Text: 1 John 1:1-4
Key Verse: “We proclaim to you
what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And
our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).
Why is it that some Christians
seem to be transformed by contact with Jesus Christ, but others are not? Some
Christians, even Christians of long standing, still seem to be very much
conformed to the world around them, even deformed in their views and outlooks.
Yet all of them stoutly assert that they are Christians, that they too have
been born again by faith in Jesus Christ. It is not strange that the world
asks, What is wrong? Why is this condition true? The secret, John says, is
fellowship.
What is fellowship? In the Navy
we used to say it was two fellows on the same ship, and there is a sense in
which that is true. They do have something in common—the same ship. That is the
basis of fellowship, for essentially this word means to have all things in
common. When you have something in common with another, you can have fellowship
with that person. If you have nothing in common, you have no fellowship.
We all have things in common. We
share human life in common. Most of us share American citizenship in common.
But John is talking about that unique fellowship that is the possession only of
those who share life in Jesus Christ together. This makes them one, and this
oneness is the basis for the appeal of Scripture: to live together in
tenderness and love toward one another. Not because we are inherently wonderful
people or remarkable personalities or that we are naturally gracious, kind,
loving, and tender all the time—for at times we are grouchy, scratchy, and
irritating to others. But we are still to love one another. Why? Because we
share life together. We have something in common. We share the life of the Lord
Jesus, and therefore we have fellowship with one another.
We must understand the difference
between relationship and fellowship. Relationship is becoming a member of the
family of God by faith in Jesus Christ. It is established by asking Him to come
into your life and heart. John makes that clear at the end of this letter. He
who has the Son has life (that is relationship); he who does not have the Son
of God does not have life (he does not have a relationship) 1 John 5:12.
The Christian life starts right
there with this matter of relationship. Relationship is accepting Christ;
fellowship is experiencing Him. You can never have fellowship until you have
established relationship, but you can certainly have relationship without
fellowship. Relationship puts us into the family of God, but fellowship permits
the life of that family to shine through us. That is what marks the difference
between Christians.
Fellowship is the key to vital Christianity. That is why this letter of Apostle John,
which calls us back to fundamental issues, focuses first on that. The important
question is, as a Christian, are you enjoying fellowship with the Father and
with His Son?
*** Culled from Ray Stedman Ministry Daily Devotional | www.raystedman.org ***
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