“FELLOWSHIP IN THE GOSPEL” 1 Thess. 2:17-3:5
FBCF – 2/22/26
Jon Daniels
INTRO – How would you answer a lost person who asks you, “What are the benefits of becoming a Christian?”
- Salvation & eternal life
- Safety & Security
- Stability in storms of life
- Spirit-led guidance & leadership
How would you answer someone who is a Christian who asks you, “What are the benefits of joining a church, or joining your church?”
- Connections in community
- Consistent Biblical truth taught & preached
- Compassion in times of grief, pain, & struggle
- Covered in prayer
One word that you might use is the word “fellowship.” In fact, application point says:
APPLICATION – Our fellowship in the Gospel unites us together to do His work.
Word “fellowship” – Used more in a church context than anywhere else. Don’t know of any other group or organization or business that would have a large room designated as a “fellowship hall.” Don’t walk into a school or hospital or office building & ask where the fellowship hall is. Look at you like you’re crazy. But walk into most any church building & ask & they’ll show you right to it. It’s the big room where you eat – which is what we think about most often when we think about fellowship in a church – fried chicken, casseroles, potato salad, that congealed strawberry dish that has the pretzels on the bottom, banana pudding, lemon icebox pie, & the food that only heathens eat, English peas!
Nothing wrong w/ a good meal together as a church FAMILY. In fact, there’s a lot that’s right about that kind of fellowship meal together. Early church – Acts 2:42 – “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” “breaking of bread” referred to the Lord’s Supper, but also was a common expression for having a meal together – Men’s Steak Supper – March 28 – Ladies “Evening in December” – Youth have pizza fellowships or eat the sacred chicken nuggets from Chick Fil A. A lot of wonderful Gospel conversations happen around a table full of food.
- Psalm 55:14 – “We used to take sweet counsel together; within God's house we walked in the throng.”
- “What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God.” (NLT)
- “sweet fellowship” (NASB)
- Heb for “sweet fellowship” is namtiq sod – a sweet, pleasant, intimate conversation or counsel
“fellowship” in NT – Gk word koinonia – 20 times in NT – Refers to a deep partnership – the deep intimate connection between us & God, & between fellow Christ-followers. Also speaks to believers & churches working together to spread the Gospel & share the love of Christ w/ those in need. Like these guys here (pics of disaster relief team at Lula).
- 2 Corinthians 13:14 – “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” – the partnership & intimate connection we have w/ the HS
- Philippians 3:10-11 – “My goal is to know [Christ] and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death…” – “When you are going through a rough time, remember that JC invites you to get to know Him better through it…Suffering is a call to intimacy w/ Jesus.” (Tony Evans)
- 1 John 1:7 – “…if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another…” – As we walk in the light of Jesus & follow Him, we will be deeply connected w/ our fellow brothers & sisters in Christ. We will have a deep desire to work together to get the Gospel out to the world.
As we continue in this “Handbook for the Christ-follower”, let’s consider what it means to “Fellowship in the Gospel.” We’ve already seen that, as Christ-followers, there will be strong evidence in our lives that we belong to Jesus through our strong prayer life, our example that we set, our faith that we spread, & our hope that Jesus is coming again soon. We’ve also seen that we have been entrusted w/ the Gospel, & like the Olympic torch relay runners, we are to pass the Gospel on to others. Our fellowship together in the Gospel is a HUGE part of all of this.
EXPLANATION – 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5
Paul LOVED these folks, as he did all of the churches he was connected to. You know why? B/c when you love Jesus, you love His Church – You love His Bride. You can’t separate them.
- If you tell me, “Jon, I love you but I hate your wife,” then you & I have a serious fellowship problem.
- If you love Jesus as the Head of the Church, then you love His Body.
- If you love Jesus as the Vine, then you love the branches of the vine.
- If you love Jesus as the Shepherd, then you love His sheep.
- You simply cannot separate Jesus from the Church.
Sure, some folks say, “I love Jesus but I don’t like those folks down at THAT church” – a specific local congregation. Probably have some folks who say this about us. Don’t like me as the Pastor here – have had a falling out w/ someone who’s a member here – got hurt by someone who’s a part of our FAMILY – disagree w/ our mission & vision of “Making much of Jesus by being a people & a place of GRACE where anyone can meet Jesus & grow in their relationship w/ Him.”
But, biblically speaking - & that’s the ONLY way that we as Christ-followers can speak b/c we have “received the Word of God…& accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the Word of God” (2:13) – you can’t love Jesus & not love His Church. If that’s the position of your heart, then you’ve got a serious fellowship problem – not just w/ the people who make up the Church, but w/ Jesus Himself - & you need to repent & let Him restore your fellowship w/ Him & w/ His Church.
Wonderful benefits of our fellowship in the Gospel – 3 words:
FAMILY: We LOVE – 2:17-18 – We fellowship as a FAMILY. P said that he had been “torn away” from this church FAMILY – “orphaned” (NASB). Tells you something about the depth of his love for them.
Ever had a family member “torn away” from you? Reminded me of story of Hudson Taylor, great missionary to China in 1800’s. On Sept. 23, 1853, he & his mother went down to dock for him to set sail for China. Neither knew if they’d ever see each other again. He was 20 yrs old. Listen to his words of that experience that day:
"Never shall I forget that day, nor how she went with me into the cabin that was to be my home for nearly six long months. With a mother’s loving hand she smoothed the little bed. She sat by my side & joined in the last hymn we should sing together before parting. We knelt down & she prayed – the last mother’s prayer I was to hear before leaving for China. Then notice was given that we must separate, & we had to say goodbye, never expecting to meet on earth again [& they never did].
For my sake she restrained her feelings as much as possible. We parted, & she went ashore giving me her blessing. I stood alone on deck, & she followed the ship as we moved toward the dock gates. As we passed through the gates & the separation really commenced, never shall I forget the cry of anguish wrung from that mother’s heart. It went through me like a knife. I never knew so fully until then what ‘God so loved the world’ meant. And I am quite sure my precious mother learned more of the love of God for the perishing in that one hour than in all her life before." (https://www.itslikethis.org/hudson-leaves-home/)
That’s the love of family! And that’s the depth of the love we have for one another in our fellowship in the Gospel. We grieve when we are torn away from one another. And we can’t wait to see them again. We have a “great desire” to see each other face to face again. We’re not perfect. We are broken, but we are broken together. There’s a depth of love in the Church that you will not find anywhere else in the world.
FAITH: We ENCOURAGE – v. 19-3:4 – P was upfront w/ the Thess believers about the “afflictions” that they’d endure. V. 3 – He & they “were destined for” tough times. V. 4 – “we kept telling your beforehand that we were to suffer afflictions.” No sugarcoating it. Tough times are coming.
But in those times, we encourage one another to stand strong in faith & not be moved by them. The word “encourage” literally means to put courage in! We’re together. When my faith is faltering, your faith put courage back in my heart. When your faith is wavering, my faith puts courage back in your heart.
Recent situation rocked my faith. Wasn’t doubting God or His Word – just wrestling through some fears. Need someone to put courage in me. Called my 2 biological brothers who are also my brothers in Christ. Why? B/c I know that their faith is strong & I knew they’d stand w/ me in prayer. And they did & they are even now. That’s fellowship in the Gospel.
FIGHT: We DEFEND – 2:18, 3:5 – P mentioned Satan hindering him in v. 18, & mentioned the tempter in v. 5 – Same evil being that we deal w/ on a daily basis – Satan, the tempter, our adversary & enemy, the deceiver & liar & the father of lies, the roaring lion seeking to devour us.
What do we do as we fellowship in the Gospel? We fight for one another! We defend one another! We take up the Sword of the Spirit which is the W of G! We fervently pray in the Spirit for one another! We rescue one another from the clutches of the enemy!
CONCLUSION – Fellowship in the Gospel means family, faith, & fight! Let’s GO!
