Fellowship

Fellowship

God has created fellowship, the fellowship of the saints where both Jews and Greeks, rich and poor, melt together in intimate fellowship in the Spirit. “For through Him [Christ] we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” Eph. 2:18. You can find hundreds of different fellowship groups, but there is only one fellowship in the Spirit and only one access to the Father in that same Spirit. “Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.” Heb. 13:13-14.

People who have devoted themselves to seeking the city that is to come and have relinquished all their rights within the camp for the sake of that city will soon find one another and learn to love one another in the same Spirit.

“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace . . . .” Eph. 2:14-15.

God gave the law because of transgression. One man transgressed against another, and because of their sin, enmity arose between them and hindered all fellowship. In the flesh of Christ, God broke down the enmity between the Jews and the Gentiles, and thus the enmity of every man and his fellow man regardless of nationality, and reconciliation automatically followed. When the enmity disappeared, peace ensued, and with it, fellowship. He reconciled “them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.”

Some say that Christ put to death the enmity through the cross and so it is gone forever. In spite of this, we see that enmity is extremely prevalent even among Christians. They are divided up into numerous denominations, fellowships and groups, all isolated from one another, because they are incapable of having fellowship. This tells us more clearly than words could that all these people have not sought access to the Father in one and the same Spirit. This shows that they have not through the cross put to death the enmity in their flesh, which would have broken through and given us the possibility to do the same.

Everyone who puts to death the enmity through the cross gets fellowship in the Holy Spirit. Much is said about the Spirit but less about the cross, which is the means by which unity of spirit is formed between brethren.

Christ came and preached peace to you who were far away and to you who were near. Peace without the cross is of the flesh, of the world and of Satan. The peace of Christ requires the cross before it can make its abode in the heart.

The glutton must stop pleasing his own stomach, the alcoholic must stop satisfying his desire to drink, the vain person must put away his finery, the miserly must open his heart and wallet, etc. Whatever caused the enmity must be broken down; but not only that, the enmity itself—sin in the flesh—must be destroyed.

The cross is the peacemaker. Glorious cross! People say, “This is bondage!” It is bondage for those who love sin and the world, but for the soul who hates sin, the world and himself, it is the blessed means for attaining peace, love, longsuffering, brotherhood and all the other divine virtues—virtues that could not come forth because of sin, but which now can flourish because sin is nailed to the cross. Through the promises, divine nature grows within as a person flees the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Pet. 1:4.

So how can people get fellowship without the cross? Down through time, multitudes of people have tried to glue things together; it may work for a while, but eventually someone gets offended about something. The glue dissolves and the result is enmity, just like before.

People assume that once they have become a Christian, fellowship will surely be wonderful and all the problems will vanish. No, my dear friend. Satan flourishes right there inside the camp of the Christians who have not taken up their cross. The cross crushes the enmity, and fellowship will naturally follow.

As simple and straightforward as these truths are, they seem to be a complete mystery to those who desire to be Christians but want to hold onto the things of the world and its esteem.

Abandon and deny your enjoyment of worldly pleasures and reputation, and you will have fellowship with the saints in the same Spirit. From that day on, the need to “glue” things together will vanish, because the nails of the cross will take care of it. However, if you want to have a good relationship with God and with the world, God will see to it that you lose peace with Him.

It is possible to be in a deep, spiritual sleep and mistake this for peace. When a number of people sleep peacefully in the same assembly, they can think they have fellowship, but in the Scriptures this kind of assembly is called the “assembly of the dead.” They have all wandered from the way of understanding. Prov. 21:16.