Title: “Why is Fellowship Essential for the Christian?” Scripture: Philemon vv.4-7
Type: Series Where: GNBC 7-14-02/revised 9/14/08
Intro: In 1773, the young pastor of a poor church in Wainsgate, England, was called to a large and influential church in London. John Fawcett was a powerful preacher and writer, and these skills had brought him this opportunity. But as the wagons were being loaded with the Fawcetts’ few belongings, their people came for a tearful farewell. During the good-byes, Mary Fawcett cried, “John, I cannot bear to leave!” “Nor can I,” he replied. “We shall remain here with our people.” The wagons were unloaded, and John Fawcett spent his entire fifty-four-year ministry in Wainsgate. Out of that experience, Fawcett wrote the beautiful hymn, “Blest Be the Tie that Binds.” (Today in the Word, August, 1996, p. 6)
Prop: Examining Philemon 4-7 we’ll see 3 reasons why fellowship is essential for the believer.
BG: 1. Interesting letter that was written when Onesimus, a slave, runs from Philemon, owner, while hiding out in Rome, meets up and is converted under Paul! Paul appeals to the owner to receive back his slave as a one would a brother.
2. Lasting principle about Christian fellowship – takes people of various stations/cultures/classes, and makes them equal as brothers and sisters in Christ.
3. There is a mutual interdependence associated with fellowship.
Prop: Exam. this passage we will see three vital areas Christian fellowship addresses.
I. Fellowship Speaks of Our Common Inheritance as Christians. Vv. 4-5
A. At its Root or Most Basic Level, Fellowship relates to What we have in Common.
1. As Christians we are to have much in common with one another.
a. In original language: “koinos” is root word – means “common”, nouns = koinonia – fellowship, or koinonos – partner (Peter/Andrew, James/John were koinonos in the fishing industry in Galilee), or as a verb – koinoneo – to share. (Didn’t state that to bore you, but rather to demonstrate to you that most intregal element of Christian Fellowship carries w. idea of a common or shared element.
b. Illust- If you have ever owned stock in a company or mutual fund, you are a koinonoi- someone who holds property in common, partners, or shareholders of a common concern. I know many of us have had it engrained in minds that all partnerships are bad. For the sake of this, need to get beyond that to see how as Christians we are to be partners with our brothers and sisters. Too many lone-wolf individual entrepeneurs in Christianity that miss out on responsibility to one another.
2. Paul, Speaking to Philemon, comments on their common Spiritual Inheritance.
a. vv. 4-5 – Paul stated that he had seen and known of the faith which Philemon had in the Lord Jesus, and toward all the saints.” Love and faith, Paul saw these twin towers of Christian virtue in Philemon and remarked about them. Love and faith should be evident in all believers.
b. Illust: Our faith in Jesus Christ pulls people together who otherwise would have had little to do with one another. I saw this in first church, asst. pastor. Archie and Jean were inseparable friends. Archie was a retired white Army staff sergeant from Philadelphia, MS (not a city of brotherly love in days of civil rights movement), and Jean was a young woman lawyer, one of a nearly a dozen children from a black SC sharecropping family. A generation earlier would not have even been culturally proper to talk to one another. Yet, due to the work of Christ in both of their hearts very close friends along with Archie’s wife, Maetrude.
B. Fellowship Must be Demonstrated in the Local Church.
1. The World Needs and is Looking for the fellowship that is found in the church.
a. Illust- M.E. MacDonald has written that: “The real menace to life in the world today is not the hydrogen or atomic bomb…but the fact of proximity without community.”
b. Bruce Larson sees this need in even more comprehensible terms as he illustrates: “The neighborhood bar is possibly the best counterfeit there is to the fellowship Christ wants to give His Church. It’s an imitation, dispensing liquor instead of grace, escape rather than reality, but it is an accepting and inclusive fellowship. The bar flourishes not because most people are alcoholics but because God has put into the human heart the desire to know and be known, to love and be loved, and so many seek a counterfeit at the price of a few beers.”
2. Christians Need to be able to express themselves in the fellowship of believers.
a. In Psalm 133:1 we read “Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer. Illust – Paul referred to Timothy as his “dearly beloved son in the faith”, Paul remembered the congregation in Thessalonica, saying that he prayed “night and day exceedingly that he might see their face” (IThes. 3:10). The aged Apostle John knew that his “joy wouldn’t be full until came to own people to speak face to face” (IIJn. 12)
b. Illust- As a pastor for 20 yrs. I have seen many new Christians (as well as older) “tube it” over time. Almost without exception, at least a major contributing factor in their spiritual demise has been a lack of fellowship. We all need to be involved in smaller groups, SCL, Bible Studies, fun activities together so as to grow and become accountable to one another. As a congregation we have a goal to have 80% of everyone who attends GNBC be involved in a small group of some sort. This includes either a home Bible study, a women’s study, SCL/SS. And although we stress the need for Christian education, an equally valid motivating factor is our need as believers for fellowship. (What is our 1st Core Value??)
C. Applic: Christianity means fellowship through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. No Christian fellowship is more or less than this. We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ.
II. Fellowship Speaks of Our Cooperative Service as Christians. V.6
A. Fellowship is More than What we Share In Together, It is Also What we Share Out.
1. Fellowship in the NT concerns not only what we possess but also what we do together.
a. Paul is writing Philemon to tell him that his faith in Christ is to be no mere individual experience, but it is to be a blessing held in common with others. There are wonderful blessings in the Christian heritage to be enjoyed in the communion of others.
b. Illust- In much of Christianity, fellowship is defined: “FOOD” – however, we need to move beyond the idea that fellowship is merely eating together. Fellowship also takes place when we work on a house or car together, run or play basketball/softball together, or simply spending time together. Fellowship is defined as when two or more Christians spend time in wholesome activities together that have at least some type of spiritual focus. (Illust – Tom and Karen Greene – SC friends. God led them to be more hospitable. Along with this, to add a spiritual focus. With that focus was praying with friends or family at end of the meal for any needs/issues had in life at that time.)
2. The Gospel is a Wonderful Treasure we are Called to Share with others.
a. In this passage, Paul desires that Philemon’s faith in Christ, which we have seen to be linked with love (v.5), should be shared. His (and our) faith in Christ is to be no mere individual experience, but is to be a blessing enjoyed in common with others. And as Paul says here in v. 6 we become more effective in Christ when we realize more and more who we are in Christ. (Read v. 6 again). But notice, those good things that are being developed in you is not simply for you to sit on, rather they are to be employed in the Body for “Christ’s sake”.
b. Illust: As CH Dodd has said: “Christ called those who were partners in a fishing industry to be partners in the fishing for the souls of men.” And so we are! Every Christian, whether in possession of the gift of evangelism or not, must be concerned with the plight of the lost. Not only is this true individually, but it should be true corporately of churches as well.
B. As Xstians we’re to Demonstrate Fellowship by the Sharing of our Material Possessions.
1. From our Beginning Christians Have Been Identified with Giving and Sharing wealth.
a. Illust: In Acts 2:44 Luke says the believers had “all things in common”, In ITim 6:18 rich people are told to be specially koinonikos – generous, all Christians are told not to neglect koinonia- to share what they have – Heb. 13:16; IN Rom. 12:13 – Told to koinoneo – contribute to the needs of the saints. The Macedonian churches took up a koinonia (contribution) for the poor saints at Jerusalem.
b. Illust- IN the first type of fellowship we examined we see believers looking inward at inheritance, this time we see believers looking outward to serve.
2. This Outward Sharing is not a Given, but must be practiced diligently.
a. “effective” = energes – energy! Energy to be engaged in work, capable of doing active and powerful work. However, “to become” – ginomai (ghin-om-ahee) “to cause to be” – So, Paul is praying that their faith will inspire an action of obedience to what he requests, namely that Onesimus will be welcomed back without punishment by his master.
b. Illust- How do we apply this principle to our lives? – Simply going to a church service does not mean you are practicing this level of fellowship. This begins when you and I start to prayerfully consider how we may use our energy to help meet the needs of local body. Listen, if all you are doing in the Christian life is receiving, you are missing out on one of the most fundamental elements of fellowship. (Many leaving churches to start family-churching – unfortunately can’t get along w. other Christians, speaks volumes about inability to get along w. others rather than own spirituality. Besides, miss out on this most basic element of fellowship.
C. Applic: Fellowship is essential because Christian fellowship encourages Christian love and service.
III. Fellowship Speaks of Our Reciprocal Responsibility as Christians. V.7
• Here we see the picture of Christians in a circle facing each other.
A. In the Christian Faith there is to be a Partnership of Giving and Receiving.
1. The Christian Life is to be a life that is shared in relationships with other Christians.
a. in v. 7 Paul states that believers have been blessed by the ministry of Philemon. But, later on in the letter, Paul reminds Philemon that (v.19) “you owe to me your very own self as well.”
b. The Ministry of Fellowship should not be all one-sided. In fact, if you are always on the receiving end, if you are never helping to bless others, you will not grow in your spiritual life. (This is true in our social welfare program in this country. When you take away from people the duty to return the help they have been given, when you permanently impoverish and make a people dependent, you take away all compulsion to rise above their circumstance.) Illust- Recently talking to a woman who had received fair bit of help from the church, grateful. Displayed gratefulness also by stating: “I cannot wait until I am past this time so I to can help in the way others have helped me.”
2. Paul Had A Strong Sense of Responsibility and Interdependence b/t Xstians & Churches.
a. Illust- Although Paul was an Apostle, bearing the Name and Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles, he was also humble enough to be willing to acknowledge his need of what others could give to him. Writing to the church at Rome he said that he longed to impart some spiritual gift to strengthen them, yet at the same time he recognized that they would be “mutually encouraged by each other’s faith…” (Rom. 1:12-13) And, did not our Lord receive on occasion help from others, even a cup of water from an immoral Samaritan woman?
b. Christian, do not be so proud that when you have a need you keep quiet about it or worse yet, refuse to allow another to minister to you. By doing such you may just be cutting off both the blessing God desires to give to you as well as the blessing He desires to give to another brother or sister who is seeking to employ his/her spiritual gift in service to you.
3. Fellowship is Comforting and Encouraging.
a. Look at v. 7 – Paul says that Philemon’s life and ministry has been a blessing to him, personally. He has come to have joy and comfort through this fellowship. Joy – charis – a favor done w/o expectation of return; absolute freeness of a loving God. It is the same word we translate grace. Comfort – parakiesis – can be an act of calling for help or begging, but also exhortation or encouragement for the purpose of strengthening the believer.
b. Illust – Charles Durham tells story of watching light heavweight match. The boxers were a thirty-one-year-old Scotsman and a man from the United States who was six years younger. The Scot was the reigning champion, and the bout was being fought before a crowd of twenty thousand in Glasgow. The champion had said before the match that he would rather die than be beaten before his own people; but the younger contender had never before been beaten in a professional contest. “Soon after the match began it became clear that the battle would be close. As I sat watching, I heard something unlike anything I had ever heard before. It was faint at first, but it seemed to be singing—singing at a boxing match! Gradually, it became louder; hundreds and hundreds of male voices singing a strange Scottish melody. I could hardly believe it. They were singing encouragement for their champion. As he fought for his crown, but even more for the respect of the Scottish people, they sang to encourage him. “I have not thought about that contest since without a lump rising in my throat; nor have I thought of it without thinking how like the Christian’s battle it was, and how like the role of the church to sing encouragement for its members”. (Charles Durham, Temptation, InterVarsity Press, 1982, p. 125)
You cannot put a price tag on the fellowship you experience in a congregation. (Don’t take for granted that you have the privilege of living among other Christians. Jesus lived life among enemies. At the end all of His disciples deserted Him. On the Cross He was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause He came to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thinck of foes. That is our commission. That is our work. That is why we need one another. (Bonhoeffer, Life Together, p. 17)
B. We are to live out this
1. The Bible is Full of Commands for “One another” that bespeaks our fellowship.
a. Jn. 13:34-35 – Jesus said: “A new command I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.” All of the other “one another” verses in the Bible are merely an outworking of this verse. We are not to bite and devour or provoke or envy or lie or speak evil or grumble against one another all as a result of this.
2. Illust- The truth of the matter is, that much of evangelical Christianity needs to repent of the spirit of Cain in our midst. Certainly we are to be our brother’s keeper, because in fact he is our brother and she is our sister.
C. Applic: Christian fellowship means we need others because of Jesus Christ. It means secondly that a Christian comes to other Christians through Jesus Christ. Third, it means that in Jesus Christ we have been chosen from eternity, accepted in time, and united for eternity.
Conclusion: Linda, a young woman, was traveling alone up the rutted and rugged highway from Alberta to the Yukon. Linda didn’t know you don’t travel to Whitehorse alone in a rundown Honda Civic, so she set off where only four-wheel drives normally venture. The first evening she found a room in the mountains near a summit and asked for a 5 A.M. wakeup call so she could get an early start. She couldn’t understand why the clerk looked surprised at that request, but as she awoke to early- morning fog shrouding the mountain tops, she understood. Not wanting to look foolish, she got up and went to breakfast. Two truckers invited Linda to join them, and since the place was so small, she felt obliged. "Where are you headed?" one of the truckers asked. ’Whitehorse’ "In that little Civic? No way! This pass is dangerous in weather like this." "Well, I’m determined to try," was Linda’s gutsy, if not very informed, response. "Then I guess we’re just going to have to hug you," the trucker suggested. Linda drew back. "There’s no way I’m going to let you touch me!" "Not like THAT!" the truckers chuckled. "We’ll put one truck in front of you and one in the rear. In that way, we’ll get you through the mountains." All that foggy morning Linda followed the two red dots in front of her and had the reassurance of a big escort behind as they made their way safely through the mountains. Caught in the fog in our dangerous passage through life, we need to be "hugged." With fellow Christians who know the way and can lead safely ahead of us, and with others behind, gently encouraging us along, we, too, can pass safely.
