Christian Fellowship

“Christian Fellowship”

Acts 2:42-47

David P. Nolte

One of the most vital and pleasant aspects of being a Christian is fellowship. Someone said that “Fellowship is two fellows on the same ship.” That definition is only partly correct but deficient. Fellowship is more than propinquity – more than being in the same place at the same time. That happens in a collision or a fist-fight – and that isn’t fellowship.

Fellowship means more than an incidental sharing of an elevator or bus seat. It goes beyond the surface to the heart and mind and soul. It happens when one life is entwined with another in a positive and beneficial way.

Camp Koinonia means Camp fellowship. The word Koinonia means, “partnership, communion, communication, sharing or distribution, contribution.” (Strong’s).

After the day of Pentecost, the birthday of the church, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47 (NASB).

The song written by Terry Scott Taylor and sung by Paul Miller, speaks of fellowship like that saying,

“All day sing and dinner on the ground

Young folks, old folks are gatherin' around

Delicious is the meal and joyful is the sound

of an All day sing and dinner on the ground

It's an old fashion notion and a new fashion day

People that are friendly and people that pray

Everybody's welcome and heaven's above

What's brought us all together is a thing called love”

Consider the aspects of Christian fellowship:

I. THE SOURCE OF FELLOWSHIP:

A. Jesus is the source; He is

1. The Son about Whom we orbit.

2. The magnet that pulls us to Himself and all of us together.

3. The light toward which we gravitate.

B. Jesus indicates that our fellowship is based on relationship to Him, as He prayed, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” John 17:22-23 (NASB).

1. Our unity is in our common relationship to Jesus.

2. This unity, or fellowship, brought together a diverse bunch to become the 12 Apostles:

a. Four (or more) were fishermen.

b. One was a tax collector who worked for Rome.

c. One was a zealot who hated Rome and tax collectors.

d. One was a doubter.

e. The others may have been tradesmen or craftsmen, but the Bible does not say what they did before becoming followers of Christ. Most of them were from Galilee so may have been long time friends.

f. Their fellowship was centered on their relationship to Jesus not what they may have had in common and in spite of their differences..

C. People seem to find some rallying point.

1. For some it is a lodge or club or service organization.

2. For some it is sports.

3. For some it is just family.

4. For some it is a political activism.

5. All those will come to an end but greater and fuller and longer is our fellowship in Jesus.

D. There was a little girl whose parents had been arguing a lot and it troubled her greatly. One day as the girl was crossing the street she was knocked down by a car. Taken to the hospital, she was examined by the doctors. Hastily summoned to the hospital, her parents waited through the long hours of surgery. Then in the ICU they stood silently, one on either side of the bed, looking down helplessly at the little girl. As they stood there, the child's eyes suddenly opened and seeing her parents she tried to smile. Then drawing one arm from under the sheet, she held it out in the direction of her father. "Daddy," she said, "give me your hand." Turning to her mother, she stretched out her other arm. "Mommy," she said, "give me your hand." Then she drew their hands together. They suddenly realized what they had nearly lost, and their love for the little girl drew them closer to one another and they determined to work together thereafter to make hers a happy home.