FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
- by, Jane Barrett
Part 1
God created us to have fellowship with Him, and He always provides a way for that fellowship to exist.
In the Old Testament, after sin entered the world, God used the temple to represent His presence to the people of Israel. The people would go there to experience fellowship with God.
When Jesus entered the world, God was present in human form. He no longer needed to use the temple as His representative. When Jesus was sacrificed for our sins, God in the form of the Holy Spirit created a fellowship with Christians. Today, Christians have a personal relationship, a fellowship, with God through the Holy Spirit.
Fellowship with God begins with salvation. When we receive Christ, we become a member of a very distinguished family. We become "joint-heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17), and we have many brothers and sisters. The fellowship among believers is unique. Paul wrote in Acts 2:41-42 about the fellowship in the early church:
"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there
were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers (NIV)."
"Koinonia" is the Greek word used to describe fellowship in the New Testament. It means "to share in," "to come into fellowship," "intimate fellowship." Paul used the word many times to describe the different relationships we share as Christians. In 1 Corinthians 1:9, he wrote about our relationship with the Son: "God, who has called you into fellowship [Koinonia] with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful (NIV)."
Paul also wrote concerning our relationship with the Holy Spirit: "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship [Koinonia-intimate fellowship] of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14, NIV)."
In Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God, Henry Blackaby writes, "Intimate fellowship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ, produces fellowship with Christian brothers and sisters. Only God can produce this genuine Koinonia (fellowship)."
