Fellowship: Upside Down & Inside Out
Monday Morning Commentary
Yesterday’s message on fellowship began with a prayer. Among one of the points prayed, Pastor Craig conveyed fellowship as an instrument to serve as the body’s growth. The body being every member gathered together as a “whole," uniformed as one in Christ in His church. Pastor Craig also noted that the epistles were originally intended to be read to communities, as instruction for the body of Christ-- not for personal devotion. When only read as personal devotion, the context and revelation of the Word can be perverted into what one desires for it to mean, instead of finding the true interpretation.
We need renewal and revelation of what the church is and to understand that scripture is intended for communal use, not individual. Something to note from yesterday-- you cannot get closer to Jesus and further away from the body. In Romans 12:1, Paul urges the brethren to present their “bodies” as living and holy sacrifices, acceptable to God. That is our spiritual act of worship. Bodies being represented as a community of people, to be unified as one in Christ.
God desires for us to bear fruit. The fruit that we are called to bear is the fruit of life, together. 1 John 4:10-12 reads, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitia-tion for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.”
The moment I realize that your salvation means more than mine, I can never fear God again.
Acts 8:26-35 tells the story of Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch. Through an Angel, God instructs Phillip to go to on the road to Gaza. On the road he meets the Eunuch and is able to interpret a passage, specifically in Isaiah, speaking about Jesus, who was silent like a lamb before the slaughter.
As far apart as Philip and the Eunuch were, God’s desire was for them to be united as brothers. If the Lord had revealed His entire will to Philip at the time, the revelation may have been lost. God gives us the information we need, when needed, in His time.
Positioning ourselves, being ready to listen, and to be taught like Phillip gives us the greatest opportunity to put our bodies in the place of faithfulness over and over again, for the sake of other people.
This week, allow God to renew your minds to the revelation of that the church is not an individ-ual support group for your private faith. The church is God’s bride, his most prized possession, his greatest accomplishment on earth. The good news is you are invited to be apart of it and fel-lowship with other believers.