“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).

Fellowship is one of those words that is a noun, a verb, and an adjective. I remember it from my youth related to the fun times in our church Fellowship Hall where we had meals and other informal gatherings. I honestly thought the Fellowship Hall was designed for recreational use so that we would not dishonor the sanctuary. I did not understand the biblical significance of “fellowship.”

The word “fellowship” appears ninety-four times in the Bible, at least in the NIV translation. All but one of the Old Testament references refers to fellowship in the context of an offering—a sacrificial fellowship offering. The New Testament references are more closely related to how we would understand fellowship, but I would suggest that this practice is far more intentional and important than perhaps we, or least I, thought. Some of the New Testament references, in addition to the opening verse, are as follows:

1. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:9)
2. 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 13:14)
3. James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. (Galatians 2:9)
4. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)
5. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. (1 John 1:6)
6. 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, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

As we can see from these verses, as believers we are called (see #1) to have fellowship with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and with fellow believers (see #2, #4). This is a holy union (see #6), not to be dishonored by walking in darkness (see #5). What are some ways that we can understand and practice true fellowship?

1. Open: True fellowship is open, welcoming to other believers, regardless of their background (see #3). James tells us not to be partial to those who are more well-to-do. In the Acts 2 church, thousands were saved and joined the early church. These new believers were from many ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds, and they were welcomed. From this, the church movement began that resulted in Christianity spreading throughout the world. We say we want revival, but we need to be prepared to be open and willing to welcome and fellowship with believers of every background. After all, isn’t this just a foretaste of what Heaven will be like?

• Other-focused: “Around fifty times in the New Testament, Jesus and the apostles tell us to feel, say, or do something to “one another.” We are to care for one another and bear with one another, honor one another and sing to one another, do good to one another, and forgive one another. And then there is the grand, overarching, most-repeated one-another, the command that ‘binds everything together in perfect harmony’ (Colossians 3:14): ‘Love one another’.”

• Offerings: contributions of ourselves–our time, our talent, our money. It’s not just being in the same room; it’s giving of ourselves to others. In the early church, the believers freely shared with each other. ^“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:44-47). Fellowship involves giving of ourselves sacrificially. This doesn’t always mean money or even personal possessions. It can mean spending time together eating a meal, praying, offering a listening ear, perhaps even sacrificing our own personal opinions to hear someone else out—to take time to wholeheartedly BE WITH the other person.

It is interesting to note that in the Old Testament, the only type of sacrificial offering that the giver could partake of was called a Fellowship–or Peace–Offering (all the others were to be totally consumed by fire or eaten by the priests). To be at peace with God or anyone else is to be reconciled to them, and in those days it was signified by the act of sharing a meal with God. We are called to be peacemakers, we are called to fellowship. So, next time we have the opportunity to participate in any meeting of believers, large or small, planned or spontaneous, let’s participate wholeheartedly with God’s purpose for fellowship in mind—to invest in each other in community in anticipation of the eternal Kingdom of Heaven.

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.” (1 John 1:1-4).

In Christ,

Judy