that Jesus went to the cross not just for those who would accept him as Savior but even those who would reject him. This is key our fellowship with God, the intention and activities are meant for everyone and not just the few. This must be part of our fellowship with each other. We don’t need to condone sin in each other’s lives but we also need to remember each of us is a sinner who has been redeemed by the blood of Christ and the will of God is not that any should perish but that all should be saved.
Walk in this light today that you mean be a reflection of that light of God pointing them to the Word of Life and Advocate where fellowship can be found with God and with each other.