Understanding Fellowship

What is fellowship? Define fellowship!

What's the difference between fellowship and socializing?

Are we confusing the connotation of fellowships and socializing?

Fellowship without the Holy Trinity is worldly; fellowship with the presence of the Holy Trinity is godly! Fellowship without the Holy Trinity is called PARTY; fellowship with the presence of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is FAMILY REUNION!

When we fellowship, do we fellowship in Christ's presence or without? According to Christ's stipulation on fellowship, two person satisfy the conditions. And our Saviour Jesus promised His involvement in this simple fellowship. I believed our Saviour Jesus intentionally designed our fellowship in the simplest format. Two is more than enough. I believed our Saviour's intention is to produce effectively for two people to care, and love each other.

I used to explain to my children that if we, consisting only four people, cannot fellowship with love within the house, then how are we going to fellowship with love with others outside the house? There are only four in the house; there are 6.5 billion people out there! Similarly, if people don't love each other in their own house or within the body of Christ, how are we to love God's lost children outside the body? Or to put it plainly, if people don't love each other in the Church, how do you expect people to love others outside the Church? Take note that love is not just an expression by mouth, it must be accompanied by deeds!

And to put it bluntly, if outsiders view the Church with a lot of hypocrisy lifestyle how do they have the confident in you, and Jesus Christ to join the family?

The purpose of fellowship is to encourage and support each other usually in times of trouble, sorrow, distress, moments of unhappiness. Of course, fellowship also involves a celebration of sorts at times and not only in tragic moments. Fellowship must relate to forging closer ties with each other.

What is truthfully fellowship? Let's examine true fellowship in the story of Job.

When three of Job's friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got together and traveled from their homes to comfort and console him. Their names were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. When they saw Job from a distance, they scarcely recognized him. Wailing loudly, they tore their robes and threw dust into the air over their heads to show their grief. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words. Job 2:11-13

Now what can we learned from the above fellowship? True fellowship is about esprit de corps that allow the overwhelming love of Christ to rule over us. Fellowship is about being there together to share the emotional status of a brother/sister in Christ or just an ordinary friend, or better, an enemy!

Fellowship is about allowing Jesus Christ, our Saviour to manifest His presence in an assembly. Fellowship is about allowing the love of Christ to fill a congregation and experience Him in us. Fellowship is when we gathered together and the ability to see our Saviour Jesus in everyone around us. Fellowship is when people experiencing the joy of the Saviour's love touching them.

Hebrews 10:25, And let's not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of our Saviour Jesus' return is drawing near. How do you want to interpret this verse? Yes, we must not neglect meeting together and more importantly we must stay put when confronted with problems. We must not turn deserters in times of troubles! Because when trouble or persecution arises and everyone disappears, then the true meaning of fellowship becomes a mockery.

We are One in the body of our Saviour Jesus! We are members of His body, the Church! While we should not neglect meeting together, our fellowship must not be intimidated by the presence of trouble, and persecutions that exist in us because we belong to Christ. We fellowship by His strength and His wisdom. We fellowship in Him.

Fellowship is not about a social function where we congregate, eat, talk and maybe pray. While it is important to remind ourselves to be in contact with our friends, we must not be forgetful about omitting our Saviour's presence in our fellowship. Encouragement is not through words alone but must be accompanied by deeds. It's not about expressing I Love You without responsibilities. It's not about some hugging and maybe some smooching! It's about Christ's love filling us to reach out and touch lives.

(Reprise) While it is important to fellowship, more important its not about just being together for meals but sticking together encouraging and supporting in times of persecutions.

True fellowship is a relationship bonded by Christ love that fills it.

When our heavenly Father who is filled with an overwhelming love for us, says I Love You, He did not just say it with words but He came and suffered on the cross punishing Himself by bearing all our wrongdoing.

So what is fellowship? And how do you define fellowship?

I define it as such: Fellowship is drawing strength from our Saviour Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit to aid us to carry the cross of Christ worst enemies. It's not only about our own cross. It's about our cross!

Christ has shown us that while we were still sinners, He came to carry our cross!