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“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).
Christians often use the word “fellowship” for occasions when believers are spending time together. Yet, fellowship means more than being in the same place at one time with our brothers and sisters in Christ. It refers primarily to the unity believers have in Christ.
Believers, having been called into the fellowship of the Son, are all united to Christ.
All believers have new life by the power of the Holy Spirit and are grafted into the Vine, Christ:
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)
Thus, we are all connected to our fellow believers because we are all in Christ. Here are some more Bible passages that affirm the nature of Christian fellowship:
We are called by God to be part of this fellowship.
God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Cor. 1:9)
This fellowship is of a different nature than what the unsaved have.
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Cor. 6:14)
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
This fellowship is with the Father and the Son.
That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
This fellowship can only happen because of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Cor. 13:14)
The fellowship of believers is not just of a spiritual nature. Our fellowship is also a physical one in a material world. We live in physical bodies and gather together in physical places as the body of Christ.
The primary place Christian fellowship occurs physically is in the official gathering of God’s saints for corporate worship.
In Acts 2:42-47 we read about how this fellowship in Christ takes place in the daily lives of believers, and in Acts 2:42 Luke writes about how believers met together to worship in the early church:
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching…”—the Word preached in the church service.
“…and the fellowship”—the gathering of believers in the church service.
“…to the breaking of bread…”—the Lord’s Supper administered during the church service.
“…and the prayers”—the saints’ corporate petitions to God in the church service.
Christ is growing his kingdom as believers gather together for corporate worship.
In his letter to the Roman church the apostle Paul emphasizes how God works through the preached word to save people:
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Rom. 10:14-15)
We also see in Acts 2 that God used this frequent gathering together by believers for corporate worship to care for each other (vv. 44-45) and to bring more and more people into Christ’s kingdom and this holy fellowship (vv. 46-47).
For a variety of reasons, including the ever-growing access to online sermons and teaching, many Christians have sadly come to think that attending church in person isn’t necessary. They conclude that it is enough to listen to a sermon online and then get together for “fellowship” with other believers outside of church as everyone’s schedules allow. Yet, this is not the kind of fellowship God intended for the saints as they live out their holy calling as God’s people in this world.
Believers are called by God to participate together in the ordinary means of grace he gives his people.
Hearing God’s word preached physically together, being gathered on the Lord’s Day physically together, receiving the sacraments physically together, and expressing gratitude and making petitions physically together to God are all essential aspects of fellowship. Becoming members of Christ’s church and confessing our faith in Christ Jesus before the congregation is not only part of our calling but also a testimony to a dark world. A congregation sharing the love of God with unbelieving visitors who want to know “What’s church and Jesus all about?” is a joy to see.
Of course, there are unusual circumstances that prevent God’s people from gathering together physically, such as illnesses, persecution, catastrophes, pandemics, war, etc., but ordinarily we are called by God to enjoy and participate together in the ordinary means of grace he gives us: the preached word, the sacraments, and prayer. This is the most important way we live out our fellowship in this world, our communion with the saints.
May we continue to find ways to have fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ on a daily basis, always seeking to love, encourage, exhort, and care for one another however we can, and may we also take with utmost seriousness the gathering together of God’s saints for fellowship on each Lord’s Day until Christ returns to bring us into eternal and perfect fellowship with him and all the saints.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Heb. 10:24-25)
This article is adapted from “The Fellowship of the Saints” in Beautiful Christian Life’s October 2023 monthly newsletter.
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