It is difficult for me to believe that there could ever be a difference of opinion as to what the fellowship of believers means. Nevertheless we have seen evidence of that.
This is one of those cases where we need at least that Strongs Exhaustive Concordance. The Greek word is koinonia, and it means communion or fellowship with the idea of intimate communication. That kind of communication can only be had between those of the same mind or like spirit.
We were meant for this kind of communication from the beginning. In Genesis 2:18, God said: It is not good for man to be alone. Aloneness is being isolated, and God never willed that. So God created a companion.
According to one scholar, The Church, the Body of Christ, is the epitome of fellowship-a body for fellowship! The Church IS a fellowship. This kind of fellowship is not, was not, and never can be shared with any not of the Faith. This is why Jesus said that Light has no fellowship with darkness.
Darkness has its own counterfeit of the Church. It is called the Bar. That is the place that people of a like mind and spirit gather to have intimate communication. The Church dispenses grace, while the bar dispenses liquor. The bar provides escape, rather than reality. You can be open without fear of rejection or shocking someone.
You can tell them your secrets and usually they are better kept than most other places.
People can buy liquor, anywhere and take it home, or to a party, or anywhere, and even make their own if need be. So the bar does not exist to accommodate alcoholics.
It exists as a counterfeit to the Church. Because within the human heart lies the desire to love and be loved, and to know and be known; to care and be cared for.
This is what fellowship is and what it is about: To satisfy the longing for intimate communication with others.
Father, in the Sweet Name of Jesus, help us to understand the difference in Believers fellowship and the kind of fellowship required to witness and share the Gospel with others.
I John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
I John 1:6,7: If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
This is one of those cases where we need at least that Strongs Exhaustive Concordance. The Greek word is koinonia, and it means communion or fellowship with the idea of intimate communication. That kind of communication can only be had between those of the same mind or like spirit.
We were meant for this kind of communication from the beginning. In Genesis 2:18, God said: It is not good for man to be alone. Aloneness is being isolated, and God never willed that. So God created a companion.
According to one scholar, The Church, the Body of Christ, is the epitome of fellowship-a body for fellowship! The Church IS a fellowship. This kind of fellowship is not, was not, and never can be shared with any not of the Faith. This is why Jesus said that Light has no fellowship with darkness.
Darkness has its own counterfeit of the Church. It is called the Bar. That is the place that people of a like mind and spirit gather to have intimate communication. The Church dispenses grace, while the bar dispenses liquor. The bar provides escape, rather than reality. You can be open without fear of rejection or shocking someone.
You can tell them your secrets and usually they are better kept than most other places.
People can buy liquor, anywhere and take it home, or to a party, or anywhere, and even make their own if need be. So the bar does not exist to accommodate alcoholics.
It exists as a counterfeit to the Church. Because within the human heart lies the desire to love and be loved, and to know and be known; to care and be cared for.
This is what fellowship is and what it is about: To satisfy the longing for intimate communication with others.
Father, in the Sweet Name of Jesus, help us to understand the difference in Believers fellowship and the kind of fellowship required to witness and share the Gospel with others.
I John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
I John 1:6,7: If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Isn't God great!? 
