Being a Part of the Body of Christ

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“Accapella,” Church of Christ, Paris, TN I John 1: 5-7

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May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."

2 Corinthians 2:14

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41 -Then they that gladly received his word were baptized; and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls,

42- And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers,

43- And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles,

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44- And all that believed were together, and had all things common;

45- And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

46- And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their food with gladness and singleness of heart,

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47- Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved…

Acts 2: 41-47

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3- That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

4- And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

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5- This then, is the message we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

6- If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth;

7- But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin.

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fel·low·ship  (fl-shp) n.

1.a. The condition of sharing similar interests, ideals, or experiences, as by reason of profession, religion, or nationality.

b. The companionship of individuals in a congenial atmosphere and on equal terms.

2. A close association of friends or equals sharing similar interests.

3. Friendship; comradeship.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Fellowship noun

1. society, club, league, association, organization, guild, fraternity, brotherhood, sisterhood, order, sodality the National Youth Fellowship

2. camaraderie, intimacy, communion, familiarity, brotherhood, companionship, sociability, amity, kindliness, fraternization, companionability, intercourse a sense of community and fellowship

Quotations"Fellowship is heaven, and lack of fellowship is hell" [William Morris A Dream of John Ball]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

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Koinonia is the anglicisation of a Greek word (κοινωνία) that means communion by intimate participation.

The word is used frequently in the New Testament of the Bible to describe the relationship within the Early Christian church as well as the act of breaking bread in the manner which Christ prescribed during the Passover meal [John 6:48-69, Matthew 26:26-28, 1 Corinthians 10:16, 1 Corinthians 11:24].

As a result the word is used within the Christian Church to participate, as Paul says, in the Communion of - in this manner it identifies the idealized state of fellowship and community that should exist - Communion.

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The essential meaning of the koinonia embraces concepts conveyed in the English terms community, communion, joint participation, sharing and intimacy.

Koinonia can therefore refer in some contexts to a jointly contributed gift.[1]

Taken from Wikipedia, Discussion of “Fellowship”

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The word appears 19 times in most editions of the Greek New Testament.

In the New American Standard Bible, it is translated “fellowship” twelve times, “sharing” three times, and “participation” and “contribution” twice each.[2

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In the New Testament, the basis of communion begins with a joining of Jesus with the community of the faithful. This union is also experienced in practical daily life. The same bonds that link the individual to Jesus also link him or her with other faithful.

The New Testament letters describe those bonds as so vital and genuine that a deep level of intimacy can be experienced among the members of a local church.[3]

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The first usage of koinonia in the Greek New Testament is found in Acts 2:42-47, where we read a striking description of the common life shared by the early Christian believers in Jerusalem

It seems that the early Church in Acts 2 operated on basic principles of Christian socialism.

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Man seems to have his own opinion and attitude towards who is deserving of “Fellowship.” Often mankind and some Christians seem to act as though offers of “fellowship” should be made on preferential principles akin to those found in: Fraternal Organizations Families or Tribes People “Like Us” People Who Can Help Me and Help You and “the

Church” People Who “Understand” Me and my View of the World

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Who are those “such as should be saved”? Acts 2:47

Are there People who should NOT be saved?

If we have limited opportunities to spread the gospel, should we have “Priorities” for rationing the Good News or for saving souls? If so, what would those priorities be?

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EASY CHOICE - “GOOD” PEOPLE? HARDER CHOICE - “BAD” PEOPLE?

Those who already have heard the gospel, believe in God and Jesus, but have doctrinal flaws – like maybe never having been baptized?

Truly “Good” people who reflect Jesus’ love of mankind and making the world a better place, even if they do not know Jesus?

Those who have no belief in God or Jesus, and who either do not believe in any God (Atheists) or believe already in a God (or gods) other than Jehovah?

Those who have demonstrated evil in their lives and who do not live by Christian “principles?”

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EASY CHOICE - PEOPLE OF MY RACE, NATIONALITY, CULTURE, OR ETHNIC

BACKGROUNDHARDER CHOICE - PEOPLE WHO I WOULD

NOT WANT TO MARRY MY DAUGHTER OR SON

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EASY CHOICE - PEOPLE OF WEALTH AND INFLUENCE WHO CAN MAKE “CONTRIBUTIONS” TO OUR CHURCH OR COMMUNITY?

HARDER CHOICE - “LOWER CLASS” PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO HOPE FOR BETTER LIVES IN THIS WORLD OR FOR MAKING MEANINGFUL FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS?

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EASY CHOICE - PEOPLE WHO ARE FORNICATORS OR COMMIT ADULTERY

AND WHO NEED TO LEARN GOD’S WILL?

HARDER CHOICE - GAY AND LESBIAN PEOPLE WHO ARE “OUT”

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GOOD PROSPECTS FOR FELLOWSHIP, OUTREACH, AND SALVATION?

BAD PROSPECTS FOR FELLOWSHIP, OUTREACH, AND SALVATION?

Capitalists and Rich People

Other Christians Who “Need” to Learn More about Jesus

Young, able bodied Who Can “Work” for Jesus For A Long Time

Socialists Lepers AIDS victims Muslims Scientists Mixed Race Couples People on Public Welfare

Assistance Old, Infirm, Feeble, Soon

to Die

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GOOD PROSPECTS FOR FELLOWSHIP, OUTREACH, AND SALVATION?

BAD PROSPECTS FOR FELLOWSHIP, OUTREACH, AND SALVATION?

Chief Judge of Local Court Mother Theresa Jews Someone Like Marshall Keeble Ted Haggard - Now that he

has been “cured” of his condition

The Highly Educated and Cultured

Men – Who Can Lead by Example

A convicted Pedophile Former Treasurer of First

Church on Main Street Who was “kicked out” because he was found embezzling there

Adolph Hitler or Jeffrey Dahmler

A Drug Addict Gentiles A Persecutor of Christians

Like Paul Uneducated, Ignorant,

Ungrateful

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The early Christians ate with one another and from House to House (Acts 2: 41-47)

People like to eat with their friends, not their enemies or People who are NOT like themselves

Eating with the “wrong” people can kill one’s appetite

What’s a Good Reason to Skip a Church Potluck?

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Mark 2: 15-16 15- And it came to pass that, as Jesus was

eating in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many, and they followed him.

16- And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with tax collectors and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eatest and drinkest with tax collectors and sinners?

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Sometimes people show up “unexpectedly” to share our fellowship in Jesus Christ…

Remember the recent parable in our church bulletin about the young, barefooted “hippy” type dude who came to a conservative congregation and went to the front and sat on the floor? And people waited for the Elder to “put him out?”

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Should he have been “put out” by the Elder?

Should someone have informed him that his dress and appearance were “inappropriate” and disrespectful in a church setting?

Would Christ approve refusing to admit someone to our fellowship because of race or class?

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Can YOU have true Koinonia “fellowship” when YOU gather around the Lord’s table for Communion with “Brothers and Sisters,” yet YOU know you would NOT invite some of them into your own home to share a meal?

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There were gays or lesbians there? You were greeted “at the gate” by someone you

know had killed Christians and assisted with having them stoned to death – Like Paul?

You had to be there with someone who had cheated you, or slept with your wife, or slandered you in this life?

You had to be there with someone who you had truly despised and hated during this life?

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Matthew 28: 19 – 20

19- Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,

20- Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age. Amen.

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In Matthew 28 Jesus gave the “Great Commission” to his Apostles…

Did the Great Commission Apply Only to the Apostles, or Does the Commission Apply to YOU as an individual Christian today?

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Do We have to “fellowship” with them? Should I be ashamed to tell my non-Christian friends

that I know “that” undesirable person or his family and that he attends “my” church?

Do I personally have any responsibility for what happens next to the new convert in their Christian walk?

How do I get “them” “out” of my Christian life when they prove to me that they are not true followers of Christ “like I am?”

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MANY TIMES OUR SHARED LOVE OF GOD DOES NOT SEEM TO BE ENOUGH TO CAUSE US TO HAVE A COMMONALITY OF SPIRIT, FELLOWSHIP, AND KONONIA WITH OTHERS WHO ALSO CLAIM TO BE CHRISTIANS. HOW CAN THAT BE?

THE FOLLOWING VIDEO SHOWS SOMEONE WHO CLAIMS TO TRULY LOVE GOD-JESUS… YET MANY ASPECTS OF THIS PERSON MIGHT MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR SOME OF US TO OFFER HER ANY FELLOWSHIP.

WHAT ISSUES DO YOU FIND, IF ANY, THAT CAUSE YOU TO BELIEVE YOU SHOULD NOT “FELLOWSHIP” WITH THE WOMAN IN THIS VIDEO?

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Minister Barbara Haynes, MCC Church – So Happy Jesus Loves Me!

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If we take the Gospel of Jesus to all nations and all of the Peoples of this world, Will We then have to “Fellowship” with those Christians who may be so Different from Us in so Many ways?

Should we “Fellowship” with Christians with whom we have any doctrinal differences?

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God adds to his body, the Church “such as should be saved.”

What is the procedure for “dis-fellowshipping” persons who claim to be Christians?

Do YOU or I have the right to “put some one out of the Fellowship” of Christian believers?

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About His Love for Us All, and About the Joy of Christian Fellowship

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Fellowshipping with one another as we're walking in the light (We keep on walking when we're...)Fellowshipping with one another as we're walking in the lightFor there's nothing as sweet as fellowship as we share each other's livesFor there's nothing as sweet as fellowship as we share each other's lives

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When we give our hearts to each other you can feel His love inside (We keep on loving when we...)When we give our hearts to each other you can feel His love insideFor there's nothing as sweet as fellowship as we share each other's heartsFor there's nothing as sweet as fellowship as we share each other's hearts

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Fellowshipping with the FatherFellowshipping with the LordFellowshipping with the SpiritFellowshipping with the Family

Sweet FellowshipSweet FellowshipSweet Fellowship

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