Is Fellowship Being Developed
Acts 2:42-47 (ESV):
42And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
45And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
46And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
In 1773, the young pastor of a poor Baptist Church in Wainsgate, England, was called to a large and influential church in London. John Fawcett was a powerful preacher and writer, and these skills had brought him this opportunity.
But as the horse wagons were being loaded with the Fawcetts' few belongings, their people came for a tearful farewell. During the goodbyes, Mary Fawcett cried, "John, I cannot bear to leave!" "Nor can I," he replied. "We shall remain here with our people." The wagons were unloaded, and John Fawcett spent his entire fifty-four-year ministry in Wainsgate.
From that experience, Fawcett wrote the beautiful hymn, "Blest Be the Tie that Binds." Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love.
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.
Before our Father’s throne
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,
Our comforts and our cares.
We share our mutual woes,
Our mutual burdens bear,
And often for each other flows
the sympathizing tear.
It is truly amazing how people of different personalities, backgrounds, and even
ethnicities can come together in the church of Jesus Christ and establish the kind of rela tionship that can bring so much joy, love, and encouragement in life. Within the church of Jesus Christ, there is this kindred spirit among members that comes out of the common grace and mercy that everyone has experienced in their salvation in Christ Jesus. They are also bonded to gether by their common purpose to support each other so that the church as a whole can be a mighty instru ment in advancing the causes of Jesus Christ in the world. This quality of relationship is often known as the fellowship of the church.
This morning, as I conclude our theme, “What to Look For In a Church,” I want to underscore the need to build a vibrant fellowship in our church. This was very visible in the first church in Jerusalem, so it must be our ultimate desire to reflect it right within Bible Church International. If you examine the last two verses of the main text we have for this month, they read – “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” The last part of these verses stresses the fact that the church started gaining a favorable reputation before the people outside their faith community, so the Lord kept adding their membership every day. I like this truth here. If you and I will be faithful in becoming what God wants us to be, then we don’t have to wor ry about church growth. God will be the One adding more people to the church.
So, let’s make sure – we exert more efforts to become better Christians, we keep teaching the truth of God’s Word, we keep praying and giving generously, and finally, for this morning's study, let’s keep building a vibrant fellowship in our church. How do we do that? Here are three basic truths we want to emphasize about fellowship:
I. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FELLOWSHIP
If you have been in church for quite some time now, I’m sure you hear the word “fellowship” all the time. Unfortunately, how we use it today is very different compared to how it was used in the New Testa ment. In our text, verse 42 says that after three thousand people came to know Jesus as their Savior and were baptized, believers devoted themselves “to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” We already covered in the past couple of Sundays the “apostle’s teachings” and “prayers,” so we want to understand the basic idea of fellowship.
The Greek word used in this verse is “koinonia.” It is used about twenty times (20X) in the New Testa ment, and it is often defined as “holding something in common.” In other words, believers can unite, partici pate, and partner together because of their shared faith in Christ Jesus and convictions based on the Bible.
With this definition, it is obviously more than just believers hanging out together, enjoying small talks with some fun and food. Don’t get me wrong, these are all good. But the New Testament “fellowship” is our willingness to unite, participate, and partner with other believers because of our deep care of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and our love for one another.
Now, if you break down this definition, it is easy to see that it’s a two-dimensional relationship. It must be first vertical before it can become horizontal. What do we mean by this? Listen to John explains it in 1 John 1:3 (ESV):
3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
According to John, before people can have fellowship with him and other believers, they should have fellowship with the Father and Jesus Christ. This is a critical perspective. Do you know why? Listen, I hope you did not join the church because of your loved ones, friends, geography (the church being the closest to you), or even ethnicity (being Filipino). But because in BCI, you can unite, participate, and partner with peo ple who share your faith, values, and convictions. This reminds me of the statement of Dr. Tony Evans, say ing:
“Fellowship is the intimate sharing of Christians in the uniqueness of the life of Christ” One more verse that will help us better understand the significance of “koinonia” or fellowship. 2 Corinthians 6:14 (ESV):
16What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
The word we need to highlight here is “agreement.” In other versions, this is translated as “communion.” The same Greek word is used here – “koinonia.” The main idea of the verse is that God will never have an intimate union or partnership with darkness. This type of relationship with God can happen only with people who are in Jesus Christ and who are walking in the light of His righteousness.
So, again, true fellowship in the church happens when there is intimate unity, participation, and part nership because of our shared faith, values, and convictions.
II THE SYMBOL OF FELLOWSHIP
Going back to verse 42, the concept of fellowship is uniquely symbolized in the “breaking of bread’ by the believers. One of the things we can appreciate in the Bible is the precision and intentionality of the word or words used in its text. For example, you might be wondering why the practice of the early church celebrating the Lord’s Table regularly is included in this passage. Is it really that important?
The answer is yes, it is very important! Let me explain why. We all know that when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper as an ordinance for the church, it was meant to remind the church about the finished work of Jesus Christ. The bread is the symbol of the body of Jesus Christ that suffered before and during His crucifixion. The wine is the symbol of the precious blood which Jesus shed on the cross. So, every time the church celebrates the Lord’s Supper, it provides a vivid reminder of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the be lievers. This constant reminder allows us to maintain the attitude of gratitude to God because of everything we received from Him because of His work on the cross.
But there is another important reminder whenever we celebrate the Lord’s Table.
It is the communion or the koinonia that we have with God and all of God’s people. In ancient times, even before the historical Lord’s Supper took place. The invitation to dine with a family is always considered a sacred time. No one gets invited easily for dinners. Why? It takes a lot of money and effort to invite anyone to dine with a family. So, to be invited to a family dinner means you are important to them or you have a relationship with them. Therefore, this breaking of bread clearly signified mutual love and relationship.
By the way, the breaking of bread in verse 42 is exclusively a reference to the Lord’s Supper. But in verse 46, the phrase “breaking bread in their homes” applies to actual meals in the different homes, just like the fellowship meals or the potluck meals we have today after church. This is referred to in the New Testa ment as a “love feast.” This is mentioned in Jude 1:12:
12 These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding them selves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted;
In this verse, Jude makes a reference to a problem they encountered during their love feasts where some ate greedily, thinking only of themselves, while others went home hungry. This behavior was unac ceptable for the simple reason that it defeated the purpose of the meal, which was to foster deeper relation ships among God’s people in the church. I believe that is also a great reminder for us, even today. Time and again, we also have fellowship meals, and we should also observe this great reminder from Jude that we don’t just think of ourselves during these meals. Remember, the main purpose of the breaking of bread in the New Testament is to nurture our mutual love and relationship with God and one another. Every time we only focus on ourselves, we hurt the fellowship of the church. Of course, more often, we always want to par ticipate and unite with the church during the breaking of bread (Lord’s Supper or potluck meals); just the same, we should always do our best to unite and participate in whatever activity that can help nurture mutu al love and relationship within the church.
III THE SUPPORT WITHIN THE FELLOWSHIP
Lastly, as we come to our third basic truth about the fellowship of the church, let’s read again this powerful description of the first church beginning in verses 44 -47 – “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
Isn’t this a beautiful description of how the church of the Lord Jesus Christ should be? The first church did not only spend so much time together enjoying each other friendship and camaraderie, but they also spent time caring for and supporting each other that they were willing to sell even their possessions so that they could provide for one another. Obviously, because of the bond they have in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it led them to love and care deeply for one another.
How many of you know the individual names of the majority of the people who attend BCI? The rea son I ask is because it would be impossible for anyone to care or love for other people in the church if we
don’t even know them. Knowing them by name would be a place to start to know them more in a personal way. Listen to some of these direct commands to care and love one another:
A. Love One Another
John 13:34-35 (ESV):
34A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” B. Encourage One Another
Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV):
24And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
C. Build One Another
1 Thessalonians 5:11 (ESV):
11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. D. Instruct One Another
Romans 15:14 (ESV):
14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,[a]that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.
There are approximately 59 “one another mandates” in the New Testament given to God’s people in the church that teach us how to relate to one another. The impression that God is driving across is very clear: we need each other for the church to triumph above all the pressures that Satan will throw at us while we are in the world. We can never thrive alone. We have to unite, participate, and partner with other believers so we can win the world for Jesus Christ. Again, non-participation is unacceptable because we need to be close with other believers in order to affect one another. Dr. Howard Hendricks, the renowned professor of Dallas Theological Seminary, once said:
“You can impress people at a distance but only impact them up close. The general principle is this: the closer personal relationship, the greater the impact.”
Earlier, I asked you whether you know the names of the people here at BCI. I know how difficult it is to do that. So, here at BCI, we established our EGroups (E12 Discipleship groups) and our fellowship groups (youth, young adults, women, and men’s fellowship) as smaller groups to facilitate better relationships with in the church and, yes, to know others better. We need these groups for support, especially when we need encouragement or care during times of crisis. I pray that you will make time to unite, participate, and partner with other members of the church because it is God’s will for all of us. As believers of Jesus Christ, we need
to share our lives with one another. And we are able to do it through our fellowship with one another.
Allow me to close this sermon with a story told by Don Graham about Linda, a young woman who decided to drive alone through the rugged highway from Alberta, Canada, to the Yukon Territory, which was in the Northwest of Canada. Linda didn't know you don't travel to Whitehorse alone in a rundown Honda Civic, so she set off where only four-wheel drives normally venture. The first evening, she found a room in the mountains near a summit and asked for a 5 A.M. wake-up call so she could get an early start. She couldn't understand why the clerk looked surprised at that request, but as she awoke to early-morning fog shrouding the mountaintops, she understood. Not wanting to look foolish, she got up and went to breakfast. Two truckers invited Linda to join them, and since the place was so small, she felt obliged. "Where are you headed?" one of the truckers asked. And she responded, “Whitehorse.” "In that little Civic? No way! This pass is DANGEROUS in weather like this." "Well, I'm determined to try," was Linda's gutsy, if not very informed, response. "Then I guess we're just going to have to hug you," the trucker suggested. Linda drew back. "There's no way I'm going to let you touch me!" "Not like THAT!" the truckers chuckled. "We'll put one truck in front of you and one in the rear. In that way, we'll get you through the mountains." All that foggy morning, Linda followed the two red dots in front of her and had the reassurance of a big escort behind as they made their way safely through the mountains. Caught in the fog in our danger ous passage through life, we need to be "hugged." With fellow Christians who know the way and can lead safely ahead of us and with others behind, gently encouraging us along, we, too, can pass safely. This is the very reason why Christians need to be committed to the fellowship of the church.