Habits of Effective Disciples: Fellowship

The early church learned that living in relationship with Christ also meant living in relationship with each other. Paul gave the early believers practical advice on building relationships, explaining both the benefits and responsibilities.

What difference does the church make in the lives of disciples?

God gives us the church to help us form our identity as Christians. The church helps us to endure suffering, bringing comfort and encouragement in difficult times. The church nourishes us with the Word and the Lord's Supper, provides godly examples for us to see and imitate, and disciples us in love if we go astray. Also, we grow and are transformed as Jesus is manifested in our worship together.

Jesus said in John 13:34-35 that he gave a new commandment that we are to love one another as he loved us, and by this we shall be known as His disciples. Even though the early disciples struggled in this regard, they gained strength from each other and grew stronger.

DISCIPLES SHARE CHRIST IN COMMON

Acts 2:42-47

Luke tells us that Jews had gathered in Jerusalem from all over the inhabited world for the Passover. They had seen the crucifixion. Then, as promised, the Holy Spirit came and empowered Peter and the others with a mighty wind allowing them to testify boldly to the power that arrived through the work Jesus did on the cross (Acts 2).

The church in Jerusalem grew from 120 believers to 3,120 in the first day. The real mark of the new church was COMMITMENT. The people devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles and to the fellowship, breaking bread and praying together. Again and again Luke describes the remarkable unity of this group and their determination to be together. Here is one of our best examples of fellowship in the church.

What brought them together? It was their common commitment to Christ that united them. John would later describe it in this way : "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us. And indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3).

Fellowship is sharing a common life.

What did the early Christians believe? They believed in Christ Jesus as Peter had preached to them. At the beginning of Acts 2 we learn that they were from various cultures but when Peter preached Christ crucified, they believed and were baptized into one body.

These early believers shared a commitment to pray. We find Peter and John going up to the Temple at the time of prayer (Acts 3:1). In that moment arranged for prayer, a lame man, twisted from birth, who begged at the Temple gate was healed by the one and only thing given to the new believers, faith in Jesus and shown in togetherness.

Fellowship is relationship and partnership together for the purpose of glorifying God and sharing His life with the world.

Are Christians together today? Are we truly sharing life together in fellowship?

Let us not forget the example we were given of the early church. Devoted believers praying, eating, and sharing life in faith with each other.

DISCIPLES SHARE MINISTRY IN COMMON

Romans 12:3-11

After calling the Christians in Rome to a life of change and putting away old pagan beliefs, Paul taught them by comparing the church to a body. As each person has a body with many different parts and functions, so does the church.

Through our mutual connection to Christ we realize we are connected to each other as well. We cannot live lives isolating ourselves from other believers and still fulfill Christ's plan for His church.

After we have been gifted grace by faith we discover that we have gifts which will help the body of Christ. Our gifts come from Christ, thereby leaving us no room for pride as the gifts, like our salvation, are not of ourselves. We use our gifts by trusting in the one who has given them. These are our portions of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

By faith, we trust the Giver to enable us to serve Him well.

Christians wear no masks. Paul told the Romans they are to love without reservation or hypocrisy. The church is a place where we are to come without masks as we reveal our true faith in the Lord through the love we show each other.

More than anything, Christians reveal our discipleship by our love. As we love each other we demonstrate the reality of the love of Christ within us.

So we remain joyful in our hope. Hope in the Christian life represents confident expectation of the eternal rewards to come which are real and promised and are not wishful thinking. Love liberates us from selfishness. Christians are generous because God has been generous with us.

What if Christians in our churches and our communities lived out Paul's description of the Christian life in fellowship?

We would need a much larger parking lot!

THE NEW TESTAMENT WAS WRITTEN ORIGINALLY IN GREEK.

GREEK HAS A VARIETY OF DEFINITIONS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOVE WITH DIFFERENT SHADES OF MEANING:

EROS:

PHYSICAL PASSIONATE LOVE BETWEEN MAN & WOMAN

STORGEO:

LOVE AMONG FAMILY MEMBERS/ PARENTS & CHILDREN

PHILEO:

LOVE BETWEEN BROTHERS OR CLOSE FRIENDS

(DAVID & JONATHAN ARE BEST EXAMPLES)

(PHILADELPHIA = CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE)

AGAPE:

A LOVE OF THE WILL NOT OF THE EMOTION. GENERALLY LOVE SHOWN TO ONE WHO IS UNLOVABLE AND UNLIKELY TO RETURN THAT LOVE.

THIS IS THE WORD USED TO DESCRIBE THE LOVE GOD

EXTENDED TO US WHILE WE WERE REBELLIOUS SINNERS

AND IS EXACTLY THE TYPE OF LOVE WE ARE TO SHOW

OTHERS AFTER WE ARE SAVED.

(JESUS SAID IN JOHN 13:35 WE ARE TO LOVE OTHERS

AS HE HAS LOVED US).

WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT WE ARE NOT SAVED BECAUSE WE LOVE GOD. WE ARE SAVED BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US. JOHN 3:16 AND 1ST JOHN 4:10 (HEREIN IS LOVE, NOT THAT WE LOVED GOD, BUT THAT HE LOVED US)

HE LOVED US WHILE WE WERE HIS ENEMIES AND WERE UNGODLY, COMMENDING HIS LOVE TOWARD US WHILE WE WERE DEAD IN SIN AND HIS LOVE QUICKENED US (MADE US ALIVE) IN CHRIST (EPH 2:4-5)

JUST AS WE CANNOT SAVE OURSELVES OF OUR OWN EFFORTS, WE CANNOT MAKE GOD LOVE US MORE THAN HE HAS ALREADY SHOWN BY GIVING HIS SON TO DEMONSTRATE HIS LOVE (JOHN 15:13) GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS, THAT HE WOULD LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS).