DEV:We need more fellowship among the brethren! by Perry W. Phillips I can think of no more delightful subject to consider. I can imagine no greater pass time. Above all others in the world BRETHREN share something most precious in common...A special intimacy...even more important...Jesus Christ. A religious doctor might in diagnosis pronounce the greatest spiritual health in those who practice FELLOWSHIP with their brethren. On the contrary those who despise, or simply neglect fellowship with their brethren are the visualization of spiritual sickness. It is a supreme pity to hear brother cut and defame brother. PSA 55:12-14 If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God. Can you feel the sadness in David's words? How it hurts when an enemy attacks... But how it pierces to the heart when it is a brother. WE NEED MORE FELLOWSHIP AMONG BRETHREN! The first reason for such fellowship is our SHARING. You see, fellowship is SHARING. The greek word for fellowship is KONONIA, and it literally means participation... it means partnership. Christians are involved together in the greatest partnership ever contrived. Especially since its origin is found in God himself. To receive the greatest benefit from that partnership each brother MUST participate. A business partnership will not last where there is distrust between the partners. Marriage...the greatest partnership, will not last when there is a failure to commune, communicate, or participate with the other partner. Why should we think that the sanctity of the church would be any different? Without fellowship there can be no love! Without fellowship there can be no zeal! Without fellowship there can be no care! Without FELLOWSHIP the church DIES! It has been said that, "FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT" but, the very little time we spend with one another would indicate that we had developed contempt far sooner than we had familiarity. God wants us to fellowship... Paul wrote to the Corinthians saying: 1CO 1:9 God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. (NIV) Apparently, God desires us to be in fellowship with His Son. John added: 1JO 1:3 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. (NIV) In addition to fellowhip with Christ and His apostles the Bible teaches us that the early church fellowshipped with one another. ACT 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (NIV) Finally, the key ingredient to the success of that fellowship was defined by the Holy Spirit through John saying: 1JO 1:7 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. (NIV) More fellowship among brethren will provide a greater familiarity and knowledge of our brothers NEEDS. There should be nothing more crucial to us than the well being of our Brethren. Paul wrote: PHI 2:1-2 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy comp- lete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Our very first purpose is to be united with Jesus Christ... Why is it then that we think that is obvious concerning OUR lives, but virtually ignore the relationship of others with the Lord? Our fellowship will be enriched when we find comfort in the love of Jesus Christ... Comfort that will not appear if we fail to FIND COMFORT IN ONE ANOTHER. Fellowship will become rich when we have developed what Paul here calls the "FELLOWSHIP WITH THE SPIRIT." Paul encouraged the brethren to be of a SINGLE MIND, and SINGLE LOVE, to have one spirit and a SINGLE PURPOSE. All of these things we desperately need to encourage in the church today... but, at the same time we should not be sidetracked by our brothers immaturity, but encourage his growth. Paul said of himself: PHI 3:10-14 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Don't you suppose that if Paul recognized his imperfection that he just might have developed a sense of forebearance toward his brothers? Consider all of the sins that he identified in the church at Corinth yet he instructed the brethren to withdraw from only one. Let us develop a sense of forebearance... while we teach and fellowship with our brethren GROWING TOGETHER TOWARD PERFECTION IN JESUS CHRIST. Contributed by: Perry W. Phillips Winchester, Va. Comment by SMCIS BBS SYSOP Buggs Bugnon We do indeed need the fellowship, but we must be very careful not to use the word fellowship when we are really socialshipping.