Will you please turn to 1 Corinthians, the first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 9.
God is faithful, through whom ye were called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
— 1 Corinthians 1:9
Let us have a good prayer.
Dear Lord, how we praise and thank Thee that through Thy finished work on the cross, we are able to come to Thy very presence. We do praise and thank Thee that Thou hast said, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” So we know that we are in Thy presence.
Dear Lord, teach us how to remove our shoes, take our rightful place, that we may be able to hear what Thou hast to say to us. Speak, Lord; Thy servants hear. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
As you open this first letter to the Corinthians, you find the apostle Paul, at the very beginning of this letter, giving us a tremendous statement. The more I meditate on it, the more I marvel at it.
He said, “God is faithful, through whom ye were called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ.”
I hope we do not just let this statement pass carelessly, because here you find a marvelous, glorious, way-beyond-our-thoughts statement which is eternally true: God is faithful.
Whether we are faithful or not, it does not matter. He remains faithful. And He is faithful to one thing: to His calling.
He calls us into the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Can you think of anything nobler, higher, heavenly, spiritual, perfect—more than this calling? To be called into the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
Thank God that this statement not only applies to the Corinthian believers, but this statement applies even to us. Because in the beginning of this letter, this letter was written to the assembly and to all everywhere who call upon the name of the Lord. And thank God, we do call upon the name of the Lord, and therefore this statement applies to us.
In other words, brothers and sisters, do we realize that we are called into something even beyond description? There is nothing higher than this: that we are all called into the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
Now, what is fellowship? Fellowship is sharing in common. It is an equal, common sharing of the very nature of that which is to be shared. In other words, it is a joint participation.
And this is the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Now, what is the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ? With whom is He fellowshipping? With whom does He share equally, in common? With whom does He have that joint participation—not just as a spectator, but a joint participation?
Now we know that His fellowship is with the Father in the Spirit. That is the fellowship. He and the Father share equally, in common, everything together. He and His Father participate jointly in everything that They do.
All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him. He is with the Father; the Father is with Him. Their fellowship is fellowship in the Spirit. It is a perfect oneness. It is a perfect sharing together—nothing more, nothing less.
And His fellowship with the Father, and the Father’s fellowship with Him, is eternal. There is never a cloud, never a shade or shadow, never disagreement. They agree on everything: one in heart, one in mind, one in speech, one in work. It is so harmonious, so heavenly, so sacred. And that is the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
As a matter of fact, this fellowship existed even before the foundation of the world. Before there was anything created, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—they are all one, and They are in sweet fellowship, sharing together, participating together, from eternity.
This is the most glorious fellowship there has ever been in the world. In one sense, it is the most exclusive fellowship. Why? Because there are only three members. Nobody can join: only the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
But on the other hand, it is the most inclusive fellowship, because it includes the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We cannot imagine, because there is something way beyond us, how sweet, how perfect, how harmonious, how loving that fellowship is. There is never a break, never any interruption. Perfect harmony.
But, to our surprise, in Their fellowshipping together, They came to a conclusion that because of Their love, They wanted to enlarge Their fellowship. They wanted to include man in Their fellowship—not in Their deity or Godhead, but in Their fellowship.
And this was perfectly agreed upon by the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. They wanted to do it. They wanted to extend it to mankind.
You remember when God created man? He created man in His own image, after His likeness. Now, why did He do that? He did not create anything in that way, but only man He created in His own image. Is it not because He had this in mind: that He wanted to extend His own fellowship to man?
And because of that, He created man in His own image, giving man the possibility of receiving His own divine life. Because life is the only condition—the one and sole condition—that can join that fellowship. It is a fellowship in life, in divine life; and nothing but divine life can enter into Their fellowship.
So He created man in His image, enabling man to receive His divine life. Man is the only creation in the whole universe that can receive God’s life in him. The angel cannot, the animal cannot, the mountain cannot, the sea cannot; but man was created with that capacity.
If man should receive His uncreated life, then man will be joined into His fellowship, and we will be able to enjoy that perfect fellowship. Life is the one and only condition.
But to accomplish this is not an easy task. In order to bring man into His fellowship, the Father had to give up His Son.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.
— John 3:16
Brothers and sisters, we have yet to fathom, to understand, what sacrifice, what love, what giving up the Father did. He gave up His only begotten Son—One who is so one with Him, never a ripple; One who so pleased Him.
This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
— Matthew 3:17
And yet He gave up His only begotten Son. And what a price the Son paid for that fellowship. He gave up His life—not only His position on the throne. He emptied Himself of all His glory and honor, came into this world, took up human form in the form of a bondslave, and was obedient to the Father even unto death, even the death of the cross. What a price He paid for that fellowship.
And the Holy Spirit uses all His energy, with long patience, coming to us to bring Christ to us—not only to beget us, but to transform us according to the image of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. What labor of love the Holy Spirit is doing.
And all these are for one reason: that the way may be open to mankind to enter, to join, that most exclusive fellowship in the universe.
Brothers and sisters, the more you think about it, the more you meditate on it, the more you are surprised. Why should God do such a thing, knowing us so well? What love is behind it! But what responsibility.
So here you find the apostle Paul at the very beginning of this letter. Now, brothers and sisters, we often look at 1 Corinthians as a very negative letter, because it deals with all kinds of weaknesses: sin, self, flesh, unbelief, disorder, confusion, and division. It is a very negative letter. How much better we would only talk of Ephesians!
But, brothers and sisters, it does not begin negatively. It begins with the most positive statement in the universe: “God is faithful, through whom ye were called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ.”
Do you know you have been called into this fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ? It is God’s doing—not because of what you are or what I am, but because of what He is. It is all grace.
We have joined the most spiritual, heavenly, perfect, eternal, loving, holy fellowship in the whole universe. You are there. I am there. All by grace.
You remember the apostle John said in 1 John:
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us.
— 1 John 1:3
In other words, the apostles shared everything that they had received with us. They fellowship with us; they share with us in common, equally, without reservation, that we may have fellowship with the apostles. What a fellowship we have! There will be a joint participation.
And the apostle said, “Our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son.” In other words, the apostles do not have fellowships of their own. All the fellowship, the sharing, that they give to us comes from the Father and the Son. It is none other than the fellowship of the Father and of the Son.
Notice: the apostles do not have their own fellowship. As a matter of fact, the apostles reject that kind of thinking: “I am of Paul. I am of Apollos.” No, we do not have any fellowship other than the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
So the fellowship of the apostles is none other than their fellowship with the Father and with the Son. It is the same as the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
So you remember, in the early church, those who believed in the Lord Jesus, in Acts 2:42, continued in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles.
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.
— Acts 2:42
Notice: the teaching is singular; the fellowship is singular. The apostles are plural. There are many apostles, but only one teaching, only one fellowship, because it is the teaching of Christ; it is the fellowship of Christ, and nothing else.
And that is how you find the early church. They were all together. Nothing was said, no one said, “This is mine.” They gathered in the name of the Lord Jesus. They talked about the Lord, and nothing else.
Unfortunately, in the church in Corinth, they began well in the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. But gradually, something happened.
And you know, very strangely, the first letter to the Corinthians by Paul, in one sense, is his reply to their letter, questioning and asking about a number of things. Because in the church in Corinth, a number of things happened, so they wrote a letter to Paul asking him about these problems.
But strangely, in that letter they wrote to Paul, they never asked this question about the breaking of fellowship—never. Maybe they were ashamed to ask, or maybe they were so dull they did not even realize it was a question. So what problem?
But so far as the apostle is concerned, this is the first and foremost problem, because it strikes at the very center of the fellowship that we are called into. We are called into the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and to break that fellowship is the basic problem of all problems with the people of God.
So instead of answering their questions at the very start, he began by making a positive statement: “Do you not remember that you are called into the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ? Do you not remember that this is such a sacred, holy, blessed calling? How can we violate our calling?”
This is the very center, the very life, of God’s calling to His people. He spent four chapters on this question.
He said, “Now I exhort you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
Now, what is the exhortation? The exhortation is: by the name of the Lord Jesus, you say the same thing, and that there be not among you divisions.
Now, how can we say the same thing? Are we going to follow the party line, parroting the same words? Why can we not say the same thing? It is because we have different minds, different opinions. If you have different minds and different opinions, how can you say the same thing? You say different things.
So, in other words, there is something that comes in. The fellowship is the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. The fellowship is the fellowship of the Father and of the Son. The fellowship is the fellowship of life—divine life, pure life.
But when anything that is not of God, not of Christ, not of divine life—anything that comes from man, from the natural man, from the flesh, from the world—begins to come into that fellowship, it breaks the very nature of that fellowship.
You know, this is the most exclusive fellowship in the whole universe. Why? Because not only can it be joined by those who have divine life, but it can only be enjoyed by those who live by that divine life. If we try to bring ourselves in—the good self or the bad self—anything that is not of Christ, not of God, not of the Spirit of God, but of man, of ourselves, of the flesh, then you have different minds, different opinions, and different words.
These are foreign to the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. When we inject ourselves into this divine, sacred fellowship, we break it. That is division.
How can we say the same thing—the same word? And what is the same thing? What is the same word? The apostle Paul said, “I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” That is the same thing.
Christ is our wisdom. Christ is our power. Christ is all and in all. How can you say anything, having the same mind and the same opinion? Can it be wrong if we do that?
Some say, “I am of Paul.” Some say, “I am of Apollos.” Some say, “I am of Cephas.” And some say, “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided?
In other words, when some are saying it, they are saying it with a divisive spirit. They honor the instruments of God more than God Himself. Who is Paul? He is a servant of God. He was instrumental in bringing these Corinthians to Christ. He was like a father to them.
But to say, “I am of Paul. I belong to the Paul sect,” is to divide the fellowship. You break up the fellowship.
Wherever we have man in view instead of Christ in view, wherever we honor man more than Christ, wherever we follow man instead of following Christ, something is drastically wrong.
“I am of Apollos.” Why? Because Apollos is a great teacher. He taught us many doctrines, many teachings. We all follow him against Paul—lifting up one, looking down upon another—instead of keeping our eyes upon the Lord and lifting up none but Christ Jesus. That divides God’s people.
“I am of Cephas.” Why? Because Cephas is the first apostle, first among the apostles, the most orthodox one. “We are the orthodox group, and you are not.”
And then some others, out of pride, out of narrowness: “I am of Christ. You are not of Christ. I am of Christ.” With that kind of spirit, that is division.
Brothers and sisters, this is the problem in the church throughout the centuries. This problem is more serious than any other problem, because it strikes at the very calling that God has called us into.
Whenever we introduce ourselves, inject ourselves, into the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, it breaks it.
Can you hear Paul? There were people in Corinth—even though many in Corinth rejected Paul—and yet there were still people in Corinth who upheld Paul: “I am of Paul.” Now, how did Paul react to it?
Thank God, he used himself as an example to refute those who favored him. He said, “Is Christ divided? We know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were ye baptized into my name? God forbid.”
Brothers and sisters, Paul used himself as an example, showing the people that we need to focus upon Christ and not focus upon even people like Paul, Apollos, or Cephas.
Who is Paul? He is but a servant of the Lord. Who is Apollos? A servant of the Lord. Paul sowed, Apollos watered, but it is God who gives the increase. If you want to glory, glory in the Lord. Do not glory in man.
So the apostle Paul tried to bring the minds of these Corinthian believers back to Christ. Do not think of Paul. Do not think of Apollos. Do not think of Cephas. Think of Christ.
Is He not the power of God? Is He not the wisdom of God? God has made Him wisdom unto us: righteousness, holiness, and redemption. In other words, everything comes from Christ, and everything returns to Christ. Other than Christ, nobody is worthy.
And therefore he said:
So let no one glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.
— 1 Corinthians 3:21-23
That is the consummation. So, brothers and sisters, may we look away from everything and look only to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
It is only in that way that we are able to be faithful to the fellowship that God has called us into. Just think for a moment what a price God paid to bring us into that fellowship.
And to enjoy Their fellowship, yes, we also have a price to pay. We have to deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow Him. That is the price to pay.
The Corinthian believers—the reason why they remained carnal, the reason why they had that divisive spirit—was because they would not deny themselves. They did not allow the cross to work deeply into their lives.
And the result is: they followed men, not Christ.
So, brothers and sisters, hopefully this will be an exhortation from the Lord to us. We all need to humble ourselves before the Lord and realize how sacred this fellowship is, and be faithful.
Thank God, He is faithful. And by His grace, He is able to bring us into the full fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
Dear Lord, we humble ourselves before Thee, realizing what a high calling Thou hast called us into—even to share in common with Thee, our Christ, our God, our Father, in life.
Oh, dear Lord, we pray that by Thy grace we may follow Thee. We may not in any way intrude upon that fellowship and spoil it, but we may be those who continue in the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
We ask in Thy precious name.