Article - How Does the New Testament Define “Fellowship” (part 3)
From previous articles we learned first and foremost that spiritual fellowship is a “sharing in common” with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 1:9; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Philippians 2:1; 1 John 1:3). Second, spiritual fellowship is a “sharing in common” with other faithful Christians (1 John 1:3, 7; Galatians 6:10; 1 Timothy 3:15). Finally, in this article we learn that spiritual fellowship is a “sharing in common” with the Godhead and faithful Christians through a daily, loyal walk/way of life (1 John 1:7). Christians are to remain faithful unto death (Revelation 2:10). A Christian is not in fellowship with God if he participates in unauthorized actions (1 Corinthians 10:18, 20), condones sin (2 Corinthians 6:14; 1 Timothy 5:22; Romans 1:32; 2 John 1:11) or lives a life of sin (1 John 1:6; Romans 6:1-2; Hebrews 10:26). It is impossible for a faithful Christian to be in spiritual fellowship with an erring Christian, a non-Christian or a counterfeit Christian (that is, one who claims to be a Christian but has not correctly submitted to God’s plan of salvation and therefore is not a Christian, Galatians 1:6-10; 2 Corinthians 11:1-4). In the case of the erring Christian who refuses to repent, a faithful Christian cannot “keep company with” (mix/mingle with) such, but can admonish him as a brother (1 Corinthians 5:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15). In the case of the non-Christian/counterfeit Christian, a faithful Christian may keep company with such, but must take heed to the warning “…friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (1 Corinthians 5:9-10; James 4:4); and “Evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Corinthians 15:33).
This material is copyrighted by The Gospel of Christ and its authors. This information is free to use in its entirety without further consent, however, modifications should not be made without contacting mail@thegospelofchrist.com for permission. Any and all images contained herein are believed to be free for all distribution and content.