WHAT IS FELLOWSHIP?

We tend to think of fellowship as meaning sharing our joys and sorrows when we meet together. The Greek word meant shared resources, shared purposes, or shared work; a practical union. The Pentecost converts "continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers": and "all who believed were together, and had all things in common". But it is also translated as communion, which implies a deeper level of connection altogether.

Fellowship between Christians operates mainly at the level of body and soul: sharing our material possessions and wealth, but also caring for each other and bearing one another’s burdens. But it springs from our spiritual fellowship with the Father and the Son: from the life of God flowing through us to others. We love each other not just as we love ourselves, but as Christ has loved us - sacrificially. It is the opposite of narcissism and partisanship. And it is a missing element in modern-day evangelicalism, compared to the early church.​​

These strong bonds of love and unity are fed by time spent in fellowship (or communion) with Christ and His Father.  As we do so, we "become partakers of the divine nature", sharing Christ's resurrection life.  John’s definition of this kind of life is "to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Your Son". And to a Jew, knowing was not academic and factual, but intimate and relational; such as Adam ‘knowing’ Eve.

This knowing God comes through the Holy Spirit's witness within our spirits (1 Cor 2:9-11). Paul calls it 'the fellowship of the Holy Spirit', by which we know the love of God and the grace of our Lord Jesus.

Learning to recognise the Spirit's witness is difficult if you don't know you have a spirit of your own! In the Western world we know a lot about the body, and something about our souls - our minds, wills and emotions. But no-one talks about us having spirits.

We recognise that worship can have a profound effect on us, and we talk of people being 'low in spirit'. But many Christians make no distinction between their soul and spirit, despite the bible saying that this is possible (Heb 4:12) and that they are distinct (1 Thess 5:23). In very simple terms, our bodies are how we interact with the physical world; our souls govern how we relate to each other; and our spirits are how we perceive God and the spiritual realm. Our spirit includes our capacity for worship; our sense of intuition; and our conscience.

Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement have focussed us on the overtly supernatural gifts of healings, prophecy, speaking in tongues and the like. And when we are seeking specific guidance we may 'put out a fleece', asking God to specifically confirm which way we should go. But we need to learn to recognise the more everyday ways God speaks to our hearts, if we are to commune with Him. Paul says, for example, that when we sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs together, we are experiencing the fullness of the Spirit. Likewise when we find ourselves singing spiritual songs to ourselves. And the same is true when we find ourselves filled with gratitude to God, or when we submit to one another out of reverence for Christ (Eph 5:18-21). Sometimes as we listen to a preacher we will have a sense that what we are hearing is real truth: and our spirits bubble as the Holy Spirit witnesses that it is of God. Or when we're in trouble, our spirits cry out 'Abba, Father!' because the Holy Spirit is assuring us that we are God's children (Rom 8:15). These are all facets of our fellowship with Father and His Son.

Jesus taught extensively at the Last Supper about the radical change the disciples would experience after the Resurrection (Jn 14-16). He said they would experience the Spirit within themselves, strengthening their faith and leading them into all truth. He said that the Spirit would show them more and more of His glory. He said that they would know the Father in their own right, rather than via Him. He said He would manifest Himself to them, and that both He and His Father would come and make their home with each disciple.

John says 'This is eternal life, that they might know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent' (Jn 17:3). And in his nineties, writing this Letter, he says, 'Our fellowship is with the Father and His Son'. He wants his readers to share the joy of experiencing that fellowship, which he has had ever since he met Jesus by the River Jordan.

The aim of John's letter, and of this blog, is that you too would experience this 'fellowship with the Father and His Son' which God offers to every believer.

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Methodism was founded on fellowship. The experience of knowing the Father and the Son was what differentiated it from the Anglican Church out of which it grew. Class members were expected to give regular account not only of any sins and struggles, but also of their experience of God. Confession of sin led to 'wonderful fellowship one with another', as John had promised. Practical koinonia led to a strong sense of community - of being the body of Christ. It led to support for the poor and widows, schooling for orphans, medical care for the sick etc. But the ultimate aim for every Methodist, was perfected love. Continuous practical abiding in the commandments and in love for the brethren, which came from the love of God being fully shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit!