Day 139: We are Called Into Fellowship With Christ.
Today, we consider what it means to have “fellowship with Christ.” Fellowship is not a word that we should throw around lightly. In the Scriptures, to have “fellowship” with someone is to share life with that person. We now share in the life of Christ through faith and that changes everything.
WORDwork:
1 Corinthians 1:4 -9
I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus. 5 For you were made rich in every way in Him, in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge 6 just as the testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you 7 so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship with His son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Based on what you see in verses 4-7, how spiritually “rich” was this church?
According to verse 8, what would Father God do “to the end” for this church?
What will be the result of this?
According to verse 9, how can Paul be sure that this will take place?
Into what was this church called according to the end of verse 9?
Yesterday, we took a look at Paul’s greeting of the church at Corinth. Today we continue on with his “thanksgiving” for the church. These first eight verses from 1 Corinthians are some of the most powerful in the New Testament. They give us great insight into both who we are and who Father God is. They also illuminate our relationship with Him In Christ.
First, take note that Paul is giving thanks for this church, assembly of believers. Again, remember that Paul is going to have to address many difficult matters with this church. Yet he is thankful for them because he sees Father God’s work evident among them; the “good news”—the testimony about Christ—had been confirmed among them and so their lives are secure in the truth of Christ.
The Corinthian church was also extremely blessed by Father God in many ways: speech, knowledge, and spiritual gifts. All of this is built on that word grace. Father God blesses not because we are deserving but because He IS gracious and generous beyond our comprehension. In Christ, this church was made spiritually rich.
Yet even though they were spiritually enriched, they were not yet spiritually mature. Paul adds a little sobering “punch” where he says, “…as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Christ is returning for His people and at that time there will be a day of judgment, evaluation.
Then Paul says something absolutely remarkable: “He [Father God] will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” “The day of our Lord Jesus Christ” is one of Paul’s ways fo referring to the time, day, when Jesus returns to gather His people and set things right. We have discussed this passage and “blamelessness” several times now. But it bears repeating: When we finally see Jesus face-to-face, we will be blameless because Father God is strengthening us and working in us for that very purpose!
Paul can say this and believe it with absolute confidence because, “God is faithful.” We hope you are seeing that the hope of our salvation is based in Father God’s faithfulness and power, not in our own. Our Father sees us not just as we are but also as we will be. He has begun His work in us and He will be faithful to complete it.
Lastly, Paul says that the church was called into fellowship with Jesus. To have fellowship with someone is to share life with someone. Not only has this church been called to be saints, they have also been called into fellowship with Christ. Paul believes that the foundation for healing and restoring and growing this immature assembly would be realizing their new identity and position in Christ. Once this vision was cast, they would realize that their actions did not line up with who they are and who they had been called to be by their Holy Heavenly Father.
Fellowship is not a word that we should throw around lightly. The word fellowship has a basic meaning of “sharing something in common.” We have fellowship with people we share similar interests or spheres of relationship. We have fellowship with our co-workers. We have fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
As Children of Father God, we have been called into fellowship with Jesus Christ. Some teachers and groups have popularly defined this idea conditionally in a way that does not square with the Scriptures. In this view, we have fellowship with God when we behave correctly, but when we sin we do not have fellowship with Him. Clearly, our faith and love for God do affect our relationship with Him. Our sin and immaturity grieve Him. But fellowship with God—as it is defined in the Scriptures—is not conditioned upon our actions. This passage from 1 Corinthians confirms this. Paul will address some grievous sins that these people are committing. Yet he begins by saying that they are called into fellowship with Christ and not once does he say that anyone is “out of fellowship.” Fellowship with God is a position and relationship that we have been called into by Him. Fellowship is a sharing in His life.
This is an important truth to always keep in mind. Our way of thinking is fundamentally shaped by our “in group”—our people. Your mind is shaped by the question, “How would my people act in this situation?” In fact, your brain is hard wired this way. Father God has called us into fellowship with His Son through His spirit so that we are now part of His people, His “in group”:
2 Corinthians 13:13
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and
the love of God and
the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Being united with the Triune God should give you incredible comfort and produce a deep sense of awe and joy about how much you are loved. But the indwelling of the presence of God in you also provides you with the enabling or power to live now in a “supernatural newness of life.” In these two things, you can see that you have been called into fellowship with Father God.
We have been called into fellowship with Christ. Since we share in Christ’s life, we also share in the life of the Trinity. As each of us share in God’s life, we are bound together by our fellowship with Him. Thus, we are to have fellowship with one another. This fellowship with one another is made real by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We will return to this powerful truth a little later.
Take a minute to calm your mind and relax by taking deep breaths through your nose and out through your mouth.
Give thanks to Father for all that He has blessed you with based on what you have read today.
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
