#2.

Fellowship is a Privilege Known Only to True Believers

1 John 1:67 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. Last time we began to see what fellowship really is. The church is called Christ's bride, His body, and He has bound Himself to His bride so intimately that He is one flesh with her. Those who trust Him alone for salvation are said to be "in Christ" and He lives in them by His Spirit. They have this in common - together they have been made sharers in His life, death, resurrection, ascension and reign. When they meet and they experience this shared union in Christ, when they see their Savior living in and through their brothers and sisters, that is fellowship. This is glorious, and we wanted to dwell on it again this week because we are being led to believe in some churches that "fellowship" just happens when people who call themselves Christians get together and do stuff that people in the world can also do. When we sit down for a meal, grab a coffee or watch a movie with other Christians, we are being told that this is "fellowship". But as we have seen, much of what passes for fellowship today is artificial and/or superficial. Look at our text this week. The Apostle John makes the matter of fellowship a test of whether we are really Christians or not! He has already said earlier in the chapter that true believers have fellowship with God (the Light) and with the Lord Jesus Christ. To "be saved", and to "have fellowship with Jesus and with His Father" mean exactly the same thing as far as John (writing under the inspiration of the Spirit) is concerned. Therefore if anyone claims they have fellowship with God, yet lives a life that is dominated by the habitual practice of sin, they are liars and not Christians at all. You might want to search your own heart and life in the light of this test that John supplies. Note especially, though, what John says in verse 7. If we live a life that is freed from the habitual practice of sin (if we are no longer slaves to it) then "we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin". There is a lot that could be said about these words but for our purposes, note this one thing: if you are not a Christian, you cannot know fellowship with anyone else, whether they are Christians or not. You must be walking in the Light, you must be cleansed from your sin by the blood of Jesus, or fellowship must and will remain a complete unknown for you. Now come back to what we are often told is "fellowship" in the church. If we meet other believers, BUT we do nothing more than unbelievers can do when they meet, this is not and cannot be fellowship, can it? It doesn't matter how enjoyable it is. It doesn't matter how much fun we have. Fellowship is something unbelievers cannot know, so when believers meet for fellowship, there has to be something about that experience that sets it apart, that makes it unlike anything in the world. This series will help to show various aspects of what this fellowship is and why it is a privilege that believers alone are blessed with. Our whole aim is to help those who are Christians desire to know this fellowship, and to know its blessings and benefits more and more.

For now, though, surely the very thought that we have this blessing from God as a way to grow more like Christ and to experience more of the influence of His Spirit in our lives should make us eager never to miss out on an opportunity to enjoy fellowship with our brothers and sisters!

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