My poll comes out of my personal study in 1 John. The word “fellowship” is used 5 times in 1 John, all occurring in the first chapter. It first appears in v.3 when the author says that he is proclaiming what he has seen and heard concerning the Word of Life for the intended purpose of having fellowship with his readers. He then goes onto say in v.3 that his fellowship is with God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son. His message that he is proclaiming is that God is light and there is no darkness in Him whatsoever. He lays out his first of five “If” qualifying statements in v.6 when he says, “If we say we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth”. In v.7 he states, “BUT if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another…”
I would submit that it would be impossible for someone to claim fellowship with God, (walking in the light as He is in the light), and refuse fellowship with other believers. Fellowship with believers should be a natural result of our fellowship with God. As we are becoming more like Him, our desire should be to be in association with others who are doing the same. The rub comes when we do not want to be with other believers and fellowship with them. It is then that I need to examine if I am holding to some “darkness” in my life and not allowing the light of God, and my fellowship with Him, to penetrate every area of life.
This practically leads to questions of how often the body of believers should gather, what those gatherings should look like and subjects such as these. What are your initial thoughts?
For Further Reading:
There is a new article by John Piper over at Desiring God that deals with how his church will demonstrate fellowship practically.
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