Fellowship among believers

The fellowship that believers share as a result of their common union with God through Jesus Christ is expressed in life together. It is evident in worship together, in a love for one another, which reflects God's own love and in a practical commitment to one another, which is demonstrated in concern for the weak and readiness to share with the poor and needy.

 

Sharing in the fellowship of God's love

1 John 4:11-12

    My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. [12] No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!

 

 see also

John 13:34

    "Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another.

15:12; John 15:12

    This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you.

 Ephes. 5:1-2

    Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behaviour from their parents. [2] Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

1 John 3:10

    Here's how you tell the difference between God's children and the Devil's children: The one who won't practice righteous ways isn't from God, nor is the one who won't love brother or sister. A simple test.

 

 

Sharing in the fellowship of a common devotional life

Acts 2:42

    They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.

Psalm 55:14

    Those long hours of leisure as we walked

        arm in arm, God a third party to our conversation.

 Worshipping together

Psalm 42:4

    These are the things I go over and over,

        emptying out the pockets of my life.

    I was always at the head of the worshiping crowd,

        right out in front,

    Leading them all,

        eager to arrive and worship,

    Shouting praises, singing thanksgiving—

        celebrating, all of us, God's feast!

1 Cor. 14:26

    So here's what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight. 

 Ephes. 5:19

    Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ.

Col. 3:16

    Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God!

Praying together

Acts 1:14

    They agreed they were in this for good, completely together in prayer, the women included. Also Jesus' mother, Mary, and his brothers.

See also Acts 4:24

    Hearing the report, they lifted their voices in a wonderful harmony in prayer: "Strong God, you made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.

Acts 12:12

    Still shaking his head, amazed, he went to Mary's house, the Mary who was John Mark's mother. The house was packed with praying friends. 

 James 5:16

    Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.

Breaking bread together

1 Cor. 10:16-17

    When we drink the cup of blessing, aren't we taking into ourselves the blood, the very life, of Christ? And isn't it the same with the loaf of bread we break and eat? Don't we take into ourselves the body, the very life, of Christ?  [17] Because there is one loaf, our many-ness becomes one-ness—Christ doesn't become fragmented in us. Rather, we become unified in him. We don't reduce Christ to what we are; he raises us to what he is. 

2 Peter 2:13

    Their evil will boomerang on them. They're so despicable and addicted to pleasure that they indulge in wild parties, carousing in broad daylight.

Jude 1:12

    These people are warts on your love feasts as you worship and eat together. They're giving you a black eye—carousing shamelessly, grabbing anything that isn't nailed down. They're—

 

    Puffs of smoke pushed by gusts of wind;

        late autumn trees stripped clean of leaf and fruit,

    Doubly dead, pulled up by the roots;

 

Sharing on a practical level

Showing hospitality

Romans 12:13

    Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

See also Isaiah 58:7

    What I'm interested in seeing you do is:

        sharing your food with the hungry,

        inviting the homeless poor into your homes,

        putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,

        being available to your own families.

Hebrews 13:1-2

    Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. [2] Be ready with a meal or a bed when it's needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it!

 1 Peter 4:9

    Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully.

John 1:8

    So they deserve any support we can give them. In providing meals and a bed, we become their companions in spreading the Truth.

Standing by others being persecuted

2 Cor. 1:7

    When we see that you're just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you're going to make it, no doubt about it.

Hebrews 10:33

    Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends.

   

Sharing with those in need

Hebrews 13:16

    Make sure you don't take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of "sacrifice"—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets.

 See also Acts 20:34-35

      With these bare hands I took care of my own basic needs and those who worked with me.

  In everything I've done, I have demonstrated to you how necessary it is to work on behalf of the weak and not exploit them. You'll not likely go wrong here if you keep remembering that our Master said, 'You're far happier giving than getting.' "

Ephes. 4:28

    Did you used to make ends meet by stealing? Well, no more! Get an honest job so that you can help others who can't work.

Sharing money and possessions

Deut. 15:10-11

    Give freely and spontaneously. Don't have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers God, your God's, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. [11] There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbours in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbours.

  Acts 2:44-45

    And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. [45] They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met.

 See also

Deut. 10:18-19

    makes sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing.

     [19] You must treat foreigners with the same loving care—

        remember, you were once foreigners in Egypt.

Matthew 25:35-36

    And here's why:

    I was hungry and you fed me,

    I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,

    I was homeless and you gave me a room,

    I was shivering and you gave me clothes,

    I was sick and you stopped to visit,

    I was in prison and you came to me.'

 Luke 3:11

    "If you have two coats, give one away," he said. "Do the same with your food."

Ac4:32-35; Acts 4:32-35

    The whole congregation of believers was united as one—one heart, one mind! They didn't even claim ownership of their own possessions. No one said, "That's mine; you can't have it." They shared everything. [33] The apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Master Jesus, and grace was on all of them.

    [34] And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale [35] to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person's need.

2Co 8:13-15; ITi 6:17- 18; Jas 1:27; 2:15-16

Examples of sharing with the needy

Job 31:16;

 Acts 6:1

    During this time, as the disciples were increasing in numbers by leaps and bounds, hard feelings developed among the Greek-speaking believers—"Hellenists"—toward the Hebrew-speaking believers because their widows were being discriminated against in the daily food lines.

Acts 9:36

    Down the road a way in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, "Gazelle" in our language. She was well-known for doing good and helping out.

Acts 11:29-30

    So the disciples decided that each of them would send whatever they could to their fellow Christians in Judea to help out. [30] They sent Barnabas and Saul to deliver the collection to the leaders in Jerusalem.

Romans 15:26

    The Greeks—all the way from the Macedonians in the north to the Achaians in the south—decided they wanted to take up a collection for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem.   

 2 Cor. 8:3-4

    I was there and saw it for myself. They gave offerings of whatever they could—far more than they could afford!—  [4] pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians.

Strengthening one another in fellowship together

Bearing with the weak

Galatians 6:1-2

    Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out. [2] Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law.

See also

Isaiah 42:3

    He won't brush aside the bruised and the hurt

        and he won't disregard the small and insignificant,

        but he'll steadily and firmly set things right.

Romans 14:1

    Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don't see things the way you do. And don't jump all over them every time they do or say something you don't agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.

Romans 15:1

    Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status.

1 Thes. 5:14

    Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs.

Strengthening the weak

Isaiah 35:3-4

    Energize the limp hands,

        Strengthen the rubbery knees.

    [4] Tell fearful souls,

        "Courage! Take heart!

    God is here, right here,

        on his way to put things right

    And redress all wrongs.

        He's on his way! He'll save you!"

Job 4:3-4

    You yourself have done this plenty of times, spoken words

        that clarify, encouraged those who were about to quit.

    [4] Your words have put stumbling people on their feet,

        put fresh hope in people about to collapse.

Encouraging one another

Hebrews 10:24-25

    Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, [25] not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.

 See also

1 Samuel 23:16

    Jonathan, Saul's son, visited David at Horesh and encouraged him in God.

Romans 1:12

    But don't think I'm not expecting to get something out of this, too! You have as much to give me as I do to you.

1 Thes. 5:11

    So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it.

Hebrews 3:13

    For as long as it's still God's Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn't slow down your reflexes.

Putting the needs of others first

Romans 5:2

    And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.

See also

1 Cor. 10:24

    We want to live well, but our foremost efforts should be to help others live well.

1 Cor. 10:32-33

    At the same time, don't be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly stepping on the toes of those who aren't as free as you are.  [33] I try my best to be considerate of everyone's feelings in all these matters; I hope you will be, too.

 

True fellowship means living in harmony

1 Peter 3:8

    Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble.

See also

Romans 12:6

    let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.

    If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else;

 Ephes. 4:2-3

    And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, [3] alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.

 Philip. 2:1-4

    If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— [2] then do me a favour: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. [3] Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. [4] Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

Col. 3:12-14

    So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. [13] Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offence. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. [14] And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Showing equal concern for all

Acts 10:34

    Peter fairly exploded with his good news: "It's God's own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favourites!

1 Cor. 12:25

    The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't,  

James 2:1-4

    My dear friends, don't let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. [2] If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, [3] and you say to the man in the suit, "Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!" and either ignore the street person or say, "Better sit here in the back row," [4] haven't you segregated God's children and proved that you are judges who can't be trusted?

 

Examples of fellowship

Numbers 10:31-32 Moses and Hobab

    Moses countered, "Don't leave us. You know all the best places to camp in the wilderness. We need your eyes. [32] If you come with us, we'll make sure that you share in all the good things God will do for us."

1 Samuel 18:3 David and Jonathan

    Jonathan, out of his deep love for David, made a covenant with him.

2 Kings 10:15-16   Jehu  and Jehonadab

    He went on from there and came upon Jehonadab the Recabite who was on his way to meet him. Greeting him, he said, "Are we together and of one mind in this?"

    Jehonadab said, "We are—count on me."

    "Then give me your hand," said Jehu.

    They shook hands on it and Jehonadab stepped up into the chariot with Jehu.

    [16] "Come along with me," said Jehu, "and witness my zeal for God." Together they proceeded in the chariot.

 

Failure to exhibit true fellowship

1 Samuel 30:22 Troublemakers in David's army are unwilling to share the spoils

    But all the mean-spirited men who had marched with David, the rabble element, objected: "They didn't help in the rescue, they don't get any of the plunder we recovered. Each man can have his wife and children, but that's it. Take them and go!"

 

 

1 Cor. 1:11-12 factions within the church at Corinth;

    I bring this up because some from Chloe's family brought a most disturbing report to my attention—that you're fighting among yourselves!  [12] I'll tell you exactly what I was told: You're all picking sides, going around saying, "I'm on Paul's side," or "I'm for Apollos," or "Peter is my man," or "I'm in the Messiah group."

1 Cor. 11:17-22 Selfishness at love feasts humiliates the poor.

    Regarding this next item, I'm not at all pleased. I am getting the picture that when you meet together it brings out your worst side instead of your best!  [18] First, I get this report on your divisiveness, competing with and criticizing each other. I'm reluctant to believe it, but there it is.  [19] The best that can be said for it is that the testing process will bring truth into the open and confirm it.

    [20] And then I find that you bring your divisions to worship—you come together, and instead of eating the Lord's Supper,  [21] you bring in a lot of food from the outside and make pigs of yourselves. Some are left out, and go home hungry. Others have to be carried out, too drunk to walk. I can't believe it!  [22] Don't you have your own homes to eat and drink in? Why would you stoop to desecrating God's church? Why would you actually shame God's poor? I never would have believed you would stoop to this. And I'm not going to stand by and say nothing.