EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/9/2024 9:45 PM
My Worship Time
Focus: “The Word of Life is Relational”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1 John 1:3b
Message of the verse: “so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.”
The key to understanding the fact that “The Word of
Life is Relational” is to understand that all believers will realize they have fellowship,
which is an authentic partnership with Jesus Christ and also with fellow
believers. In my life I have had the
chance to live in Aruba for about eight months and actually the Lord gave me
the opportunity to preach a couple of times down there. Now the church that I attended was with
English speaking people, but many of the Aruban believers were there who spoke Papiamento
which is actually a form of Dutch that was spoken of by the slaves living in
Aruba. My point in all of this is that
even though some of the people I was around who could not speak English there
was a bond between us because we were believers.
Now the word rendered fellowship is the familiar Greek
term koinonia and this signifies a
mutual participation in a common cause or shared life. Here are some verses we can compare this one
with where this is used “Gal. 2:9; 6:6; 1 Tim. 6:18; Titus 1:4; Philem. 6; 1
Peter 4:13; Jude 3. MacArthur adds that “It
is far more than a mere partnership of those who have the same beliefs and are
thus drawn together. Rather, it is the
mutual life and love of those who are one in spirit (1 Cor. 6:17; cf. Eph.
5:30-32).”
He goes on to write “The aim of the gospel preaching is to produce faith that rests in Christ (John 6:29; Acts 20:21). Those who believe savingly in Jesus enter into a genuine union with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.”
Here are some verses to help us understand this “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Cor. 1:9; cf. Gal. 2:20).
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. (2 Cor. 13:14; cf. John 17:21)
This last quotation from MacArthur’s commentary can
step on some toes as it has mine. “Even
sinning Christians who lose the joy of their fellowship with God never lose the
reality of that eternal life from Him (1 Cor. 1:9; 2 Cor. 13:14; Phil. 2:1;
Heb. 12:10), given them through their union with Christ (Rom. 6:3-5; Eph. 2:5;
Col. 3:3). Jesus said ‘Truly, truly, I
say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal
life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life’
(John 5:24; cf. Eph. 5:26; Titus 3:5). The
new birth produces new life, so that believers are regenerated into everlasting
fellowship with the triune God (cf. John 3:5-8).”
8/9/2024 10:09 PM
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