FELLOWSHIP WITH JESUS

1 Corinthians 1:1-17       

Saturday, 30 November 2024

"God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” -1 Corinthians 1:9

The Bible oft-times tells us of the blessedness of having fellowship with Jesus Christ. Even when we acknowledge Christ as our Lord (the one who reigns over our lives), the Bible talks about a relationship that goes beyond that of a devotee and lord. In Greek, the word for fellowship is “koinonia,” which can mean fellowship with or participation in or communication. Contrary to common belief, Christianity is not a religion but a relationship—and that relationship is a very meaningful and fruitful relationship!

Jesus Christ is our certainly our Lord, intercessor, mediator, and advocate, but He also is our partner, friend and brother. He is the Great Shepherd and the Servant Leader; He is our Savior and our Provider – there is a lot more to this relationship. When we limit our understanding of Jesus to be our Lord only, we miss out quite a bit and we tend to be very limited in our growth in faith life.

God’s plan for us isn’t narrow, but very broad and we need to reach that level during our life time. In His faithfulness He has put every born-again Christian into a new exciting relationship with His Son, expecting them to communicate, participate, and commune with Him to grow to the level of reflecting His glory. Romans 8:29 says “…He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…”  Romans 8:15 explains that we are adopted as sons into this relationship.

The people of the world entangled in dangerous influences can be changed only when those with an active fellowship with Jesus Christ in turn starts fellowship with the people around them!  The tremendous impact of the life of Jesus Christ on ordinary people is well portrayed in  Acts 4:13: “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.”   They were later known as the people “who have turned the world upside down” Acts 17:6. What a befitting qualification for a bunch of uneducated and untrained men! Such is the charisma of Christ that you will be drawn to His magnetic character through meaningful relationship with Him.

When God Almighty decided to put the sinner, the backslider, the spiritually dead and the enemies of God into a relationship with His only Son, who is holy, He intended each of them in the course of time to capture His Son’s character! This process demands active cooperation of each believer with Jesus Christ.

People who engage themselves in an active relationship with Christ are to have a similar relationship with others so that they can influence them. 1 John1:3: ”what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ.”

The important aspects of this relationship as we have seen above about “koinonia” are: Communion, Communication and Participation.

·         Communion – We often tend to be more attracted towards the miracle-working Jesus rather than the man Jesus. Let us be close with Jesus and have a friendly relationship with Him. Having the mind of Christ (1Cor.2:16) is about having the approach of Christ in every aspect of our human life.

·         Communication – having an effective two-way communication with Christ through personal prayer and meditation of God’s Word will result in our minds being soaked with His Kingdom plans and His vision of us. 

·         Participation – Participating with Him is to serve Him in the areas that His will is clearly revealed.  We participate in building His Kingdom by making Him known through our lives.

Friend, is yours a meaningful and fruitful relationship with Christ? If not, would you come into this sweet fellowship with Him today?

Think on it: Our love to God is measured by our everyday fellowship with others and the love it displays. ~ Andrew Murray

Listen: 'God forgave'