Anonymous Asks (256)

“Why is fellowship so important for Christians?”

The early church devoted itself to four things: the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayers. The critical importance of three of these to church life should be obvious to anyone. However, the unique role fellowship plays in the life of Christ’s body may not leap out to the uninitiated reader of the book of Acts in quite the same way.

Friends and Acquaintances

The Greek word translated “fellowship” in Acts 2 may also be translated as “communion”, “distribution”, “contribution” and “communication”, which it is elsewhere in the New Testament. A quick scan of the ways the word is used helps us to distinguish fellowship from friendship or acquaintanceship.

Acquaintances are just people we know well enough to greet when we see them. We may not know too many details about them. We may not even like them all that much. But something about them is more significant to us than a stranger, whether because we need them for something, or they need us for something, or because they pique our interest in some small way, or simply because the circumstances of our lives bring us into contact on a regular basis, like it or not. We remember enough about our acquaintances to be able to respond “Oh yes, so-and-so”, when third parties mention their names, but sometimes not much more than that. We all have hundreds of acquaintances.

Friend is a much-misused word these days. We talk about “friending” somebody on social media, when the actual relationship involved is less significant to us than the average real-world acquaintanceship. Real friendships involve sufficient knowledge of the other person to be able to speak freely, to be ourselves, to let down our guard when we are with them, and to learn and retain personal details about them. Friends are people you could reach out to in a time of need, or who would feel free to reach out to you. Friends are people who care enough about us to listen to us vent when we need to, or with whom we might share confidences, hopes and dreams. If we are honest, our friendships are usually based on some area of natural compatibility in our personalities. I have thirty-something co-workers of whom maybe two are friends.

All Things in Common

If friendship is about natural compatibility, fellowship is always about having something in common. That can be good, bad or neutral.

The Greek word translated “fellowship” is used to describe the relationship Simon Peter had with the brothers James and John: they are called his “partners”, meaning to say they had a fishing business in common. The writer to the Hebrews says that “the children share in flesh and blood”, which is merely to say that all human beings have bodies. With respect to the body, Christ “partook of the same things”, and we know he did not do so sinfully. But he had the same common humanity we do, sin apart. These are neutral sorts of “fellowship”, meaning to say they have no particular moral component.

Paul uses the same word to warn Timothy to take no part in the sins of others, and John writes that the believer who welcomes a false teacher “takes part in his wicked works”. Paul even talks about the danger of becoming “participants with demons” by eating meat offered to idols in bad conscience. That’s the bad sort of fellowship: having things in common with wicked people and evil spirits that we should not.

Much more often, scripture views fellowship as an unmitigated positive. The new birth makes Christian fellowship possible, though it does not guarantee it. John writes, “Our fellowship is with the Father and with his son Jesus Christ.” He goes on to say that if we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another. This is immensely desirable for believers.

Expressions of Fellowship

The sharing of possessions is called “fellowship” repeatedly. The believers in the early church had “all things in common”, meaning to say they shared their worldly wealth with one another freely. That’s fellowship. Paul writes that the Macedonian and Achaian Christians had “been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem”. These Gentiles had likely never met the Christians in Jerusalem and had no earthly reason to be friendly toward them except that they had Christ in common. That was good enough reason for practical fellowship. Christians are urged to enjoy fellowship in this sense throughout the New Testament.

Taking communion together, drinking wine and eating bread in remembrance of the Lord Jesus, is another expression of Christian fellowship. The symbols remind us of the spiritual union brought about by our fellowship in his death. We have that death and his resurrection life in common, regardless of how different we may be from one another in culture, disposition and life experience. Our preparation for breaking bread and the manner in which we do it should reflect that.

More Expressions of Fellowship

Paul writes that the Gentiles have come to share in the spiritual blessings of the Jews. That too is fellowship, though in a more abstract sense. There is one body and one common faith, and believers from all nations participate in that together. That is a reality we should appreciate, though it requires nothing in particular from us except gratitude.

When Christians agree before God about how to proceed in the service of God, they are enjoying fellowship. Paul writes that James and Cephas and John “gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me”, which simply means they agreed with Paul and Barnabas about how they ought to divide up the task they had in common of reaching out with the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles. They may have chosen to work in different fields of service, but their fellowship united them in Christ.

Paul writes that the Philippian Christians were his partners in the gospel. This may have involved financial gifts or practical help, but a few verses later he notes that they were also having fellowship with him by praying for him. The Philippians made common cause with Paul in his ministry through their prayers for him even when they were not physically present to help him along.

A Little Time of Fellowship

The churches in which I circulate sometimes refer to the coffee break between meetings as a “time of fellowship”. That can be more aspirational than it is true, unfortunately. Remember that fellowship is an expression of what we have in common, and Christian fellowship is all about the things we have in common in Christ. So, to the extent our conversation is about sports, or work or our families, it may be an expression of friendly interest or a way of simply passing the time, but there is nothing uniquely Christian about it, nor is it truly fellowship in the New Testament sense.

Perhaps you can see why Luke singles out fellowship for mention in Acts 2. Fellowship makes the apostles’ teaching ours too. Fellowship makes the symbolism of the broken bread and shared cup meaningful. Fellowship gives prayers their urgency and strength.

In the absence of real Christian fellowship, a message from the platform is robbed of its power even when it accurately reflects the apostles’ doctrine. In the absence of real Christian fellowship, our corporate prayers never reach the ceiling. In the absence of real Christian fellowship, breaking bread together can become an occasion for God’s discipline.

Fellowship is the glue that binds God’s people together. That’s why it’s so important.