It is Foretaste of the
Exceeding Blessedness to Come!
Our Fellowship with the Father and the Son
By Al Stoner
“And truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son
Jesus Christ” (I Jn. 1:3).
Introduction. In
our day the significance of the term “fellowship” has been greatly obscured
because of the word’s misuse. Men today speak of fellowship halls, fellowship
banquets, fellowships of various Christian organizations, and even “fun, food,
and fellowship.” But as the word itself indicates, fellowship is a close
union among "fellows", whether between men and other men, between the
Father and the Son, or between God and men. With regard to men's
inclusion in this fellowship, it came at great price, namely the offering up
the Lord Jesus Christ for us all. The fellowship of which we are speaking
was purchased with the blood of God's Son. Our purpose in this article
shall be to uncover the meaning of the word “fellowship” as it is used in
Scripture. We shall always be the better for giving the due attention to what
the Scripture is saying.
The Fellowship’s Involvements. When we speak of men having fellowship with God, we are
speaking of God and men being together, and delightfully walking together, and
being wonderfully and perfectly joined together “in the same mind and in the
same judgment” (I Cor. 1:10). It entails God imparting His mind and thoughts to
redeemed men and women, and they in turn bearing their mind and thoughts to Him
through the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Fellowship involves walking in a
lively awareness of sins being forgiven by Christ. Those who are in Christ are
given, in measure, to enter into the fellowship that is had between the Father
and the Son, as the Lord Jesus declared in His prayer in John chapter 17.
If we speak of men having fellowship with other men, we are saying
that such ones are blessedly joined together in heart and mind to the extent
that all the involved individuals are walking in the light (cf. I Jn. 1:7),
just as John declared in his first epistle. Fellowship is not effortless
on the part of men, because we are yet in the body of this death. Sin has now
been put away so that the door is now opened for fellowship with God, and
fellowship with believing men and women. But constant effort must be put forth
by men to walk in the light, and to abide in the Father and the Son, in order
for the fellowship to be realized. We are not striving to
have fellowship, per se, but rather to walk and abide in the light, which
is the domain where the fellowship is enjoyed. We are summoned of God to
walk in the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, a light that draws
attention to the blessed accomplishments of the Lord Jesus Christ in His
putting away sin from before the face of God.
Another of the involvements of fellowship with the Father is that
of walking before or unto Him with all the heart. "The heart is deceitful
above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9). It is as the
strange woman of Proverbs (cf. Prov. 23:27). When left unchecked, and if our
affection is not set on things above, the heart will certainly wend its way to
the couch and bed of other loves.
Let us, therefore, resolve daily to love the Lord our God with all
of our heart, soul, mind, and strength! And may the peace of God, which passes
all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus! "Set your
affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (Col. 3:2). As we
go on, we shall see that these are some of the involvements of fellowship.
As new creatures in Christ we have been divinely equipped to glorify God
in our body and in our spirit.
Some Moral Entailments. “Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee,
which frameth mischief by a law?” (Ps. 94:20). And if a throne of iniquity can
have no fellowship with Him, neither can a heart of iniquity. But in the new
covenant, hearts are now purified by faith (cf. Acts 15:9). We shall also
affirm here that fellowship with the Father and with the Son is rooted in
righteousness and true holiness. It is not unrighteous, or contrary to law, or
what men call today amoral. It is not had in ignorement of God's absolute
righteousness and holiness. And yet this fellowship is enjoyed by men and women
and children that have obeyed the gospel, because their sins have now been put
away by Christ. Let us give thanks unto the Father for the gracious provision
which He has made in our behalf!
A Summons to Reason. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD:
though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be
red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Is. 1:18). This same voice may
still be heard in the present age. Come now, let us reason
together! "If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin."
And, "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye, through the
Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." And
again,"If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in
you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken [or make alive]
your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Rom. 8:11).
As we reason together with God on such matters as these mentioned above, we are
having fellowship with Him with regard to the blessed involvements of our
redemption in Christ.
The Matter of Abiding. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me”
(Jn.15:4). Our abiding in Christ, and Christ's abiding in us, is an essential
part of fellowship. Without this abiding there is no fellowship. Abiding
carries with it the thought of continuing, standing, enduring, dwelling,
tarrying, remaining, and being present in Him.
As we are abiding we are present with Him, and He is
present with us; we are continuing in Him, and He is continuing in
us; by faith we are dwelling in Him, and He, through the Spirit, is
dwelling in us; we are remaining in Him, and He is remaining in us;
we are tarrying in Him, and He is tarrying in us. The abiding
is real, even though unseen. Our abiding in Him is done by faith, and His
abiding in us is realized by faith. The abiding is not symbolic or
metaphorical. Fellowship with the Father and with the Son always results
in fruit bearing. There can be no barren relationship with the living God and
with the living Christ!
The Fellowship and Unity. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall
believe on Me through their word; That they all may be one; as Thou, Father,
art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may
believe that Thou hast sent Me” (Jn. 17:20-21). Fellowship entails union
and unity, but not unity at any cost. It is not unity for unity's sake. It is
unity on certain terms and under certain conditions! This is a unity that
has been purchased by the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.
The oneness, spoken of here by the Savior, is, as He said,
"as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee." The Father and the Son
are together the Supreme Archetype of acceptable union and unity that is to be
had by men. The unity is to this end that, "they also may be one in Us:
that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me."
The Fellowhip’s Root and Fatness. “And if some of the branches be broken
off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with
them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree” (Rom. 11:17).
Fellowship with the Father and the Son, from this perspective, involves
partaking, by faith, of the root and the fatness of the olive tree. And having
fellowship with one another results when two or more are partaking of this root
and fatness. The words “root and fatness” speak of “the depth of the riches
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Rom. 11:33). And these riches are
for men to receive and freely partake of!
The Lord’s Table. “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion
of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of
the body of Christ?” (I Cor. 10:16). The Lord's table is to be a time of
fellowshipping with the Father and the Son over sins that have been forgiven
and washed away. The cup commemorates a divinely appointed purging and
cleansing agent. As our thoughts are drawn unto this “fruit of the vine” (Mt.
26:29) at the time of communion, we are given to taste afresh of sins that have
been purged.
The bread commemorates that body of the Son of God that was broken
in our behalf. Christ was bruised, His body was broken, and the chastisement of
our peace was upon Him. The time of the Lord's table was designed to persuade
the saints anew that “One died for all” (II Cor. 5:14). That thought can
get away from us. And if “One died for all, then are all dead, And that He died
for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but
unto Him which died for them, and rose again.”
Some Involved Jeopardies. “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice,
they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have
fellowship with devils” (I Cor. 10:20). In our day the sacrifices offered
to devils have simply taken a different form. Men and women today offer
sacrifice to the idols that are called pleasures of this life, convenience, and
covetousness. (Those who are in Christ are to use this present world, not
abusing it.)
And with many today who make a profession of faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, the drinking of the cup of demons and the cup of devils evidences
itself in a subtle, but yet willful, conformity to this present evil world, of
which Satan is prince. Wherever men and women are not offering up their
bodies a living sacrifice, being transformed into Christ’s Image by the
renewing of their minds (cf. Rom. 12:1-2), by default, they are being conformed
to this present world, which is slated to be burned up when Jesus comes again
with power and great glory.
