Biblical Fellowship

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. It is a great blessing to have you with us worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm going to invite you, my dear brother and sister, to please open up your Bibles. Let us please go on to the first letter of the Apostle John. We are doing as a church a series of studies on what are the characteristics of a biblical church.

We started that four weeks ago today. We're going to continue with that study, and this afternoon I'm going to call your attention to the first chapter of the first letter of the Apostle John. We have considered this passage in the past, but today we're going to be focusing on fellowship. This is the word of the Lord. that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and touched with our hands concerning the Word of life.

The life was made manifest and we have seen it and testified to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us. Thou which we have seen and heard, we proclaim 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. And we are writing these things so that your or our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you.

that God is light, and in Him is not darkness at all. If we say that 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. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. Amen. This is the reading of God's Word. Now, my dear brother and sister, with all the things that we have witnessed in this week, with all the violence and the unrighteousness that has taken place in the world, There is one confirmation that we get from the scriptures. Something that is clearly stated in the scriptures was confirmed in this week and all the weeks in which we have seen violence against Christianity.

And that is that the world will hate the church. The world will hate Christianity. Just as the Lord Jesus Christ was persecuted and he was hated when he came, he said in John chapter 17 that just as he was hated, the world was going to hate his people and the church and Christianity. And the reason why the world hates Christianity and Christians is not because of the Christian himself or herself, but rather because of the light of God that is in all of those who, by grace through faith, they have been saved. You see, the genuine believer, the person who is a genuine Christian, the person who has received the grace of the Lord, is also a recipient of the light of God.

In our own flesh, in our own nature, we are dead in our sins, in our trespasses, and we are enemies of God. We are not friends with God, but when the light of God is given to us, we're not only forgiven our sins, we also become the children of God. We become the people of God, and we become vessels of the light of God. And the more that we proclaim the light of God through the gospel, and the more that we proclaim the light of God through the righteousness of God, the more that there will be enmity between the world and the church. the world and those who are in Christ Jesus.

Not because of what it is in us, but because of the light of God that has been freely given unto us. So when we proclaim that there's only way of salvation and that is Christ Jesus, that is against what the world says. When we say that we are the people of God and that there's only forgiveness in Christ Jesus, that is against what the world says. When we come to the Scriptures and we proclaim the righteousness of God, what God has said about men, and women, and marriage, and family, and the government, and society. When we proclaim the light of the righteousness of God, the only outcome is going to be that this world that is against God is going to be against the church.

The world is going and we'll hate the church. And this is a reality that the apostle john in this book that we have just read has explained very carefully, more particularly in chapter three. If you pay attention to chapter three of the first letter of the apostle john there, the apostle is going to tell us that this enmity that exists between the world and Christians is something that has started from the very beginning of history of redemption. In chapter 3 in verse 12, the apostle tells us, We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him?

Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. And then he tells us in verse 13, Do not be surprised, brethren, that the world hates you. Just as there was enmity between Abel and Cain, or Cain and Abel, back in the beginning of the history of redemption, there will continue to be enmity between the people of God, those who belong to God, and those who belong to the evil one, and that is everyone by nature. We were there, and if it was not because of the grace of the Lord, we will continue to be there to continue to be enemies of God. But it was the grace of the Lord, the one that has rescued us from the kingdom of Cain into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ and praise God for that.

But what is the most interesting thing about this passage that we have here is not only that in verse 13 we are told about the reality of the enmity between the world and Christianity, but that the apostle tells us that this is in light of the love that Christians are supposed to have for one another. If you pay more careful attention to verse 11, you will see that the example of the enmity of Cain and Abel is given to us to explain a deeper truth. And that is that Christians are supposed to love one another. It says in verse 11, For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. So then he says in verse 12, we should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother.

And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. And he continues in verse 14, we know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. You see, that which differentiates us from the world in our previous nature is that now, by God's grace, we have been inserted into Christ Jesus, and we have been recipients of the love of God in saving us and in sending His only begotten Son. And because we have the grace of God that now empowers us, us to receive that love we are disciples of Christ different to what it was in our own nature a nature of hate and a nature of darkness and a nature of unrighteousness so the Lord says in the Gospels that if we love one another They will know that we are the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because that which abides in the world is hatred, and is murder, and is darkness.

And that's why there will continue to be enmity between the things of Christ and the things of the world. But that which is supposed to be abundant is the love of God in the midst of the congregation. And let me submit to you, my dear brother and sister, that the more that we abide in Christ and the more that we grow in the love of God with one another, the more that we are going to be light to the darkness of the world in which we are. The more that we abide in the Word, the more that we abide in Christ, the more that we will be recipients of the grace of God and we will be people that communicate the love of God to each other, and the world will continue to hate us, continue to oppose us because of what Christ has done among us. So let me submit to you that the duty of the church, of the local church is this, through the scriptures and the truth of what we have before us and through prayer and abiding in Christ, we are to grow in conformity to Jesus, abiding in Him and in His love.

And the more that we abide in Him, We are to grow in love for one another and the unity in love of the church, even though it will be opposed by the darkness of this world, it will be a token and a testimony that the one that is working in us is not of this world and is building a kingdom that is not of this world and the one who will conquer in the end, whose name is Jesus Christ. Let me submit to you, my dear brother and sister, that for this love to abound in the context of the church, We need to understand the biblical doctrine of fellowship. For how are we going to say that we love one another if there's no biblical fellowship among those who have been recipients of the love of Christ? How are we going to say that we love our brothers and sisters if we are not in spiritual fellowship with our brothers and sisters? The manifestation of the love of God that has been given to the Christian is not only seen in the individual profession of love towards the Savior, but also in a profession of love and practice of love towards one another, brothers and sisters.

And this is what we see there in 1st John chapter one, this beautiful and powerful doctrine of fellowship, the fellowship that the saints are supposed to have one with another as a manifestation of the love of God that is supposed to abound within us and is meant to be manifested one with the other. And I suppose that if I ask the question, is fellowship important? Or do you think that fellowship among Christians and Christians with the Lord is important? I suppose that everyone will say, yes, fellowship is important. It is important that we have fellowship with one another in the context of the local church.

But let me ask you better a different question. Not if fellowship is important in an abstract way, but is fellowship important for you? Is fellowship important in your Christian life? Is fellowship important for your spiritual maturity? Is fellowship important for your spiritual growth?

You see, because that question is not only answer yes or no with the mouth. If we consider that fellowship is important from a spiritual perspective for our individual life before the Lord, that is not going to be seen in the thing that we say with our mouth. but in the things that we do as brothers and sisters. Is fellowship important for you? Just as we have said that reading the Scriptures and praying and abiding in Christ Jesus, that is essential and that is important for the Christian life, is fellowship with your brothers and sisters important in your mind, in your personal assessment of your spiritual life?

The answer to that will not be given by the mouth. It will be given by our works and by our deeds and how we relate and how we treat each other in the context of the church. So I want to submit to you that there are going to be at least two reasons that are going to prevent us from having biblical fellowship. The first one is going to be sin. There's seen in us and among us that is going to prevent us from having biblical, genuine freedom in fellowship scene is going to prevent us from having biblical fellowship.

And usually the change that we do is that we just simply want to have superficial relationships, not to go deep into our spiritual community because that is going to deal with the deep matters of the heart. Namely our sin. So sin is going to separate people from having fellowship with one another. And second, another reason that prevents us from having fellowship is many times that we do not understand the biblical importance of what it is to have fellowship with the brothers and sisters. And let me submit to you that churches have reduced down fellowship just to simply to have dinner together or to have food together or to have an activity together, which is very important that we do all of those things.

But let me submit to you that fellowship with brothers and sisters go deeper than just simply doing certain things together. And it's a matter of our communion, a spiritual communion with Jesus Christ and with one another. Being these two the main reasons or problems that prevent us from having biblical fellowship seen and lack of understanding of it, I want us to consider from 1 John, what is biblical fellowship? I want us, if we take this passage here, answer a couple of questions. The first one is going to be, what is biblical fellowship according to the Scriptures?

The Apostle is going to tell us many times here the word fellowship and the concept of fellowship. And then second, I want us to consider How can we have biblical fellowship as a church? And the apostle is gonna tell us the how in verse seven, that 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. So let us start with the first one. What is biblical fellowship?

Or what is fellowship among the Christians? As I said to you, my dear brother and sister, this is a very important question that needs to be answered. And the reason why it needs to be answered is because many times we as Christians reduce down the concept of fellowship just to simply having interaction or to having just meetings with people, having dinner together or interacting with each other. But let me submit to you that fellowship is going to be deeper than just simply the external meeting or coming together with brothers and sisters. If there was going to be one word that is going to help us understand the biblical meaning of fellowship, that word will be sharing.

Fellowship is sharing with someone else of a very important matter. The best example that I can give you of this is when a brother or sister is going to invite a person to have dinner into their place. They are having fellowship. And they are having fellowship in the sense that they are sharing with the brothers and sisters. They are sharing their food.

They are sharing their company. They are sharing their time. They are sharing their resources. They are sharing each other. They are spending time together.

They are sharing. And he's not only the one that receives people in their house, the one that is sharing, but also the one that is coming to that house is also sharing with the person that is receiving them. It is sharing their company, their times, their efforts, the love they are sharing with one another. Fellowship is equal to sharing, and we can see that in the text in a very important way in that God the Father sent his son, Jesus Christ, to be with the apostles that share the presence of Jesus Christ, and then the apostles are now sharing this with the church. Pay attention to the text from verse one.

We are told there in verse one of chapter one, that which was from the beginning that is Christ Jesus which we have heard that that is the apostle saying this that which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes which we looked upon and have touched with our hands concerning the word of life the life was made manifest that is Jesus and we have seen it and testified to it and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us, the Apostle says. That which we have seen, that is Christ, and heard we proclaim also to you, that is the Church, so that you too may have fellowship with us and that indeed that fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. The message of the apostle is very simple. We have had fellowship with Jesus Christ. God the Father sent his son, Jesus Christ.

God the Father shared the grace of Jesus Christ to be with us and among us. And we as the apostles, we were in the presence of Jesus Christ so that we share in the grace of the presence of Jesus Christ. We touch him, we hurt him, we spend time with him. And in that sharing of Christ, Now we are passing, we are proclaiming Christ to you so that you will have fellowship with us and our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son. Fellowship is sharing of a particular and very important grace.

And biblical Christian fellowship is not only about sharing things, or sharing time, or sharing external things. The center and the heart of biblical spiritual fellowship is going to be Christ Jesus. The reason why we can have fellowship with one another as brothers and sisters is not because we like the same food. It's not because we like living in the same country. It's not because we have preferences that are similar, because we may have different preferences.

The reason why Christians come together is because there's one thing that is supposed to unite them and that thing or that person is Jesus Christ. A spiritual fellowship is that, spiritual in nature. That which drives us to each other is meant to be what God has done in you through the Holy Spirit and in the person of Jesus Christ. That what drives you to me and as brothers and sisters is meant to be the work of Jesus Christ in us. Just as the disciples spent time with the Lord Jesus Christ and it was their abiding, their communion with Christ, what moved them by the Spirit to communicate and to share that with the church, We, as Christians, are also, like the apostles, to be vessels that communicate and share the goodness and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As you go through the Scriptures, you realize that we, Christians, are vessels. Vessels that are recipients of grace, the grace of Christ. Even Christ's likeness or conformity to Christ is the purpose of the Christian life, to become more like Him. And as Christians, when we become more like Him, the Lord gives us something of His grace that is meant to be shared with one another. And this is a very important reality that Christians need to understand.

To be a Christian is not only to come to church on a Sunday for one hour or two, but to belong to a local body. It's not only just to simply take the, you know, like the different events that we have as a congregation, but to be part of the body is to have the commitment that because of my union with Jesus Christ, Now I'm going to be united to a group of people and I'm going to be a vessel that receives grace from above in order to communicate that grace to my brothers and sisters through biblical fellowship. And this gives us a very important perspective of the Christian life. And that is that in you, in each one of you, by God's grace, there is something that God has put that is necessary for the building up of the local body. But more importantly, that in you, is that in your brothers and sisters, there's going to be a deposit of grace that is necessary for you to grow in conformity to Jesus Christ.

The body is a body, and each one of those members is independent of the head, the Lord Jesus Christ. But in the same way that we depend on the Lord Jesus Christ, we depend upon each other. And the work that God is doing by His grace and by His providence in each one of us is meant to be used not only for my individual life, but for the building up of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. This speaks of the sovereignty of the Lord. This speaks of the providence of the Lord.

That if the Lord has placed you sovereignly and providentially in the context of a local church, this is so that we, through biblical fellowship, will help to build up the body by what we can do for each other in the grace that God has shared with us. Why? Because biblical fellowship is equal to sharing. just as the Father has sent His Son and shared His Son with the world, with the apostles, with the church. So the bodies also to share the grace of Christ Jesus with each other.

And that is spiritual power that is given to each one of the Christians is what the Lord uses to build up the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, it is not only about spending time together, it is not only about doing things together, which we are supposed to do that, but the center of it should be to share Christ Jesus unto each other. What grace has Christ has given you? that is necessary for another person. What can I do?

How can I communicate Christ to my brother and sister? How can I communicate the words of Christ to my brother and sister? It is not about the things that I like and what I think that they should be according to my preference. But how can we build each other in the things of Jesus Christ? So then biblical fellowship goes beyond eating certain food or doing certain things we should do.

But the center of it is building each other up in conformity to Jesus Christ. Hence, the scriptures and prayer and the things of the Lord become central to the community and the fellowship of the saints. Otherwise, we just simply have a community of people that like each other and that do certain things, and those communities exist even outside in the world. They exist even outside of what it is Christianity. There are groups of people that they like each other and they like certain food and they spend time together.

But when the center of their coming together is not the glory of Christ and the benefit of each other in the things of the Lord Jesus Christ, then the church becomes community, fleshly community, rather than a spiritual body that is meant to nourish one another with the things of the Lord Jesus Christ. Biblical fellowship is equal to sharing the grace of Christ Jesus with one another because of what he has done for us. And in the Scriptures, my dear brother and sister, we see many different ways in which this fellowship can actually be practically manifested. I'm going to invite you to come with me to a very famous passage in Acts chapter 2. In Acts chapter 2, you will see there perhaps one of the most clear passages that speak about this reality of fellowship.

How can we then have fellowship of share of the grace of Christ together. Let us come to Acts chapter 2. You will know and perhaps remember this very well-known passage in Acts chapter 2 verse 46 and 47. How can we as Christians have this biblical sharing or this biblical fellowship. The first one is going to be very obvious and very clear.

That is that we have fellowship by worshiping together. That is that we come together to worship the Lord Jesus Christ. We share in the grace of worship and of praise that is found in Acts chapter two, verse 46. Let us read together. And day by day, attending the temple, Together, this is the early church, and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.

And the Lord added to their number, day by day, those who were being saved. What was the grace of the early church in fellowship? It was that they worship the Lord Jesus Christ together. They came together as a body to share in this grace of worshiping the Savior. They could have stayed in their homes.

They could have stayed individually. They have perhaps the scriptures. They have perhaps the knowledge to worship the Lord. And of course, there is a place in which we have individual worship as unto the Lord. But let me submit to you that the blessings of the body of Jesus Christ is in the coming together of the saints to worship Jesus Christ together.

And we are told very clearly that Christians are not to neglect the gathering of the saints. Why? Not because this is just a simple rule that establishes that people should be present every single time that the church comes together, but for the benefit of the soul and for the benefit of the body. Because when we worship the Lord Jesus Christ together, we're not only worshiping and praising the Lord, but we're ministering to each other, and brothers and sisters, we live in times in which individualism and the centrality of the person is so exalted that no longer being together is an important matter of the Christian life. We have everything that we need perhaps in our funds, we can satisfy all of our desires in our funds, and because we have all of those things that are so individualistic in nature, we no longer see the need and the importance of togetherness in the context of the body and the need that we have to minister to each other.

You cannot have a biblical mature Christian that is not within the context of a local body. That person is going to be lacking in whatever way, I don't know, but that person is going to be lacking. Because how can I say that I'm going to fulfill the commandment of loving one another if I'm not with a person that is difficult to love? How am I going to say that I'm going to fulfill the commandment that I'm going to forgive one another if I just surround myself with people that say what I want to hear and that do not offend me or I don't offend them with the necessity of forgiveness? How am I going to say that I fulfilled the commandment of forbearing with one another if there's not another person around me to forbear the burdens or to carry the burdens?

We can only grow spiritually within the fellowship of the brothers and sisters, and we ought to see the necessity of this matter for our spiritual life. I said two weeks ago that reading the scriptures is very important for the Christian life, and it is true. I said last week that prayer is very important for the Christian life and for the church. It is true. But my dear brother and sister, it is also true that the Word of God and prayer are going to be clearly manifested and seen in the practical life of the church.

And that which unites the church is not what we do in commonality. What unites the church is the Lord Jesus Christ. So, we share the goodness of the grace of Christ and the fellowship of Christ in worshiping together. Second, we also, and we see there in the text from verse 42 to 45, we share in the goodness of the fellowship of Christ in providing for one another. pay attention in verse 42 it says and they these are the christians devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers and all came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles and all who believed were together and had all things in common.

And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as they had need. Now the focus of this passage here of the fellowship and the togetherness of the saints is not that we are to sell all things and have them in common, but rather that we provide for the need of the one who is in need. That is, that as a body, we do not only care for what I can possibly receive from this group of people every time that I come. But rather, as the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, I'm actively thinking, not as a receiver, but as a giver. Because Christ has given to me everything that I need.

And in the context of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, now I'm an active member that wants to contribute to the needs of my brothers and sisters. Not only spiritual needs, which is very important that we contribute to that and help with those as we're going to see it, but also the practical needs of brothers and sisters. And the practical needs is not only the practical needs of one person or two people, but the practical needs of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Genuine biblical fellowship. is this word, sharing, sharing in the grace that Christ Jesus has given us.

And when we understand of the abundance of the grace that we have in Christ, nothing of the things that we have, either physical, material, emotional, or spiritual, compare with the greatness of the gift that we have of eternal life. And we are willing to forsake, we're willing to give, and then we're willing to help one another according to the grace of the Lord. Fellowship is equal to sharing, not only worshiping together and sharing in the grace of what it is to worship the Lord, but also sharing for one another's needs. If you come with me to Galatians chapter five, we see there another very important manifestation of fellowship, of the togetherness of the saints. Come with me to Galatians chapter six, I think it is.

Galatians chapter six. Fellowship, biblical fellowship is equal to sharing, sharing in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. What he has given us, we give to each other because of what he has done for us. And in this fellowship, we don't only pray together or praise or worship the Lord together as the church did in Acts, or we don't only provide for the physical needs, but in this fellowship that we are supposed to have one for the other, we also share. in the spiritual burdens of one another it is not only the physical things but we also share the burdens the spiritual burdens of one another and we are to care for that situation in the context of the church galatians chapter 6 this is a very well-known passage in which we are called to restore the person who has been caught in a transgression and this is a manifestation of carrying the burden of the person who has been caught in sin.

Galatians chapter 6 verse 1, it says this, Brothers, if anyone is caught in transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks that he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. but let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be himself alone and not in his neighbor, for each will have to bear his own load."

Here, what the puzzle is telling us implicitly is that the fellowship the togetherness of the congregation is such that the person is caught in a transgression that is that we are aware of the spiritual matters of what is going on in the context of the church and when a person is caught in a transgression We are called to forbear those burdens and to help those who have been caught in those transgressions, bringing them through the law of Christ to be restored and to be forgiven. The togetherness, the fellowship of the saints is not only for practical matters. It's not only being together, gather, eating certain food or doing particular things. It's not only worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ together. It's not only providing for physical needs, but it's also in that coming together and in the fellowship of the saints, caring for the spiritual conditions of those who are within the context of the church.

And that means that we preach righteousness. And when righteousness is broken, that we eat through, The commandments of the Savior aim to bring restoration for the person that has been broken. What? For the purpose of restoring the fellowship of that person into the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why?

Because that which is meant to unite us is spiritual and righteous in nature. That which unites the brothers and sisters is the grace and faith of the Lord Jesus Christ as we walk in alignment with the will of the Lord Jesus Christ. But when we are not united spiritually speaking and when we are not walking according to an alignment with the will of the Lord, then this is what breaks fellowship. So we are then to restore that person as much as it is possible within the means that God has given to the congregation So then that person will be restored into the fellowship of the congregation. Of course, there's going to be instances in which that fellowship cannot be restored.

There's going to be instances in which that fellowship, that togetherness, that unity will not be restored. And actually, there's going to be instances in which the Lord Jesus himself or God himself is going to tell us that we are to avoid fellowship with certain people because of their sins or because of their ways. And we are to pay attention to that because Not only for the sake of being in fellowship with another person, we are going to go against righteousness and the things that the Lord has commanded just for the sake of being together. Fellowship is meant to be spiritual and according to the will of the Lord. If you come with me to 2 Timothy chapter 3, there we have examples, clear examples in which we are called not to have fellowship with a particular person, actually to avoid certain type of people because of the unrighteousness and the sins in which they are.

This is in protection of the fellowship of those who are within the context of the church. So in 2nd Timothy, if you come with me to chapter 3, we are told about a group of people that because of their certain behavior, we are called to avoid such people. We're told in 2nd Timothy chapter 3, 2nd Timothy chapter 3 verse 1, but I understand this. that in the last days, there will come times of difficulty, for people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving God, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. And then we're told, avoid such people.

In other words, break fellowship with that people, with that sort of people. Then the apostle will go into the example of particular type of men in verse six. For among them, this is among these people that we need to avoid. It says in verse six, for among them are those who creep into households. He's speaking about certain type of men, not women, men.

Verse six, for among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions. Always learning, but never able to arrive at the knowledge of the truth. Just as Janus and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also opposed the truth with their behavior, not with their mouth, with their behavior. Men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they, these men, they will not get very far.

Why? For their folly will be plain to all. as was that of those two men, that is, Janus and Jambres, that is, that their folly, their unrighteousness, their sin is plain to all people. So we are told not to keep fellowship with these people, we are to avoid such people. Why?

Because they fellowship, the togetherness of the body, is one that is spiritual in nature. And because it's spiritual in nature, we are to care for it in a spiritual way. That is that the way that we are united with one another, it is through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the words of the Savior, and the faith that unite us in Christ Jesus. We're not to be united according to our preferences. We're not to be united according to the type of music that we like.

We're not to be united about the music that we sing or the things that we do. Those those things are going to be important in the context of the church. But the centrality of the fellowship of the body is meant to be Jesus Christ, his word and his truth. So that when we ought to discern how the fellowship of the brethren is going to be protected, then we have the standard of truth. to preserve and to keep the spiritual fellowship of those who are in Christ Jesus.

Why? Because biblical fellowship is equal to sharing in the grace of Christ that I have received one with another in order to build up the body and to grow in conformity to Christ. But as we return to 1st John, and with this I'm going to finish very soon. As we return to 1st John in verse seven, the apostle is going to tell us of a condition of this fellowship, of a condition, a condition of biblical fellowship that we ought to have with one another, a very important condition. It is togetherness.

Yes, it is sharing. Yes, it is unity. Yes, it is coming together on all of those things. Yes, but the apostle is going to tell us there in verse seven of 1st John chapter one verse seven, it says, that if we walk in the light. as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin.

The apostle has outlined here very clearly that biblical, genuine, scriptural fellowship in the context of the congregation is upon the condition of that we are to walk in the light as Jesus Christ is in the light. Why? Because that which is meant to unite us is righteousness and Christlikeness. Once again, it's not the things of the flesh that which is meant to unite us. That which is meant to unite us is found in the person of Jesus Christ.

So just as Christ Jesus, the Son of God, is in the light of the Father, and that is not going from light into darkness, light into darkness, light into darkness, but abiding in the light of God. So we only have fellowship with one another when we walk in the light as Jesus Christ walks or is in the light. Of course, there's not one of us who will ever be perfect in our ways and in our holiness. There's so much unrighteousness that still resides within our mind and within our hearts and in our ways. But walking in the light is not that you are perfect when it comes to sin.

Walking in the light is that you abide in Christ. And when you abide in Christ, you're growing in holiness. And when you sin, You deal with your sin in a way that is biblical and righteous, not in your flesh. So we're told in verse five. This is the message, he says there in verse five.

This is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you that God is light and in him is not darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. Because God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all, and He is righteous, and He is holy. We also, when we walk in the light of God, and the holiness of God, we are going to receive the righteousness, and we're going to receive the holiness of God. And in that righteousness and holiness of God, we are going to be able to have fellowship with one another.

Now, the way that we relate to one another, of course, is external, but there's going to be something deeper that is meant to unite us, and that is the righteousness of the Savior. This speaks, my dear brother and sister, of the level of relationship that we have with one another. Are we friends? Yes, of course that we are friends. Do we like each other?

I hope that we like each other in different ways. But that which unites us, it is our alignment with the Lord Jesus Christ and conformity with the Savior. That which is meant to be more important among us is that each one of us is becoming like Christ, that we are walking in the light and not in darkness. Because if there is anyone among us that is walking in darkness, sin is going to prevent a congregation from genuine fellowship. Hypocrisy, the person that says with the mouth, I'm walking in the light when they're walking in darkness, that is going to prevent that person from having genuine fellowship with the brothers and sisters.

Why? Because when we're walking in darkness, we do not want that darkness to be seen. When we're walking in darkness, we don't want that to be exposed. We don't want that to be confronted. We don't want that to be put on the table.

And hence, That is going to prevent the genuine fellowship of brothers and sisters. So the way that we have fellowship with one another, it is not by fixing our sins and our errors in our own flesh. The way that we have fellowship with one another is what the apostle says there in verse 9. He says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just. to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

And in verse 1 of chapter 2, My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin, but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. The way that we can be genuine brothers and sisters. The way that we can love one another in the ways that the scripture says. The way that we can forbear with one another burdens.

The way that we can forgive one another. The way that we can spend the rest of our lives, if that is God's will, together. The way that we can help one another. It is not by becoming like each other, but it's by becoming like Jesus Christ. And the more that the things of Christ are in our hearts, the external secondary matters are going to be seen as that secondary matters, because there's going to be an undercurrent, a foundational thing that is going to be in us that is Christ's likeness and his righteousness, and that is going to bring us in unity one with another.

Not because we accept one another, or not because we like one another, or not because we agree with one another, but because in you there is Christ, and I hope that in me is Christ. And in our coming together, we share the grace of Christ Jesus. There is a group of brothers there in America that when they see each other, they say, brother or sister, do you have any grace in you? And what they mean by that is, do you have anything of Christ in you? What has the Lord been telling you through the scriptures?

What have you been learning of Christ through the scriptures? What has Christ been doing in your life? Because that which Christ has been doing in your life and the grace that you have received through communion with Christ, brother, sister, is not only for you, but it's for all of us. But it's for sharing with us this grace of what Christ has been doing upon you. And what Christ does in each one of the members of the congregation, my dear brother and sister, is for the benefit of each other.

And then the center of when we come together is Christ. Then the center of our conversation is Christ. Not in a religious way. Brothers and sisters, I'm going to meet here just we are going to read Psalm 119 and we're going to write it together. Not for that, brothers and sisters, but rather for the exaltation of Christ in our hearts, that our affections are inclined towards Him.

So that's why when we come together, are we to eat together? Yes, we are. Are we to spend time together? Yes, we are. Are we to enjoy each other's presence?

Yes, we are. Are we to play things together? Yes, we are. But we are to do all things in the name of Christ and for the glory of Christ. in prayer and in the Word of God and taking responsibility of each other's souls because we are brothers and sisters.

And that process of biblical fellowship with one another is not easy. It's difficult because what our flesh is going to want is that our relationships are shallow and they are superficial and that we do speak about the weather and that we do speak about, you know, politics. and that we do speak about what is going on and the results of whatever thing, or that we do speak about colors and flavors and food, that we do speak about those things and we should speak about those things. But shallow relationships prevent us from asking, brother, are you struggling with something? Sister, what are your struggles?

Is there anything that I can pray for you? My dear brother or sister, what can I do for you before the Lord? How can I? Oh, brother and sister, I'm struggling with this. If we don't have biblical fellowship, if we don't have genuine connection in the context of the church, We end up, each one of us, putting on a persona that we need to try to protect and keep so that others will not see my vulnerabilities and my difficulties because I don't want them to see how feeble and how weak I am and how I don't have the answer to all questions and how I also have problems and I have difficulties and I have fears and I have anxieties.

I end up putting on a persona that rather than doing good to my soul, ends up doing bad to my heart. Because now I need to carry the burden of someone that I am not, so that others will see me in a way that I want them to see me, and I will never walk in freedom. Someone in the private place, someone completely different in the public place. The Christian life is not about hypocrisy. The Christian life is about freedom and honesty, that only the grace of the Lord grant us.

That means that we're going to be perfect. No, brethren, don't even think that there is anyone perfect in this room. Don't even think that there is anyone perfect in this pulpit. Don't even think that there is someone who has fixed all the problems and has the answer to all the questions because that is not true. We are all broken.

We are all feeble. We all have struggles. We all have fears. We all have uncertainties. We all have anxieties.

Some of them are really big, really small. Some of them are really big. We are all in the same way. We are not to run from the reality of our feebleness and our wickedness, but rather we are to run to Christ. Because in Him, we have freedom to say, Lord, I'm fearful and I'm broken and I'm a sinner, but I know that you have saved me and you have redeemed me and you have given me of your grace.

And because of that grace, I can be brother and can be to this brother, to this sister, to these people, not because of who I am and the personality that I have, but because of what you're doing in them. and in me. So then I avoid the hypocrisy of the person that we have here in 1 John 1. I have fellowship with God while I'm walking in darkness. That person does not practice the truth.

Or the self-righteousness of the person that says, I don't have sin. There's no sin in me. That person deceives themselves. Or the hardened heart of the person that says, I have no sin, God. And that person makes God a liar.

But rather we walk in the freedom of saying, Lord, I have seen and I confess my sin before you and I know that you're just and faithful to forgive my sin and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness and in the cleansing of my soul and in the forgiveness that you grant me now I have the freedom to be brother or sister to my brothers and sisters because through Biblical fellowship is equal to sharing the grace that Christ has given to each one of us for the benefit of the body and for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as God the Father sent the Son, He shared the Son to be with the church and with the disciples, 1 John 1-5. And then the apostles are now sharing the message of Christ to have fellowship with the church, Also, we have received Christ Jesus, the one who is eternal life, the one who was with the Father, so that we will share with one another. So as I started, I ask you once again, is it fellowship? important for you?

Is it biblical, spiritual fellowship with your brothers and sisters important for your soul? I'm not speaking from a doctrinal point of view in which someone comes and asks you, should Christians have fellowship with one another? We say yes to that. But is fellowship important for you as a Christian? Because the answer to that is not given with the mouth, yes or no.

The answer to that is given with your life and how you relate to brothers and sisters. And I know that we might have perhaps, you know, in our unrighteousness and in our ways, we have fallen short of the ways of fellowship. If that is the case, my dear brother and sister, the solution is simple. He's just and faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and to make the gospel of Christ so clear in our hearts and in our minds, that that which we desire no longer is to try to appease one another or to satisfy one another, but to satisfy Christ. And in the satisfaction of Christ, we can love one another and leave one another as the people of Jesus Christ.

What are the characteristics of a biblical church? A biblical church is a church that is committed to the Word of the Lord, that is committed to prayer, and the outcome of it is that we love the Savior so much that when we see one another, we no longer see our mistakes or the things that we don't like about each other or the things that we like, but that we see the work of Christ in each one of us. And that's what leads us to be servants. That's what leads us to 1 John 3, verse 16, to lay down our lives for one another. That is what lead us to have the desire of Paul, of being spent for the sake of the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that, my dear brother and sister, in that there is a great reward. And I'm not speaking about financial rewards or anything of that. I'm speaking about a great reward that comes from heaven. Because the way that we demonstrate that we love Him is when we love one another. And the way that we love one another is in the fellowship of the saints.

May God grant us the power and the grace that is needed to abide in fellowship with Christ, so that in abiding in fellowship with Christ, we will strive to be better at having fellowship with one another, not upon external matters, my dear brother and sister, but upon those spiritual matters that unite us. His name is Christ, the one who has loved us and given himself for us, and to him is all the glory. Amen? Amen. Let us pray.

Father, As we come before you, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, Lord, we give you thanks. Oh, Lord, who is able to speak of the greatness of this relationship that we have with Jesus? Who is sufficient to speak words, Lord, that speak of or explain the glorious grace that we have, that we have fellowship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit? I pray, Lord, that only one word that corresponds to what is true and what we have read, only one word, one sentence of what the things that we have just read in front of us will be inked in our hearts by your Holy Spirit. Teach us, Lord, please, to love one another.

Teach us, Lord, please, to forgive one another. Teach us, Lord, to forbear with one another's burdens. Teach us, Lord, please, not to look back to the past, to look to our errors or mistakes, but help us, Lord, to look to Christ. and in Him to find everything that is necessary for us to have biblical fellowship. Lord, I pray that you will grant us by your grace a genuine desire to minister to one another according to the grace that you give each one of us in your providence and in your sovereignty.

I pray, O Lord, that you will teach us the urgent need of what it is to minister to one another according to your grace. When we see our brother and sister, that we will see them not only in their errors or in their limitations or in the things that are lacking, but rather that we will see them as vessels of Christ in whom there is grace. And that grace is a great blessing for us and for the church. Teach us, Lord, to love one another. Teach us, Lord, to forbear with one another.

And teach us, Lord, to walk in biblical fellowship with one another. Just as the Son has fellowship with the Father, and just as the Spirit has fellowship with the Father and with the Son, and just as the Apostles have fellowship with Christ, and just as we have fellowship with the Apostles through the Scriptures, Lord, I pray that you will grant us the greatest fellowship of all. and that is to abide to the feet of Christ and in him alone. We praise you and we give you thanks, and I pray for each one of these brothers and sisters, everyone that is here present, that their eyes will be pointed to Christ, that their hearts will be pointed to Christ Jesus, and that in all things in their lives, Jesus Christ will be glorified. We praise you, we give you thanks, and we ask, Lord, that you will bless us now as we're going to partake of the table, that our hearts will be prepared to be in your presence and to receive the wine and the bread and to be glorifying you, Lord, as a body, in the fellowship of the saints, in the fellowship of the Savior, as we partake together of the table.

We praise you and we give you thanks in Jesus' name. Amen.