What Makes CHRISTIAN Fellowship
DIFFERENT from other fellowships ?
An Object Lesson from a Teapot
KOINONIA ~ The
UNIQUE Christian Fellowship
A WORLD of difference exists between “normal” fellowship and CHRISTIAN fellowship. One
is rooted in humanism; the other is CHRIST-centered. One is formed in and by
the world; the other is created in and by The HOLY SPIRIT.
The Scriptures use the Greek word, Koinonia. It
is from a Greek root word that means a sharer,
a partner, a participant. Christian fellowship, then, is that unique togetherness
that is shared IN CHRIST and OF CHRIST and WITH CHRIST and BY CHRIST.
This
kind of Scriptural fellowship we are exhorted to develop is totally
oriented in CHRIST JESUS Himself+.
Contrary
to common opinion, Christian fellowship is NOT doing:
·
the same activities
·
in the same way
·
in the same place
·
at the same time
·
for a common cause
·
with the same people
·
and / or, with goods held in "common."
Many
worldly organizations incorporate these very characteristics and their members
consider themselves to have "fellowship" with each other.
They
may indeed have a fellowship... but they do not have that CHRIST-centered
unique Fellowship that is referred to in Scriptures.
1
John 1:3
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, SO THAT
(Gk) ye also may have FELLOWSHIP WITH US; and TRULY our
FELLOWSHIP is with The FATHER and with HIS SON+ JESUS CHRIST.
CHRISTIAN
Fellowship will be found in the Church oriented in CHRIST JESUS, the one
Apostolic, “Catholic,” Church out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation
… the Church Without Borders, the Church
Without Walls.
Here
is an object lesson from 1 John, chapter 1 to
illustrate this fundamental truth.
Imagine
a two-burner hot plate. Turn the burners
on HIGH and make them bright red. That
is our power.
Secondly,
feature a teapot on each burner, with the SPOUTS facing each other, close
together BUT NOT TOUCHING. The handles
are each turned outward.
Thirdly,
picture clouds of STEAM rising from the two close spouts of the teapots. ...
two separate columns of STEAM.
Q
# 1 What
happens to those two steam clouds when
the water boils, if the two spouts
facing each other, are very close together ?
The columns of steam combine or blend
into each other, making one steam cloud out of two.
Q #
2 Where (or after ) the steam clouds combine, can
you tell or discern one cloud of steam from the other ? In other words, can you
tell WHICH pot is producing WHICH particles of STEAM ?
NO
Q
# 3 There is now ONE thing that
forms a CONNECTION between the separate teapots as they continue to boil. What
is it?
The STEAM
The
STEAM one teapot produces is the SAME kind of STEAM as the other teapot
produces and the two steam clouds combine, merging seamlessly into one cloud of steam.
In
this object lesson, these teapots are filled with Living Water... so
· #4 WHO are the teapots ? You and me
· #5 WHO is the burner ? The
LORD JESUS
· #6 WHAT is the
STEAM ? The HOLY SPIRIT
Let's
think about the Living Water.
John 7:38
He that believeth on ME+, as the Scripture hath said, out
of his belly shall flow rivers of Living Water.
Q
# 7 From where does this LIVING WATER
emanate ?
It
comes from JESUS the LORD, when HE+ is LORD of our lives.
Since
this LIVING WATER comes from JESUS, there is a constant supply flowing into
those vessels, those "teapots," who live for HIM+. Notice that to be
"living," the water is not static but must be flowing --- in and out.
Q
# 8 What will happen to
the water in a teapot if it is not refilled and sits static for a period of
time?
It will evaporate and be gone.
Now,
let's think about the STEAM .
Q
# 9 Can the teapots do ANYTHING on their own to produce the steam ? Can they do
anything other than to CONTAIN the Living Water ?
NO
Q
# 10 Where must the teapot BE to have
its Living Water boil to produce the steam ?
On the burner or connected to the power source.
Since
this power source is JESUS, the power is never, ever turned off. HE+ is always
burning red hot and always burning on HIGH.
Matthew
28:18
JESUS said, ALL authority is given unto ME+ in Heaven and in earth.
Since
" I " am this
vessel -- this teapot -- I have the free will to move myself off the hot burner
at any point in time. I have the free will to dis-connect myself from the power
source whenever I want.
Q
# 11 What happens to my Living Water
when I go off the burner or dis-connect from the power source?
It stops boiling.
Q
# 12 What happens when the boiling ceases?
The steam stops.
Q
# 13 What will happen if I sit off the burner or stay dis-connected ?
The
Living Water will eventually evaporate.
Q
#14 When the STEAM stops, is there ANY WAY I can CONNECT to any of the other
teapots ?
NO
1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the Light, as HE+ is in the Light, we HAVE
fellowship one with another, and the Blood of JESUS CHRIST
HIS SON+ cleanseth us from all sin.
Christian
Fellowship is not formed from a selection of teapots sitting together on a
counter top. Christian Fellowship is not even created by a collection of
teapots once filled with Living Water but now is static, having gone stagnant.
Luke
8:18
Take heed therefore how ye
hear; for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from
him shall be taken even that which he SEEMETH to have. (
See also Luke 19, Mark 4, Matthew 13, Matthew 25 )
Christian
FELLOWSHIP occurs when those teapots filled with Living Water stay connected to JESUS on the hot burner... a
burner hot enough to change that water into STEAM.
Through
the unity of the HOLY SPIRIT is Christian fellowship formed... not by power nor by might, but by MY+ SPIRIT, saith The
LORD.
We cannot --- we simply are NOT able --- to produce
Christian fellowship by our own efforts:
there is no STEAM to unite us. We do NOT have the ABILITY to make our
own STEAM.
Hear John 15:5 …
I+ am the Vine+, ye are the branches: He that abideth in ME+, and I+
in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without ME+ ye can do
nothing.
We must be attached to the Source+ of Power, our LORD JESUS
CHRIST, in order to produce the STEAM which creates Christian fellowship.
WHY? Because CHRISTIAN Fellowship is a
fellowship of the SPIRIT, not a fellowship of common or shared human efforts or
activities.
As the Scripture teaches us truly in 1 John 1:3:
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, SO THAT ye also
may have fellowship with us: and
truly our fellowship is with The FATHER, and with
HIS S0N+ JESUS CHRIST.
We might as well try to connect the cold teapots together by their
handles and then try to "produce steam together" … if we try to
produce fellowship WITHOUT EACH one of us staying lively on that hot burner,
JESUS, our power source.
It simply cannot be done... not with teapots, not with Christian
Fellowship.
· Are you struggling hard to produce Fellowship
?
· Are you on the Hot Burner ?
· Do you remove yourself from the Burner when
the church meeting or cell group is over ?
If so... then the first step is to enter into FELLOWSHIP with
JESUS .
This is easy. You do NOT have to labor at producing
"fellowship," any more than the teapot "labors" to produce
steam. You only have to stay attached to the Vine+, to stay connected to
the Power Source, holding onto JESUS with all of your might.
When you hold onto JESUS with all your might,
HE+ will hold onto
you...
with ALL HIS+ MIGHT !
I John 1: 5-10
This then is the message which we have heard of HIM+, and declare
unto you, that GOD is Light, and in HIM is no darkness at all. If we say that
we have fellowship with HIM+, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the
truth:
But if we walk in the Light, as HE is in the Light, we HAVE
fellowship one with another, and the Blood of JESUS CHRIST
HIS SON+ cleanseth 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 righteous 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.
CHRISTIAN Fellowship is Uniquely Formed
Christian Fellowship, then, is a fruit of our walk with
JESUS. We do not focus on making
fellowship. Rather, we each focus on staying in un-broken fellowship with
JESUS.
If there is no, little, or faulty Christian fellowship amidst
the brethren, then we must FIRST FOCUS on the individuals' walk with CHRIST
JESUS. When each person in the flock is growing in CHRIST --- no matter what
their maturity level --- there will be the fruit of Christian fellowship
growing also.
Now in 1 John, chapter 1, let us do a little statistical
analysis of that chapter.
Out of those 10 verses dealing with Christian Fellowship, only
two verses ( verse 3 and verse 7 ) discuss fellowship with one another within
the Body of CHRIST.
Thus, 80 % of that chapter deals with forming fellowship
WITH the LORD.
That should tell us something about where our priorities ought
to be when forming
"fellowship." The
majority of the flock's effort should be going towards staying attached to The
VINE+, staying attached to JESUS.
That is the great responsibility when tending the flock: to see
that each person is walking with JESUS, staying attached at the core to JESUS.
Problems in fellowship arise when one or two of the flock slide
along, keeping a semblance of Christianity, but who have left their first love
of CHRIST.
The Solution?
Return unto
the FIRST LOVE of The LORD. Seek HIS+ face when problems arise in the
Fellowship. The SPIRIT will be joined
unto The SPIRIT when each person is “right” with GOD because there is no
division when The SPIRIT meets Itself !
The Invitation ~ ~ ~
Revelation 22:17
And the SPIRIT and the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth
say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take
the Water of Life freely.
Matthew 11:28-30
COME unto ME+, all ye that are heavy laden, and I+ will give you
rest. Take MY+ yoke upon you and learn of ME+; for I+ am meek and lowly in
heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For MY+ yoke is easy, and MY+
burden is light.
John 3:17
For GOD sent not HIS SON+ into the world to condemn the world; but
that the world through HIM+ might be saved.
