QUESTION
What is fellowship with God?
ANSWER
The Greek word translated “fellowship” in the New Testament is koinonia¹, meaning “partnership, sharing in common, or communion,” and the essence of partnership is agreement or unity of purpose. Fellowship with God is, at its most basic, agreement with Him in all things. The New Testament assures believers of this partnership. Not only do we have fellowship with God the Father, but we also have fellowship with His Son and the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 1:9; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 John 1:3).
To have fellowship with others, there must be a oneness of the heart, something that links two people together: “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” (Amos 3:3). At the very heart of fellowship, there must be like-mindedness. Two in fellowship must have like wishes and like desires, which is why Paul exhorts believers to not be “unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). Believers have true fellowship with one another because of the Holy Spirit who indwells all believers (John 14:17). Through the Spirit we have true fellowship, unlike any relationship we can have with those who do not know Christ.
Fellowship with God is only possible through the blood of Christ. Before we are saved, we are at enmity with God (Colossians 1:21). But Jesus reconciled us to God through His death on the cross (Romans 5:10). When we repent of our sin and trust in Christ, the result is that “now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life” (1 John 5:20).
It is important to know that fellowship with God comes exclusively through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only way to the Father (John 14:6), yet throughout the ages man has attempted to devise other paths to God through false religions or to live in such a way as to merit His approval. We cannot have fellowship with God if we reject His Son (1 John 5:10–11), dispute His foreordained plan of salvation, or attempt to find another path to His presence.
Scripture identifies some things that are at odds with true fellowship with God: the “mind governed by the flesh” that does “not submit to God’s law” (Romans 8:7) and “friendship with the world” (James 4:4). God is light, and light cannot have fellowship with darkness: “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 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 1:6–7).
Those in fellowship with God are trusting in Christ. Their sins are forgiven. They are filled with the Spirit ². They believe that in all things God deserves to be glorified. They spend time in Bible reading and prayer in a pursuit of “spiritual wisdom and insight so that [they] might grow in [their] knowledge of God” (Ephesians 1:17).
God’s Word, the Bible, is all that we need for fellowship with Him. We glorify Him by submitting to His will and obeying the commands contained in His Word. “But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him” (Psalm 103:17). May we enjoy the harmony, contentment, and joy of the fellowship God has provided us with. May we follow the example of Enoch, a man who, throughout his long life, was known for “walking in close fellowship with God” (Genesis 5:24).
NOTE:
¹
QUESTION : What is koinonia?
ANSWER:
Koinonia is a Greek word that occurs 20 times in the Bible. Koinonia’s primary meaning is “fellowship, sharing in common, communion.” The first occurrence of koinonia is Acts 2:42, “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Christian fellowship is a key aspect of the Christian life. Believers in Christ are to come together in love, faith, and encouragement. That is the essence of koinonia.
Philippians 2:1-2 declares, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” Koinonia is being in agreement with one another, being united in purpose, and serving alongside each other. Our koinonia with each other is based on our common koinonia with Jesus Christ. First John 1:6-7 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 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.”
A powerful example of what koinonia should look like can be found in a study of the phrase “one another” in the Bible. Scripture commands us to be devoted to one another (Romans 12:10), honor one another (Romans 12:10), live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16; 1 Peter 3:8), accept one another (Romans 15:7), serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13), be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32), admonish one another (Colossians 3:16), encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 3:13), spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24), offer hospitality (1 Peter 4:9), and love one another (1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:11; 3:23; 4:7; 4:11-12). That is what true biblical koinonia should look like.
NOTE:
filled with the Spirit ²
QUESTION: How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?
ANSWER :
In Ephesians 5:15–20, the apostle Paul teaches believers how to experience a holy relationship with God—how to live for Him, obey Him, and discover His will as we serve Him. He writes, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. . . . Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
The pagan people of Ephesus worshiped their god in drunken orgies: “They believed that to commune with their god and to be led by him, they had to be drunk. In this drunken state, they could determine the will of their god and determine how best to serve and obey him” (Anders, M., Galatians–Colossians Holman New Testament Commentary, vol. 8, Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999, p. 172).
By contrast, Paul commanded believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We are filled with the Holy Spirit when we cautiously consider our actions and yield ourselves to the Spirit’s power, allowing Him to guide, influence, and govern our behavior. We carefully align our daily choices and decisions with the wisdom and truth Scripture teaches.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit in the context of Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 5:18 differs from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at salvation (see John 14:16–17). Those who believe in Jesus Christ and accept His gift of salvation receive the life-giving, eternal “Living Water” of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37–39; see also 1 Corinthians 12:13; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Galatians 3:14; Ephesians 1:13). Everyone who belongs to Jesus Christ has the Spirit of God living in him or her (Romans 8:9). Nevertheless, we can hinder or stifle the work of the Spirit in our lives (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and even “grieve the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 4:30).
Sin and rebellion against God’s will hinder us from being filled with the Holy Spirit. When we give in to sinful temptations and worldly desires, when we lose control and do what we know is wrong, living as we did before accepting Christ’s salvation, we prevent God’s Spirit from guiding, influencing, and governing our behavior. The Holy Spirit is grieved and quenched because He is not allowed to reveal Himself in our lives as He wants to, with expressions or “fruits” of “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). When we sin, we should confess our transgressions to God as soon as possible (1 John 1:9) and renew our commitment to being filled with the Spirit.
Jesus was filled with the guiding influence of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:18; 10:21). So was John the Baptist (Luke 1:15), his mother Elizabeth (Luke 1:41), and his father Zechariah (Luke 1:67). Old Testament saints like Bezalel (Exodus 31:3; 35:30), Joshua (Deuteronomy 34:9), Samson (Judges 13:25; 15:14), and Micah (Micah 3:8) were filled with the Holy Spirit. The believers at Pentecost were “filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4). Peter (Acts 4:8), Paul (Acts 13:9), and “the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52).
In contrast, Ananias allowed himself to be filled with Satan (Acts 5:3).
When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16) and are “led by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:18), “live by the Spirit,” and “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). According to the apostle Paul, being filled with the Holy Spirit makes the difference between life and death. When we belong to Jesus, “the power of the life-giving Spirit” frees us “from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 8:2). “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). Instead of living in bondage to sin and fear of death, we live as God’s adopted children (Romans 8:14–15).
Spirit-filled believers trade in “fear and timidity” for “power, love, and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). They sing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs . . . and [make] music to the Lord in [their] hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:19–21,). A heart overflowing with music, joy, and thankfulness to God usually signals a believer who is filled with the Holy Spirit. Finally, Paul described Spirit-filled believers as those who “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21).
We can be filled with the Holy Spirit daily by yielding our will to God in submission and obedience to His Word. There is no formula to follow other than to allow Him to fill us and control every part of our lives—our thoughts, emotions, bodies, and actions. Only as we submit to Him and are filled with the Holy Spirit can we experience a harmonious relationship with God and one another.
●God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
●The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
● that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
● “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?
● Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
● even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
● And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
● For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
● And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
● Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
● Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
● For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
● You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
● If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 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 cleanses us from all sin.
● asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.
● But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children,
● walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.
■ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
■ And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
■ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
■ On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
■ For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
■ and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
■ so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
■ In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
■ You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
■ Do not quench the Holy Spirit in you.
■ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
■ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
■ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
■ Then Jesus was led up by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
■ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
■ In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
■ for he (John the Baptist) will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
■ And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,
■ And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
■ and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship,
Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;
■ And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.
■ And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. [Samson]
■ But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.
■ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
■ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders,
■ But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him
■ And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
■ But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?
■ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
■ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
■ If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
■ And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
■ For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
■ For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
■ for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
■ singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
■
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