The Seven Fellowships In A Local Church

Son

Acceptance

Sufferings Father

Saints

Righteousness

Holy Spirit

One of the biggest misconceptions in the church today is in the area of fellowship. Most believers have a very narrow understanding of what fellowshipping means in the context of a typical local church setting. To most Christians having fellowship means to share, care and support one another in the love of God. Our focus is always on what we do when we meet together. Therefore we pray together because we need to support one another spiritually, we have meals and outings together in order to meet our social needs, we study the Word of God as a group to increase our knowledge in God and we reach out to friends with carefully organised events. Yet many do not find fulfilment in these activities. As time passes frustrations and dryness creep in as fellowship meetings degenerated into a form of lifeless social gathering that neither excites heaven nor threatens hell. Here we have the fellowship of the unfulfilled. Three unhealthy situations normally develop when the above happens. Under the circumstance many well meaning and sincere believers tend to bail out from fellowshipping altogether. Incomplete understanding of the true essence of Christian fellowship leads to wrong expectations and unfulfilled desires in the things of God. Some drift from one church to another in search of a ‘better’ fellowship. Others will remain in the status quo trying to get the best out of the situation. None of the three scenarios mentioned is what God wants for His people as the royal priesthood, holy nation and chosen generation of His Kingdom on earth. We have to understand that the Bible teaches on seven fellowships in the early church. These seven fellowships transcend far beyond the common notion of what we understand as fellowship in a local church. Out of the seven only one of them is activity driven. The other six focus on God’s principles and character. In other words the essence of Christian fellowship is not so much on what we do to meet our needs, but is about what and who we are in Christ and how we can let God show Himself through us.

Fellowship means to have sharing, communion, intimate relationship, communication of words and distribution of things between parties. The first of the seven fellowships is mentioned in the Book of 1 John. It is called the fellowship with the Father. The Fellowship With The Father 1 John 1:3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. The fellowship with the Father is the fellowship of light which speaks of consistency in a Christian life. Light exhibits qualities of consistency in its nature. When a group of Christians come together the first thing we must check is to see if our thoughts, speech and action are aligned in consistency. John reckoned an inconsistent person was an accuser of God. One’s willingness to repent in front of God is a sign of someone who is living a consistent Christian life. A meaningful and fruitful Christian fellowship can never be built if members are trying to hide things from God and pretend to be something that they are not. A lot of us ended up in the fellowship of the unfulfilled because we did not discern falsehood in our midst. A strong and growing fellowship must be a consistent fellowship. The fellowship with the Father is the corner stone of any fellowship. Without it all the rest of our labour will be built on the shaky foundation of lies. The Fellowship With The Son The fellowship with the Son, Jesus, is the fellowship of practical love. Jesus said, ‘If you love me, keep my commandments.’ A Christian fellowship must be practical. The problem with many believers today is not that we don’t know what to do, but we don’t want to do what we know. It is no point to study all about Jesus and His teachings in our fellowship Bible study, but lack the compassion, will and intensity to translate His words into practical action. Simplicity in our obedience to the teachings of Jesus is the best indication of our close fellowship with Him. A fellowship will never reach its full potential if it does not provide practical answers to everyday life. The real life of Jesus can only be experienced when His words are being acted out by His people toward one another. Without the fellowship with the Son, our fellowshipping together will bring no real impact on our everyday life. It will remain as a fellowship of empty words at its best. Meaninglessness and emptiness will follow in such an environment. Incomplete understanding of the true essence of Christian fellowship leads to wrong expectations and unfulfilled desires in the things of God.

The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit 2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. Philippians 2:1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, The fellowship of the Holy Sprit speaks of the sustainable nature of a fellowship. As stated before if our fellowship is mainly driven by activities and ideas, they will soon run out of steam. New ideas will become old and new formats will become tired very soon. A Godly fellowship must have the refreshing and renewing power of the Holy Spirit in its core existence. A people who know the value of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit are people who understand and move in the anointing of God. Any fellowship that does not depend on the anointing of the Holy Spirit will soon become tired and lifeless. An unsustainable fellowship is a weak fellowship devoid of the power of God to reach out and prosper. A fellowship in order to have deeper influence in the lives of its members must fervently seek the presence of God, His spiritual gifts and His renewing power. The Fellowship Of Sufferings Philippians 3:10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, The fellowship of Christ’s sufferings speaks of the fellowship of resilience. A strong Christian fellowship must be resilient. There are three things to watch out for to see if a fellowship has the fellowship of sufferings. People who keep promises are people who know about paying a price for their faith. People who persist in the face of problems and set backs are the ones who will build up their character in Christ. People who maintain a stable disposition in times of crisis are people who can suffer for the sake of God. A fellowship can never grow strong in the Lord without going through set backs and sufferings. The Kingdom of God is not all about happy times and pleasant dinner evenings. A group of Christians who are ill prepared for spiritual warfare and facing trials in life will wither into insignificance as a group in the things of God. The slightest inconvenience and challenge will break the spirit of such a fellowship. A strong people with the purpose of God must be a resilient people proven in the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ. The Fellowship Of Acceptance Galatians 2:9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Paul talked about the right hand of fellowship which is the fellowship of acceptance and trust. A fellowship of Christian must be built upon trust. Too many churches are

paralysed by the spirit of strife and mistrust among its people. When a fellowship is following the principle of trust we notice the following. Leaders will be willing to delegate and allow the people to develop their services in God freely. Members openly demonstrate mutual respect for one another and encourage the development of one another’s giftings. The only strife one can observe in this type of fellowship is the intense striving against the devil himself. There are little rules and controls over the running of the fellowship. People are being guided by examples instead of being told what to do. Where there is trust there is submission and order. A strong and fulfilling fellowship does not demand submission from its members, but its focus is in the building of trust and respect in the love of God. When trust is mature ministries will multiply. Such fellowship will create life and spiritual excitement in the lives of believers.

The Fellowship Of Righteousness 2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? In a fellowship of Christians there must be differences that we have from the world. Our fellowship must express the righteousness of God and we must maintain the absolute standards of God in major moral issues and Christian conduct. I call this the fellowship of the difference. A fellowship that lacks the baldness to represent the values and the holiness of God is a fellowship that runs the danger of being deceived by the enemy. Not only will such fellowship produce no worthy fruits for our Lord, it faces the peril of falling into deep sin without a trace of repentance. Deception will rule rampant in such a crowd of unbelieving believers. It is the duty of everyone who is involved in the work of God to make constant self check to see if there is any sign of compromise in our walk with the Lord. A strong fellowship is a fellowship that will look different, talk different and act different from the world. I say different not strange. Without the fellowshipping of righteousness there will be no freshness of the holiness of God in our midst. Such a fellowship is worse than a worldly party because its people are sinning in the name of the Lord! The Fellowship Of The Saints Acts 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. This is the type of fellowship most of us are familiar with when we talk about Christian fellowship. This is a fellowship where brothers and sisters in Christ coming together to enjoy God and one another’s company. This fellowship provides the environment where caring, sharing, supporting and loving one another possible. A fellowship that is fulfilling must be a fellowship of enjoyment. In prayers the

members can share victories and setbacks together. The physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of the members are being fulfilled here. But this will only happen if the people involved are consistent in their faith, practical in their love, sustainable in their work, resilient in their character, different and set apart in their lives and trusting in their dealings. As stated earlier on, many are lost in the quest for a fulfilled and meaningful Christian fellowship in their local churches. If by fellowship we limit our focus narrowly on the activities that we perform rather than on the principles and the character of God then we are sure to face frustrations and defeats. However, if we expand our understanding of Christian fellowship to include the seven fellowships as mentioned in the Bible, we will be able to build a firm foundation for the kind of fellowship that will carry out the will of God in power and victories. Pastor David Perth Australia