Articles
What Is Fellowship, Part 2
We continue today looking at the question: What is fellowship? Fellowship is much more
than having a potluck. Last week we began by touching on the roles that friendship and love play
in fellowship.
Fellowship is something that took place in the early church. “They devoted themselves to
the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).
Fellowship was and is important to the church. We see that it was something they started right
away. It is also included with other very important aspects of being a Christian: obeying the
apostles’ teaching, the breaking of bread, and prayer.
To have fellowship with someone is more than just spending time with them or sharing a
meal. It is having the same goals and purpose. It means being in agreement with someone and to
be united with them in a common cause. “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so
that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His
Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). “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, purifies us from all sin” (1 John
1:7). These Christians were in fellowship with each other because they had faith in God and
were obedient to his word. They were united by their beliefs.
God calls us to have fellowship with Jesus. “God is faithful, who has called you into
fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor. 1:9). To be in fellowship with Jesus is to
love Him and to be united in purpose. That’s what it means to be a Christian. To seek and save
the lost was Jesus’ purpose, it is why He came to earth (Luke 19:10). When we have fellowship
with Christ it is our mission to carry the message of Jesus to our family, friends, community, and
the world. ~ Brad Tolbert
