The Christadelphian, January 1939, Graham Pearse

“The Nature and Conditions of Fellowship”

In this latter day revival of the Truth the authority and guidance of the Holy Spirit is not present among the ecclesias, and it has been found necessary to conduct ecclesial affairs on a democratic basis. By this, every member of the ecclesia contributes by vote to the decisions of the ecclesia. These decisions vary in importance. Occasionally the ecclesia has to make a decision involving fellowship, and the responsibility this places on each member should impress us with the wisdom of having a clear understanding of the matter: especially as right judgment is usually difficult, and the decision, involving association or separation, is likely to have a big influence on the lives of those concerned.

The subject of fellowship is prominently before the brethren at the present time, as the question of “reunion” of “separated fellowships” is being strongly advocated. A clear understanding of the nature and conditions of fellowship will help us to form a proper judgment on this complex subject.

If we first take a broad view of the subject of fellowship, the instruction of the Word of God is abundant and clear. From Genesis to Revelation it recognises two classes: those who are of the world, minding the things of the flesh, and those who are separated from the world to the calling of service and obedience to God, delighting themselves in the things of the spirit. In Old Testament times the children of Israel were called to be a separate people. This separation is one of the most prominent features of the Mosaic Law; not only in its precepts, but also in its ritual and observances, such as in the various matters of cleanness and uncleanness.

In the New Testament times both Peter and Paul stress the same theme, adopting the very words of Moses. Peter writes: “But as he which called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:15); and Paul writes to the Corinthians: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” (2 Cor. 6:14–17).

We, in the closing days of the Gentiles, have still to obey this command to be separate. It is a wise command, and for our good. For if one who had turned his heart to God were to remain in close contact and co-operation with the world, then almost certainly he would eventually succumb to his environment, and return to his old outlook and desires. By separating from the world, and associating with those of like precious faith, he is helped, not only by the removal of evil influences, but also by close contact with good influences.

Clearly then the scripture calls us to separateness from the world and holiness before God. Our understanding of the matter, however, must go much deeper than these simple truths if we are to be enabled to define, when necessary the line between right and wrong fellowship. Let us therefore study the matter more closely.

From what has been said already it is clear that the basis of every fellowship is a co-operating of people who have a common purpose and outlook. “Oneness” and “sharing” are the key ideas of fellowship. These ideas are expressed in the etymology of both the English word “fellowship,” and also in its Greek equivalent “koinonia.” The word “fellowship” comes from an old English word “felaghe” meaning a “sharer of goods” (fe—property, +lag—a laying, i.e., a laying together of property). So that fellows are those who are grouped together because they have things in common. The Greek word “koinonia” is translated “communion” (as in 2 Cor. 6) as well as “fellowship.” Properly it means “shared by all, or several,” the root of the word “koinos,” meaning “common.” A common viewpoint and purpose, common desires and hopes—in other words a general oneness, must constitute the foundation of every true fellowship.

There are many fellowships in the world, each having its own basis embodied in a constitution written or understood. Our interest is in something far higher than these worldly fellowships, even the fellowship of the Truth. Here most certainly there must be a basis of fellowship, there must be agreement, a oneness, things in common. We find what this basis of fellowship is in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians—the fourth chapter. We have only space to quote a few verses: “I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called . . . endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

From this it is clear that the common ground or basis of association is not simple, but contains numerous elements. The way of salvation is the same for all; there is a oneness of hope, the hope of the Gospel. There is one Lord Jesus Christ, our sacrifice and redeemer. There is one faith based upon the understanding and receiving of the system of things we call the Truth. There is one baptism, that essential act of obedience that brings us into covenant relationship with God through Christ. And transcending all, there is one God and Father, yea, we are all the children of God Almighty through adoption into Christ. Such is Paul’s brief summing up of the elements of our foundation of fellowship. It is not, nor is it meant to be, an all-sufficient guide to fellowship. It is not sufficiently detailed to ensure oneness of mind, because quite different views might be supported with his words. It does impress us, however, with the essential oneness that should exist among us.

These several elements of oneness of which Paul speaks, arise from a more fundamental truth, even that our fellowship is with the Father and the Son. Paul has touched on this when he speaks of “One God and Father.” John states the matter more fully: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).

This indeed is the most important factor in our fellowship, that it is related to the Father and the Son. They are the centre of our fellowship. Everything develops from this. As John goes on to show, the conditions for fellowship, and also our fellowship one with another, originate here. For the declaration John speaks of in the verse quoted is stated later: “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:5–7).

These words of John are profound. As we reflect on them, two ideas stand out: that fellowship is a great advantage, and that the conditions are commensurately exacting. Let us first appreciate the greatness of the privilege so that we may be more ready to accept the conditions humbly.

John invites us to fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus. When we remember the keywords of “oneness” and “sharing” bound up with fellowship, and then reflect on two fundamental truths, first, that God’s ways are higher than our ways as heaven is above earth, that He is the Almighty Creator of all, of whose understanding there is no searching, and whose eyes are too pure to behold iniquity; secondly, that man is a creature of the dust, of weak and sinful nature, subject to vanity—if we reflect on these things, fellowship with God is almost passing comprehension. Yet God will receive us, even now, as reconciled, as children, as workers together with Him. And in time to come we may anticipate a full reality of fellowship with God, for Peter says: “We have exceeding great and precious promises that by these we might be partakers (sharers) of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). This means that we may have such oneness with God as will result from partaking of His Spirit nature.

God is working to this end through Jesus Christ, as Jesus prays: “That they all may be one; as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us” (John 17:21). So John speaks of fellowship with the Son as well as with the Father. Let us not underestimate this privilege of fellowship with Christ. Though a partaker of our nature and infirmities, yet he was God’s only begotten Son, spotless in character, and now perfected and exalted to the “right hand of the majesty on high, being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” We now are called to be his brethren and sisters, “to sit in the heavenlies in Christ,” “being made joint heirs with him,” and prospectively his companions in the Father’s kingdom.

Truly this is a privileged position. A position we are not fitted for naturally. It is only possible after a change in us. We must pass from darkness into light. It is God’s fellowship, and therefore He lays down the conditions, and they are according to the standard of Himself. We must “walk in the light even as He is in the light.” We must walk according to His revealed will, otherwise fellowship with Him is impossible. John says, as we have seen, that walking in the light necessitates receiving his declaration, and so we must recognise that both doctrine and precept are included in walking in the light. Paul recognises this fact when he speaks of some who “walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel.”

Do we realise how far-reaching is this condition of walking in the light? The whole of scripture is the revealed light of God in our day. Anything contrary to its teaching is darkness. Is mortal man able to fulfil such conditions? Not in a complete sense. Christ alone was perfect in knowledge, understanding and action. He was the Light of the World, in all things “walking in the light as God is in the light,” so that he is spoken of in prophecy as the “man that is my fellow” (Zech. 13:7). He is the covering for our imperfectness, as John says: “If we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). But this covering does not set aside the conditions. There is a state of darkness, and there is a state of light. It is most vital that we should be in this state of light, for there is no middle position, as Paul says in the passage already quoted: “What communion hath light with darkness?” and again when writing to the Ephesians: “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8). It follows that we must see clearly the light of the truth of the scripture, and hold it fast, for it is our basis of fellowship.

How can we be sure that we are walking according to the light of the scripture? The comprehension of the light is not easy. The Truth is not set out in the style of a text-book. Certainly there is a sequence and oneness of theme throughout—even the development of God’s purpose. But it is presented at “sundry times and in divers manners,” precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little. It is a composition of different parts with different uses: “for doctrine, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Moreover, it was given in such a manner as to confound the wise. Partly because of this we find that after the first few centuries the light of the Truth grew dim, and at one time it appears to have been obscured altogether. Under the hand of God, Dr. Thomas was enabled to make the Truth plain again, and we have it as a set of propositions, all of which are in harmony with the scripture. These propositions form a structure of principles into which all Bible knowledge will fit. This structure we call a “Statement of Faith,” a definition of the basic “light” of revelation. It is not a statement of all the light, it is a foundation. Its importance lies in being a foundation. It expresses the minimum knowledge for a “babe in Christ,” referred to by Paul as “the first principles of the oracles of God,” the “laying of a foundation of repentance.”

To state what this foundation must contain to give a basis for acceptable “walking in light” is perhaps just where most difficulty is experienced. Scripture indicates, and experience and study verify, that the foundation elements fit together to make a whole. This the scripture styles “the Truth” (John 8:32; 2 Thess. 2:13; James 1:18; and 2 John 1:1). John says: “The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; for the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.” Here then is a test. We must have a knowledge that is a unit, a complete picture. There must be nothing contradictory, and there must be no missing links. It is like an arch, made up of various stones of different shapes, each fitting in, each essential.

From this view of the matter it will be appreciated how different “the Truth” is from natural knowledge. It is not a progressive matter. It is not a subject on which there can be discussion and fresh conclusions reached. Each of us by careful study of the scripture, must be satisfied that what is styled “the Truth” to-day is indeed the Truth revealed in the Bible. Once we are convinced of this, and accept it, we must accept it as a whole. Further knowledge will amplify but not alter this basis.

From this conception of the matter also, it may be seen how easily human wisdom creeping in may dislodge one element, and so spoil the whole. For, as brother Roberts wrote: “The elements of the Truth are so mutually related that the displacement of one undermines the foundation of the whole.” Just as when one stone of an arch is removed, the whole is without strength and useless. Therefore we should be able to understand the apparently extreme care that is required to preserve the Truth: and the necessity for a “Statement of Faith” so comprehensive and full of detail. There can be no “simplified Statement of Faith” as some desire. The words of scripture without adequate explanation are not sufficient to make a satisfactory definition.

It will be apparent, then, that in this conception of the Truth we have a practical measure which is adequate to defining and limiting the necessarily severe conditions of our high calling, so that we may walk in the light as He is in the light.

In concluding this section, we would do well to stress the matters we have just put forward in their more practical bearing, as affecting our relations one with another. The condition of walking in light is the basis not only of our fellowship with God and Christ, but with one another as well, for John says: “If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another . . .” We say more practical bearing because if our fellowship were only with the Father and the Son, responsibility would be individual only; but in this fellowship one with another there is also a collective or ecclesial responsibility. Hence our Statement of Faith becomes a “Basis of Fellowship.” The acceptance of this definition of the light is the basis of our being part of an ecclesia and working together. This is the basis of our partaking of the emblems together, which is a very significant expression of our fellowship one with another; for the cup passes from hand to hand: we do not help ourselves separately from the table. Upon this basis we become not only children of God, and brethren and sisters of Christ, but also brethren and sisters one to another. We are bound together as a unity because we are children of light. There is a sharing together, presently and prospectively, of the good things of God in knowledge and hope.

But all this stands only on the basis we have considered, carrying with it responsibility to the ecclesias, which must receive further consideration.

Graham Pearce.

(To be continued.)