“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life–the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us–that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:1-3)
You have heard it said that blood is thicker than water–that is, family ties are much stronger than friendships.
People will usually stand up before friends and defend their family. That is because the bond of blood that unites a family is a very strong one.
As brothers and sisters in the family of God, God has given us a common bond that is even stronger. For it is not a bond of human blood passed down from father to son, but the blood of Christ shed on the cross. That bond–the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, that cleanses us from all sin and makes us children of our heavenly Father and therefore also brothers and sisters of one another–unites us into a bond which we call Christian fellowship.
This is our KOINONIA–a Greek word meaning to share something in common, to have a part in–a word which is most commonly translated FELLOWSHIP.
What a beautiful thing to treasure–this fellowship! People from all different races and nationalities, people from different social and economic backgrounds, are brought together into one family and bonded together into that family by the blood of Christ.
The apostle John tells us about that bond of fellowship in his first letter. He shows that our relationship with each other is based on our relationship with God. John writes so that his readers “may have fellowship with us (the apostles): and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” Our fellowship is a fellowship with God–with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
The only way this bond of fellowship with God can be established is through faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. That is why John felt compelled to declare to us: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life” (v. 1).
In that verse John is talking about Jesus. Jesus is the One that was from the beginning. Jesus is the One that John and the other apostles have seen with their eyes. Jesus is the Word of Life. More importantly, Jesus is the One who shed His blood in payment for the sins of the world. By faith in Jesus we do have fellowship with God the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
Joint Heirs!
We can see what a tremendous blessing that is when we remember the meaning of the word KOINONIA or fellowship. It means to have or share something in common. Through Christ we now share many things in common with God. We sinners share in His holiness. We mortals share in His immortality. We humans are children and heirs of the Divine. Our fellowship with God is the heart and purpose of the gospel itself.
Now we–many different people from different walks of life–are united together with the same great blessings in common. We have all been rescued from death and hell. We all have been bought by Christ’s blood and belong to God. We are joint heirs and fellow workers with Christ.
This is the treasured fellowship that we enjoy as members of our congregations and the CLC. We share many great things in common with those with whom we worship. Even when we go to another church in the CLC and find ourselves among strangers, we still know that we are among family.
It is an even greater blessing to come to know our family more personally and grow together so that we can enjoy this bond even more. How do we do that? Getting to know each other through fellowship meals and activities or working together on a common cause are good ways to grow together.
But the greatest way to really grow in our fellowship and unity is the same thing that brought us into this fellowship with one another–the Word of God. Through the Word of Christ we come to share in this fellowship with God the Father and with Jesus. The more we study that Word together, the more we are going to grow together in true Christian fellowship.
Blood is thicker than water. And the bond made with Christ’s blood is the strongest of all. May we all grow together in our precious Christian fellowship by coming together to study and hear God’s saving Word.
And may God bless us richly in this fellowship and keep us together in fellowship with Him.
–Pastor David Reim