The Joy of True Fellowship

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"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. We write this to make (y)our joy complete." 1 John 1:3,4

True fellowship with one another comes out of the fellowship each one of us has with God.  At the same time, true fellowship with one another is hindered when we don't have true fellowship with God.

"God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." 1 John 1:5-7

The fruit of fellowship with God should be that the believer lives by the truth.

"The man who says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him." 1 John 2:4

When believers don't live by the truth, they will hinder true fellowship with one another. The greatest joy is found when believers walk in the light and together have unhindered fellowship with God.

As much as I believe that God always works despite us, I also believe that God is looking for a people who are committed to fellowship with Him and fellowship with one another.

Unity is a very powerful thing. Where there is true fellowship, God will pour out His Spirit (Psalm 133). Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is inexpressible joy. The joy and love we experience when we are reconciled to those we love will be poured over a people who are committed to living in unity and love.

My prayer is that the Church would receive revelation, would experience and would live according to what Christ has purchased for us by His blood. The truth is that Christ's death has opened the way for man to have true fellowship with God and one another (Ephesians 2:14-22). Through faith in Jesus, the believer is made one with God and with every other believer. This is a divine mystery that could only be accomplished by God. To live "by the truth" is to live according to the reality of our union with God and one another. The question is, "Will we live according to this amazing truth and be devoted to fellowship with God and one another?"

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." John 15:9-12

Who are you comparing yourself to?

"When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise." 2 Cor. 10:12

The apostle Paul's words are a sobering reminder that our fellow Christians are not the plumb line by which we are to measure our walk with God. What is "in", popular and the latest fashion can be dangerously misleading if we allow these to become the standard by which we test our faith. Rather, Paul says,

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you — unless, of course, you fail the test?" 2 Cor. 13:5

What is the test? John writes,

"Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." 1 John 2:6

Those who live from the Spirit, compare themselves to Jesus and seek to live like Him, regardless of whether others are doing the same. In fact, God rewards our secret obedience because we believe in Him and don't depend on the recognition of man (see Matthew 6:1-21).

The treasure that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 6 is the reward for living for God's pleasure rather than the approval of man. When we face our Lord on that great day when all of creation will be judged and the Lord asks us each, individually,

"What did you do on earth to love others and please me?"

we will realise that there is no place for an answer like, "our church didn't have a ministry for the poor" or "our church didn't have any outreaches" etc..

God wants to answer, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!" Matthew 25:21

Let's not compare ourselves to one another and be foolish but rather "understand what the Lord's will is" (Eph. 5:17) and do it. If your relationship and your obedience to God is dependent on how you see others walk with God then you will probably only be as close to God and obedient to God as those around you. If, however, you compare yourself to Jesus and seek to live as He did on earth, you will store up for yourself lasting treasures in heaven and be revived as you live for God and serve Him only!

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What are you waiting for (part 2)?

Many Christians are waiting for God to touch their lives. They either seek His touch in prayer or they attend meetings where they hope to be touched by God in the meeting or through somebody. God certainly wants His people to seek His face but I believe that many believers don't have a clear idea of exactly what they are looking for and what they will do once they have found it. Whether we call it "a touch from God" or "a move of God" or "revival" I think we need to have a clear understanding of what that looks like and what it will mean for our lives, once we've experienced it.

I believe we need to honestly ask ourselves why we want to experience God. Here are a few common reasons:

I want to know for sure that God exists
I want to know personally, that God loves me
I want to experience God's power so that I receive His power to do His work
I believe I need an experience to know that I have been filled (baptised) with the Holy Spirit

Unfortunately these reasons are derived from wrong teaching, our interpretation of others' experience, unbelief and a lack of knowledge of God and His Word. Let's have a look these reasons more carefully.

I want to know for sure that God exists

God expects His creation to believe in Him even though we don't see Him in the physical. Creation is evidence enough of His existence.

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Rom. 1:18-20

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Heb. 11:1

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Heb. 11:6

"We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen." 2 Cor. 4:18

"Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.." 1 Peter 1:8

"Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'" John 20:29

"For we live by faith, not by sight." 2 Cor. 5:7

Clearly then, seeking a touch from God for proof of His existence is simply unbelief and doesn't please God.

I want to know personally, that God loves me

Many of us have been in meetings where some people are clearly touched by God in a glorious way and we wonder why God doesn't give us the same experience. Consequently we leave disappointed and left out. However, that kind of thinking is based on the assumption that an experience like that is proof of God's love. It isn't!

God has already proven His love for us in giving us His Son. He demonstrated His love for us when He lay down His life for us.

"God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Rom. 5:8

If we seek an experience from God for proof of His love for us, we are again walking in unbelief. God has already demonstrated His love for us. Why do we need more proof? Was John lying when he wrote,

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are." 1 John 3:1

Either we believe or we don't.

I want to experience God's power so that I receive His power to do His work.

Somewhere along the line many of us have come to believe that the believer needs a "second blessing" or needs to be "baptised in the Holy Spirit" before he can do the works Jesus did. Let me ask you, "Can you receive God without His wisdom?" Then why do some of us believe we can receive God without His power? Jesus said that the believer will receive power when he receives the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) - we cannot receive the Holy Spirit without His power. Either we believe we have received the Holy Spirit and are therefore able to do the work of Jesus or not. Paul reprimands the Galatians for thinking that they had to earn God's power.

"Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?....Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?" Gal. 3:2-5

Seeking God for something you have already received is unbelief. We have received the fullness of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

"..you have been given fullness in Christ.." Col. 2:10

The believer is united to Christ and has therefore received every spiritual blessing in Christ, including His power (see Eph. 1:3; 1 Cor. 1:24; 1 John 4:15; 2 Peter 1:3 etc).

Believe you have received!

I believe I need an experience to know that I have been filled (baptised) with the Holy Spirit.

This is a similar reason to the one just discussed. Jesus baptises the believer into His Spirit - into God! The Christian does not still need more of God but needs to learn to manifest the fullness of God by faith. The believer's life is about "..attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13) and not receiving more of God as though God gives Himself in bits and pieces.

Through faith in Jesus we are joined to Him and immersed into His fullness. Believe you have received!

So we can see that many of us may have the wrong reasons for wanting a "touch from God!" God wants us to seek His face and He wants us to experience Him because we believe in Him and have received His fullness and not in order to believe in Him and in order to receive more from Him.

I want to encourage you to begin thanking God for what you have received and trusting Him to use you as you step out in faith, believing you have received.

Does the Church need another Reformation?

Does the Church need another Reformation?

I believe there are two principles we need to consider before attempting to answer this question. The two principles are essence and form.

Essence and Form

Essence does not change whereas form does. For example, the word "human being" describes essence but the words "male" or "female" describe form. Essence is therefore not the same as form. A kitchen (essence) can look different (form) in every household but is still a kitchen - essence stays the same but form varies.

The distinction between essence and form helps us greatly to accept one another as believers. For example, the believer is called to worship (essence) but how he worships will differ in manner (form). If I focus on essence rather than on form I can worship amongst any gathering of believers. The essence of worship is that we respond to God - that I worship (essence) is important and not how I worship (form). Most schisms in the Church are due to criticism of one another with regard to form. Focusing on the form is the same as looking at the outward appearance and gives rise to a critical and judgmental spirit (see 1 Sam. 16:7).

Form in the world and in the Church

The world is attracted to form. As soon as a new form appears, the world copies what they see. This is predominant in fashion, of course - one celebrity has a new look and soon all the teens have the same look. We see this principle in the Church as well. A church develops an attractive form and has significant growth - it looks good. Other churches see the form and try to copy it in order to hopefully have the same result. Sadly the form or "movement" fizzles out because it was based on form and not essence. Essence lasts but form does not.

Lasting Transformation

I believe God wants His people to come back to the essence so that He can bring about a lasting transformation - a change in form. Romans 12:2 says that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. This transformation comes about as God replaces our thoughts with His thoughts (essence) so that we are truly God's people and not just an appearance or "a form of godliness" (2 Tim . 3:5).

Revival of the Truth

When I consider how the previous Reformation came about, it was a revival of the truth that brought about a change in form. In a sense the Church is continuously being reformed as we are transformed into the likeness of Christ. However this transformation will only take place as we take hold of the truth (essence) and realise it by faith.

Applying the Truth

Once we have revelation of the Truth we will pray differently. For example, many Christians pray for unity in the Church. However, Christ has already paid the price for the Body of Christ to be one in Him (see Eph. 2:14-22)! We don't need to pray for unity but we should repent of bringing division and dividing that which Christ has joined! Once the Church recognises that all believers are one in Christ, then we will be much quicker to repent of judging one another and criticising one another!

So, does the Church need another Reformation? No, not one, but an ongoing reforming as we take hold of the essence and are united in Spirit and in Truth!

"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Eph. 4.3-6

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