I love our times of fellowship, don’t you? We joke all the time about how much Baptists love to eat, but I think that one of the reasons we like to eat so much is because of the fellowship that goes along with it. Those times are wonderful and I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for them. But is that all that fellowship is? Is fellowship just limited to the times when we have picnics and dinners together? Is fellowship just limited to the times when we love on each other before and after our services together? No it’s not. Because those things are really just expressions of our true fellowship. True fellowship goes much deeper than handshakes and hugs. True fellowship is the kind of fellowship that Paul shared with the church at Philippi. The kind of fellowship that endured even when they were apart. The kind of fellowship that continually increased, despite prison and persecution. In many of Paul’s letters, he begins with a prayer of thanksgiving. He thanks God for the people he’s writing to. But in this letter to the church at Philippi, that thankfulness seems to overflow. Paul had a very special relationship with the church at Philippi. They weren’t a perfect church. There were some issues going on that he would address later on. There were two ladies who weren’t getting along with each other. Sometimes they were self-centered. At times, they grumbled and complained. They weren’t always unified. They had trouble discerning false teaching. They weren’t always focused on what they were supposed to be doing and weren’t all heading in the same direction. They weren’t a perfect church. But you know what they say about a perfect church. Actually, Spurgeon is credited with saying it first. Spurgeon was pastor of the huge Metropolitan Tabernacle in London and wonderful things were happening there. Thousands would come each Sunday to hear him preach. During the week, they would give out tickets to get in because there wasn’t enough room for everyone that wanted to, to come in. But all of these great things were happening and a lady came up to Spurgeon one Sunday morning after the service. She said, “Mr. Spurgeon, I don’t believe that I will be joining your church.” Spurgeon said, “Why is that?” She said, “Because some things are lacking. It is not quite a perfect church.” Spurgeon looked at her and said, “Ma’am, when you finally find the perfect church, please do not join it. Because if you join it, you will only ruin it.” That’s funny, but it’s true. There are no perfect churches. There never have been and there never will be. And the reason that there are no perfect churches is because churches are made up of imperfect people. And Philippi was the same way. But in spite of that, they were still very special to Paul. Maybe that’s because he knew that he wasn’t perfect either. Later on in this letter, he reminds them of that. In Philippians 3:8-9, he wrote, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” Paul knew that any righteousness in him wasn’t his. He knew it was Christ’s. And he knew that the same Jesus that saved him was the same Jesus that saved the people in the church at Philippi. And because of that, he was able to see them, not for their imperfections… but he was able to see them for who they were in Christ. And because of who they were together in Christ, they were able to have true, real fellowship. In this passage, we see how that fellowship played itself out in two parts. Their fellowship was a gospel fellowship and it was a grace fellowship. First, it was a gospel fellowship. Look back at verse 5-6:
PHILIPPIANS 1:5-6
If we want to have true fellowship, we will have a Gospel fellowship. That kind of Gospel fellowship has an understanding of the past, and it has a glorious hope in the future. I have been part of many different kinds of groups in my life. Groups at school. Groups at work. Community groups. And yes, groups at different churches. And no matter what kind of group you’re part of, all groups have a past, present and future. Sometimes the past is glorious. Sometimes it’s forgettable. Sometimes the future looks promising. Sometimes it looks bleak. But there is no organization on the face of the earth that has what we have. There is no organization on the face of the earth that has the hope and the promise and the forgiveness of the Gospel. You see, it didn’t matter what had gone on in the Philippian church in the past. It didn’t matter what had gone on in that community in the past. It didn’t matter because they shared a fellowship with Paul in the Gospel from the first day until now. Their fellowship wasn’t based on their mood. It wasn’t based on their feelings. It wasn’t based on how many mistakes they had made or how they had blown it with each other in the past. No, their fellowship was in the Gospel. That meant that whoever they were in the past had been covered by the blood of Christ. That meant that all of their past sins were wiped away. It meant that all of their present sins had been wiped away. And it meant that their future sins had been wiped away. From the first day until now, they had ALL been paid for. And because of that, verse 6 says that they could be confident. Confident in what? Their ability to do the right thing all the time? Their ability to overcome problems? Their ability to bond together and be unified? Their ability to see changes coming and deal with them? How could they be confident in those things? The fact was that they didn’t really have the ability to do any of those things. But people in a Gospel fellowship don’t have confidence in the things that they can do. No—people in a Gospel fellowship have confidence in the things that Jesus is doing. People in a Gospel fellowship have confidence that Jesus will finish what He starts. Despite the fact that he was in prison, Paul and the Philippian Church knew that Jesus would finish what He started in him. Despite the fact that they weren’t a perfect church, they knew that Jesus would finish what He started in them. There might have been problems in their past. There might have been flaws in their present. But their future looked as bright as the sun. Not because of who they were. But because of who Jesus is. And that gave them a bond that was deeper than any fellowship you can imagine. We all know that Brushfork has not had a perfect past. And goodness knows that I have not had a perfect past. But a perfect past is not what will bond us together in a Gospel fellowship. And if we’re honest with ourselves, we all know that Brushfork is not perfect right now. And it doesn’t take a whole lot of insight to know that I’m not perfect right now—far from it. But thank God that our perfection is not what we are to have confidence in. If all we were looking for was human fellowship, maybe that’s what it would take. But we’re not looking for human fellowship. We’re looking for Gospel fellowship. And Gospel fellowship comes from understanding that, despite the imperfections of our past, Christ has been working in us. And Gospel fellowship comes from understanding that, despite how imperfect we might be today, Christ is still working in us. And He will continue to work in us. Because He isn’t through with us yet. Jesus has started a Gospel work in us… and He won’t stop until He’s finished. That is a Gospel fellowship. It’s the realization that it wasn’t us that started this thing. And it isn’t going to be us that finishes it. But not only does true fellowship consist of Gospel fellowship, it also consists of grace fellowship. Look at verses 7-8:
PHILIPPIANS 1:7-8
If we want to have true fellowship, we will also have a grace fellowship. Notice in verse 7 when Paul says that they are partakers of his grace. The word that’s translated “partakers” is “syn-koinonos”. The word for fellowship in verse 5 is “koinonea”. They’re both from the same root word which means to share. So Paul is saying that they have true fellowship because they share in the Gospel and because they share in grace. They have Gospel fellowship and they have grace fellowship. When we hear the words “grace fellowship”, we might have the tendency to have some sort of Hallmark card picture of what that means. Flowers and angels and light beams. But is that how Paul pictured it here? No. How did he say that the Philippian church was sharing grace fellowship with him? They were specifically sharing it in two areas. They were sharing grace fellowship in his bonds. And they were sharing grace fellowship in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. That doesn’t sound much like your typical Baptist fellowship, does it? It doesn’t sound like there was fried chicken at either one of those. But what does that tell us about true fellowship? True fellowship isn’t manufactured. It isn’t casually built with plans and programs and team-building exercises. True, grace fellowship is forged in the fire. Because it’s when we’re in the fire that we really need the grace of Christ to bring us through, isn’t it? Paul could have never made it through what he went through apart from the grace of Christ. And because of the love they had for each other, when Paul was in prison, it hurt the Philippian church as much as it hurt him. Isn’t that the way we should be toward each other? When one of us hurts, shouldn’t all of us hurt? If we are a grace fellowship, we will. But not only did the Philippian church share in Paul’s imprisonment, they shared in his work. Grace fellowship meant that they shared in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel. In other words, Paul was not the giver with them being receivers. They weren’t gospel sponges waiting to soak up what Paul was giving out. No—they were together in the defense of the Gospel. They were together in the confirmation of the Gospel. Do you know what that means? It means that they lived lives that confirmed the truth of the Gospel to a watching world. The Gospel was not just a sales presentation to them. It was a lifestyle. It showed in the way they handled grief. It showed in the way they handled adversity. It showed in the way they dealt with opposition. It showed in everything they did. When Paul was in prison, they loved him and hurt for him. But they didn’t despair. They didn’t despair, because their hope was in Jesus. And they trusted Jesus. And when Jesus made them a promise, they believed Him. Do people see that kind of grace fellowship in us? If a complete stranger walked in here, what would they see? I know that they would see that we’re friendly. Many of us are quick to introduce ourselves and welcome them. But is that all that they would see? What do you think they would see in our grief? What do you think they would see in our difficulties? What do you think they would hear in the way we make our prayer requests? What kind of grace do we show in our fellowship? To we show grace? Do we confirm the gospel in the way we live? Or do we show panic and worry and confusion and despair and frustration? If we want to have true fellowship, we’re going to have to have a grace fellowship. We’re going to have to have a Gospel fellowship and a grace fellowship.
I have no doubt in my mind that we love each other. And I know that whenever we have to be apart, I feel just like Paul did in verses 3 and 4. “I thank God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy.” We do have a wonderful fellowship together. And it is much deeper than just sharing meals together. But I want it to be even more. I want us to share a true Gospel fellowship. I want us to share a true partnership in the Gospel of Christ. That means we’re going to have to continually remember that what we share is far deeper than personal preference. What we share is far deeper than any flaws or differences. What we share is far deeper than any past hurts or difficulties. What we share is the saving power of Jesus Christ. What we share is that we were all lost and deserving of nothing but the pure, everlasting wrath of an all-powerful God. And by His grace and by His mercy, He reached into time and chose us. He chose us and washed us and cleansed us with the blood of His Son. He gave us a new set of clothes—righteous clothes to cover our filth and shame. And we stand before Him and before each other as heirs and joint-heirs with His own Son. Each of us deserves the exact same thing. And each of us has been given the exact same thing. The ground is level at the foot of the cross where we stand. And because of that, we have confidence. Not confidence in ourselves. Not confidence in our abilities. Not confidence in what I can do for you, or in what you can do for me. We have confidence in Christ. And we have confidence that when He saves us, He’s not finished with us. And we have confidence that He won’t stop with us until He is finished with us. That is the Gospel we share. That is the Gospel fellowship we must have if we want to have true fellowship in here. I want us to share that kind of true Gospel fellowship. And I want us to share a true grace fellowship. I want us to be true partakers together of the grace of Christ. If I was to be thrown in prison or be diagnosed with a horrible brain tumor… I would want to be so full of God’s grace that I could experience joy in that situation. And I would want you to rejoice as well. Not rejoice that I was sick or in prison. But rejoice that God is in control and He has a plan and His will will be done and He will be glorified. That would be a true grace fellowship. The kind of true grace fellowship that we can show by the way we handle any of our difficulties. The kind of true grace fellowship that we can show in any of our grief. That we can show in any of our relationships. That we can show in any of our hardships. I want us to show our grace fellowship in the way we continually confirm the Gospel in the way we live our lives with confidence and hope and love and joy.
So what’s stopping us from having that kind of fellowship? Maybe it’s some personal disappointment that somebody hasn’t been all that you wanted them to be. Maybe it’s that you’re just too distracted with everything else in life that you haven’t really thought about that kind of fellowship. Maybe you’re so wrapped up in relationships outside this church that you don’t think you have enough emotional energy left to invest here. You see, this thing called Brushfork Baptist Church is a whole lot more than just a place we come on Sundays and Wednesdays. This is our life. It is who we are as believers in Jesus. We have been called here together. And we’ve been called here to share in a Gospel fellowship and in a grace fellowship. And I thank God that He’s working us toward that and won’t quit until He’s accomplished it in us.
