WHAT IS FELLOWSHIP?

The Greek word for fellowship expresses the idea of sharing, of having something in common with somebody else. Common participation takes on a double form: giving and receiving. Christian fellowship seriously involves both aspects.

Moreover, Christian fellowship is vertical as well as horizontal. The horizontal plane presupposes the vertical for its very existence. John described the vertical dimension this way: "Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3). This fellowship is what makes a Christian, Christian.

The horizontal dimension of fellowship is the habitual sharing, the constant giving to and receiving from each other, which is the true, authentic pattern of life for God's people. Fellowship with God, then, is the source from which fellowship among Christians springs; and again, fellowship with God is the end to which Christian fellowship leads.

Christian fellowship, then, is neither a luxury nor a devotional option, but a spiritual necessity. God intends that we have fellow ship with Him and with each other. Fellow ship with Him requires constant feeding for its own deepening and enrichment. Fellowship between Christians cements our fellowship with God.

Our fellowship with God covers all our giving to Him, all our taking from Him, and expresses our faith in and love for Him. God gives Himself to us on the basis of salvation through intimacy with Jesus Christ. 

"He who receives you receives me," said Jesus, "and he who receives me receives the one who sent me" (Matt. 10:40). And John adds: "To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).

This adoption into the Body of Christ is the foundation on which all our subsequent fellowship with God, and thus with one another, rests. Day by day, as God's children, we thankfully take the gifts that our heavenly Father presents to us.  He offers forgiveness of our sins and reveals Himself to us through His Word, and  the eucharist and through one another.

Our fellowship on the human level is seeking to share what God has made known of Himself with others, as a means of finding strength, refreshment, and instruction for spiritual growth. In fellowship, one seeks to receive as well as to give. The apostle illustrates this when he tells the Romans, "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith" (Rom. 1:11, 12). Paul's understanding of fellowship is clear: it is a two-way channel where by both he and the believers may find mutual encouragement in the bond of Christian fellowship.

In summary so far: First, fellowship comes from God's grace. Through fellowship, one's is refreshed, fed, and strengthened. Second, fellowship is a test of active spiritual life. It means opening one's heart to fellow believers. Fellowship cannot exist where there is pretense or concealment. We can be free from pretension and concealment in our relation with others only as we are open and honest in our dealings with God and with others.

If we prevent or obstruct God's light from shining fully on ourselves, we cannot have free fellowship with other believers; we will shrink from fellowship. "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 1:4).

Fellowship is God's chosen plan for spiritual life. It is where the Spirit is alive, where we find spiritual life, and where we grow in grace and are ready to help others to do the same. When we fellowship together, we need to do so in prayerful dependence on the Holy Spirit.