Fellowship

1 John 1:5-10

5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Realizing that God is light, He is good and only good makes a lot of things clearer for us.

He is the moral, guiding light in this life.

The Lord is the only such light.

Jesus is the only way.

There is no other guiding, moral light in this life.

All good, all wisdom, all moral guidance come from God.

Every good rule or moral idea is from Him.

Just as every physical good thing, light, warmth, etc. is from Him.

So, if we want to follow the Lord, we need to leave the darkness.

Come into the light.

We need to have fellowship with God.

Now a lot is made of the word fellowship.

In the simplest form and definition, the word means a partnership.

When we become Christians, we are forming a partnership with God.

Who defines the partnership? God.

Where is the partnership or contract defined? The Bible.

Because that is what we are doing.

We are entering a contract with God.

The Lord offers us salvation, in return for us following and obeying what He has put into this written contract.

The Bible.

I know, this makes it sound very legalistic, but there is an agreement and an exchange taking place.

Jesus takes our debt and our sin and our consequences to the cross.

He nails them there, suffering our consequences.

In return, He offers us freedom from sin, and He gives us a purpose, a mission.

To live our lives sharing the gospel of Christ.

To save others as we have been saved.

Drawing lost people from the darkness into the light.

This is our obedience, to do these things for Christ.

And if we do this, then we are also in partnership with other Christians.

We share our mutual struggles and woes.

We pray for one another.

We love one another.

Our partnership is in Christ.

Working for His ministry, together.

We may have different roles, but our goal is still the same.

To seek and save the lost for God.

This is Christ's mission and so, as His servants, it is our mission.

That is the fellowship, the partnership we have formed with God and His family.

We can also think of it as an alliance against evil.

All of us joined with God, as family and allies and partners, against Satan.

Together we are a force of light and good in the darkness of sin and confusion.

Leading people out of the darkness of evil into the light of grace.

Just remember, we cannot be a partaker of the darkness.

We can't be joining in the dark, sinful, evil things.

We must remain separate and in the light.

As partners, as family and fellow servants, we are obligated to help each other.

That is also part of our partnership, our contract, our fellowship.