The Divine Fellowship Is Everything in the Christian Life

 

The Divine Fellowship Is Everything in the Christian Life

2 Cor. 13:14 – “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
Rev. 22:1 – “And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street.”
1 John 1:6-7 – “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice 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 cleanses us from every sin.” 

Aspect	The Divine Fellowship Is Everything in the Christian Life
Meaning	The divine fellowship is the circulation and participation of the divine life between the Triune God and the believers (koinonia). It is the reality and essence of the Christian life. Without fellowship, there is no presence or supply of God (2 Cor. 13:14; Rev. 22:1). Through fellowship, God and man are interwoven and mingled, bringing growth and transformation in life.
Reason	1. God comes as fellowship through the Spirit’s flow. 2. Without fellowship, God seems to “disappear”; just as without current there is no electricity. 3. Fellowship is the basis for the Body of Christ to be kept in oneness (1 Cor. 10:16-18; 12:24-25). 4. Vertical and horizontal fellowship are interconnected; one cannot exist fully without the other.
Method	1. By the two spirits: Enter the vertical fellowship through the divine Spirit (Phil. 2:1; 2 Cor. 13:14), and the horizontal fellowship through the exercise of the human spirit (1 Tim. 4:7; 2 Cor. 6:6). 2. Through the cross: Deny the self and remove barriers to fellowship (Matt. 16:24). 3. By the Word and prayer: Speak in spirit, not in a worldly way (Eph. 6:18). 4. Through the Spirit and the cross: Fellowship is deepened and renewed.
Function	1. Mingle and interweave believers with the Triune God, resulting in growth in life (Lev. 2:4-5). 2. Correct, shape, and reconstitute us by adding divine elements. 3. Preserve the Body of Christ in oneness and advance the ministry. 4. Remove individualism and division, making fellowship the center of Christian living. 5. Blend us together into one Body.
Examples	1. The early church “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship” (Acts 2:42). 2. Paul’s blessing of “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Cor. 13:14). 3. John’s exhortation, “if we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (1 John 1:7). 4. The river of water of life flowing in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:1).
Application	1. Personally: Exercise the spirit daily, maintain vertical fellowship with the Lord, deny the self. 2. Corporately: Actively participate in fellowship with the saints, open the heart, and be blended. 3. Daily life: In conversations, meetings, and service, live in the spirit, not in natural disposition. 4. For building: Preserve the Body in oneness and carry out God’s economy through fellowship.
Relevant Scriptures	Lev. 2:4-5 – “When you present an offering of a meal offering baked in an oven, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. And if your offering is a meal offering on the griddle, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mixed with oil.” (a type of mingling and fellowship). 1 Cor. 10:16-17 – “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the fellowship of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the fellowship of the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one Body; for we all partake of the one bread.” 1 Cor. 12:24-25 – “But God has tempered the body together, giving more abundant honor to the member that lacked, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.” 1 John 1:3 – “That which we have seen and heard we report also to you, that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” Matt. 16:24 – “Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”

  

Conclusion: 

The divine fellowship is the essence of the Christian life. It is both vertical (with God) and horizontal (with one another). By the Spirit and through the cross, believers are blended together with God and one another, producing the reality of the Body of Christ. Without fellowship, God’s presence and the building of the Body cannot be realized.

  

*Please refer to the June 2025 Summer Training, General Topic: Experiencing, Enjoying, and Manifesting Christ (Part 3), Chapter 10: Shepherding According to God