Does Church Fellowship matter?

In one of our previous post entitled: How to know a biblical Church, we referred to this verse in the book of Acts chapter 2: 42: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers”. This verse is crucial and so beneficial to our proper understanding of what the true Church must be practicing, and what her life all together looks like. When we look at the Church, namely the body of Christ, we should see a people who not only steadfastly devote themselves to the apostles doctrine and prayers, but to fellowship.

The word fellowship in the Holy Scriptures refers to concepts such as joint participation, communion, partnership and sharing. It can even refer to a collection or contribution. So the body of Christ, the called out ones have been also called to a joint participation, communion, and sharing all together.

It is important to say that our fellowship is first of all with The Lord who set us apart to partake in His glory through salvation by his atoning work on the cross. Paul himself wrote to the Corinthians: “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor 1:9). In the same regard we read in John’s first epistle: “What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the father, and His son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).

So the relationship we often call the vertical part of the cross: our salvation, is the main basis of our fellowship with the Father through our Savior Jesus Christ, enabled by the Holy Spirit. People nowadays often rely on that to say: well, since we are saved, the church is not a building, but us the redeemed, we can stay in the comfort of our house and watch an online worship service, watch the sermon on the television screen and take communion at home with Juice and cookies… : that to them was church for the day. Now, this may sound as a strange way to illustrate it but, is it not now the trend of our technologically oriented era?

This is deceptive and is a great danger to the church today. The Lord of the church never intended it to be an individual experience or anything of our own suitability.

Listen to what the apostle John say in the same chapter: “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 cleanses us from all sin.” (1 john 1:7). In other words if we say we are Christians and walk in the light, we aught to have fellowship with one another. This is not a suggestion or some kind of remarkable aspect of the church that the apostle John is simply noticing, and therefore telling about. This is a necessity for the believer, it is life for a true christian to be in a joint participation, and it is a beautiful thing. Back in the book of psalms King David wrote:

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!

It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.
 It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing — Life forevermore“. (Psalm 133)

Certainly King David knew the sweetness and beauty of fellowship among the people of God even when he wrote in psalm 55:14 : “We who had sweet fellowship together
Walked in the house of God in the throng…”

Now ask yourself this question: Do you desire fellowship with brothers and sisters in the faith?

Since the first 5 months of the year 2020, the world has been troubled by the corona virus which kept most churches from gathering regularly as we know of. In this time of uncertainty, do you even miss your gathering with the saints? For some people this is no change at all, since to them church fellowship or church attendance does not really matter.

But Yes! according to the plan and purpose of Christ for His Church, it does certainly matter for His beloved children to gather, be in communion and share all the benefits of the faith in love and unity.

So, Dear brothers and sisters let’s come together as the people of God, “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Heb 10: 24-25).