Int’l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones
(Spring 2013)
General Subject
The Experience,
Growth, And Ministry Of Life For The Body
Message Titles
Message 1 Living in the
Fellowship of the Divine Life
Message 2 Dealing with the
Natural Constitution in Order to Be in Resurrection
Message 3 The Urgent Need of
the Growth of Life and Growing in Life by Dealing with the Heart
Message 4 Growing in Life by
Dealing with the Spirit
Message 5 Being a Qualified
Servant of God by Having the Complete Experience of a Called One
Message 6 The Ministry of Life
Message 7 Growing unto
Maturity to Become the New Jerusalem as the Ultimate Consummation of the Church
Message 8 Living a Sacrificing
Life in the Body and Ministering Life to the Body for the Growth of the Body
Int’l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2013)
The Experience,
Growth, And Ministry Of Life For The Body
WEEK 1
Living in the
Fellowship of the Divine Life
Scripture Reading: 1 John 1:2-7, 9
1Joh 1:2 (And the life was manifested, and we have
seen and testify and report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father
and was manifested to us); 3 That which we have seen and heard we report
also to you that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our
fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And
these things we write that our joy may be made full. 5 And
this is the message which we have heard from Him and announce 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 yet walk in the darkness, we lie and are not practicing
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 His Son cleanses
us from every sin. . . . . 9 He who says he is in the light and yet hates
his brother is in the darkness until now.
Week 1 Day 1
I. We need to enter into the vertical and
horizontal aspects of the fellowship of the divine life:
A. The fellowship is
the flow of the eternal life within all the believers, who have received and
possess the divine life; it is illustrated by the flow of the river of water of
life in the New Jerusalem—Rev. 22:1.
Rev
22:1 And he showed me a
river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God
and of the Lamb in the middle of its street.
B. First John 1:2-3
and 6-7 reveal that the fellowship of the divine life has both a vertical
aspect and a horizontal aspect:
John
1:2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being
through Him, and apart from Him not one thing came into being which has come
into being.
1. First John 1:2-3 says, “(And the life was
manifested, and we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life,
which was with the Father and was manifested to us); that which we have seen
and heard we report also to you that you also may have fellowship with us, and
indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ”:
a. The vertical aspect of fellowship refers
to our fellowship with the Triune God; the horizontal aspect of fellowship
refers to our fellowship with one another.
b. The initial experience of the apostles
was vertical, but when the apostles reported the eternal life to others, they
experienced the horizontal aspect of the divine fellowship.
2. Verse 6 says, “If we say that we have
fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and are not practicing
the truth”; this is the vertical aspect of fellowship.
3. Verse 7 says, “But if we walk in the
light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another”; this is the
horizontal aspect of fellowship.
Week 1 Day 2
C. We need to see
the relationship between the vertical and horizontal aspects of the divine
fellowship:
1. If you do not have the proper fellowship
with the Lord, it is difficult to have fellowship with your fellow believers;
in the same way, if you do not have the proper fellowship with your fellow
believers, it is difficult to have fellowship with the Lord; the reason for
this is that the divine fellowship is one fellowship—Acts 2:42.
Acts
2: 42 And they continued steadfastly in the teaching
and the fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.
2. When we are not in this fellowship in a
practical way, we are out of the Spirit, out of the Triune God, and out of the
divine life—cf. 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Cor. 1:9; Phil. 2:1.
2Cor
13: 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the
love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
1Cor
1: 9 God is faithful, through whom you were called
into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Phil
2:1 If there is therefore any
encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of
spirit, if any tenderheartedness and compassions,
3. We should try to have fellowship with our
fellow believers as much as possible; this divine fellowship not only corrects
us; it also molds us and even reconstitutes us; this fellowship brings the
divine constituent into our spiritual being, causing a change in our being.
Week
1
Day
3
4. Fellowship also indicates a putting away
of private interests and a joining with others for a certain common purpose;
hence, to live in the divine fellowship is to put aside our private interests
and join with the apostles and the Triune God for the carrying out of God’s
purpose—Acts 2:42; 1 John 1:3; 1 Cor. 1:9; 3:6, 12.
Acts
2: 42 And they continued steadfastly in the
teaching and the fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread and the
prayers.
1John
1: 3 That which we have seen and heard we report
also to you that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship
is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
1Cor
1: 9 God is faithful, through whom you were called
into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1Cor
3: 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused
the growth. . . . . 12 But if anyone builds upon the foundation
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, stubble,
D. The divine
fellowship is the reality of living in the Body of Christ:
1. The reason that the Lord has not yet come
back (Rev. 22:20) is that the believers are individualistic, independent,
opinionated, and divided.
Rev
22: 20 He who testifies these things says, Yes, I
come quickly. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
2. By being restricted in the divine
fellowship, the Body of Christ is kept in oneness, and the work of the ministry
continues to go on; the thing that makes everything alive is
fellowship—Eph. 4:11-12; cf. Ezek. 47:9.
Eph 4: 11 And He Himself gave some as apostles and some
as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers, 12 For
the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building
up of the Body of Christ,
Ezek
47:9 And every living creature which
swarms in every place where the river goes shall live, and there will be very
many fish when this water comes there. And the water of the sea shall be
healed, and everything shall live wherever the river comes.
E. The fellowship of
life, the inner flow of life, results in joy and in the inner shining, the
inner ruling, of the light of life—1 John 1:4-5; John 1:4; 8:12; cf. 2 Cor.
5:13.
1John
1: 4 And these things we write that our joy may be
made full. 5 And this is the message which we have heard
from Him and announce to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at
all.
John
1: 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light
of men.
John
8: 12 Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying,
I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall by no means walk in
darkness, but shall have the light of life.
2Cor
5: 13 For whether we were beside ourselves, it was to
God; or whether we are sober-minded, it is for you.
Week 1 Day 4
II. We need to enter into the two aspects of the
divine fellowship by the two spirits:
A. We need to enter
into the vertical aspect of the divine fellowship by the divine Spirit, the
Holy Spirit—13:14; 2 Tim. 4:22:
2Cor
13: 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the
love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
2Tim
4: 22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with
you.
1. The Spirit Himself is the fellowship because
the fellowship is the flow, the current, of the Spirit; this is like saying
that the current of electricity is just the electricity itself; the current of
electricity is electricity in motion.
2. In the same way, the fellowship of the
Holy Spirit mentioned in 2 Corinthians 13:14 is the Spirit in motion; the grace
of Christ is Christ Himself enjoyed by us, the love of God is God Himself
tasted by us, and the fellowship of the Spirit is the Spirit Himself moving
within us.
2Cor
13: 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the
love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
B. We need to enter
into the horizontal aspect of the divine fellowship by the human spirit—Phil.
2:1; Rev. 1:10:
Phil
2:1 If there is therefore any
encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of
spirit, if any tenderheartedness and compassions,
Rev 1: 10 I was in spirit on the Lord's Day and heard
behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
1. If we are going to have real fellowship
horizontally with one another, we need to exercise our spirit—1 Tim. 4:7.
1Tim
4: 7 But the profane and old-womanish myths
refuse, and exercise yourself unto godliness.
2. If we exercise our spirit, we will never
talk in a worldly manner, speak negatively about the saints or the churches, or
gossip about others’ mistakes and failures; when we exercise our spirit, the
nature of our conversation will change because our spirit is holy—2 Cor. 6:6.
2Cor
6: 6 In pureness, in knowledge, in long-suffering,
in kindness, in a holy spirit, in unfeigned love,
C. The horizontal
fellowship is interwoven with the vertical fellowship; this interwoven
fellowship is the real fellowship:
1. When we fellowship with one another in a
genuine way by exercising our spirit, we are eager to pray and contact the
Lord; this shows how close the relationship is between the vertical and
horizontal aspects of fellowship.
2. Our horizontal fellowship with the saints
brings us into vertical fellowship with the Lord; then our vertical fellowship
with the Lord brings us into horizontal fellowship with the saints.
Week
1
Day
5
D. The divine
fellowship is everything in the Christian life:
1. Just as the current of electricity is the
electricity itself, the fellowship of the divine life, the flow of the divine
life, is the divine life itself.
2. Our Christian life is a life of the
fellowship of the divine life.
3. The apostles
wanted to have fellowship with the believers—this is horizontal fellowship;
then the apostles stated that their fellowship was with the Triune God—this is
vertical fellowship.
4. We should be
vertically fellowshipping with the Lord and, at the same time, be horizontally
fellowshipping with one another.
5. Eventually, in
this divine fellowship God is interwoven with us; this interweaving is the
mingling of God with man.
6. We must realize
that when fellowship disappears, God also disappears; God comes as the
fellowship.
III. Our fellowship is deepened
through the cross:
A. In the whole
universe there is only one thing that takes away all the obstacles between God
and us—the cross.
B. Verse 6 of hymn
#737 in Hymns says, “Fellowship is deepened / Thru the cross of death; /
Fellowship is lifted / By the Spirit’s breath”; without the Spirit and the
cross, we cannot have real fellowship.
C. The first line of
Hymns, #279 says, “First the blood, and then the ointment”:
1. The blood is a strong sign of the cross,
and the ointment is a type of the all-inclusive, compound Spirit.
Week
1
Day
6
2. These two elements are mentioned in
Leviticus 14:6-10 and 14-18; in this portion of the Word, we are told that a
leper, signifying an unclean sinner, is to be cleansed first by the blood; upon
the base of the blood, then the oil, the ointment, is applied:
Lev
14:6 As for the living
bird, he shall take it and the cedar wood and the scarlet strands and the
hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that
was slaughtered over the running water.
7 And he shall sprinkle it on the one who is to
be cleansed from the leprosy seven times and shall pronounce him clean. Then he
shall let the living bird go into the open field.
8 And the one who is to be cleansed shall wash
his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe in water, and he shall be
clean. And after that he may come into the camp, but he shall dwell outside his
tent seven days.
9 And on the seventh day he shall shave off all
his hair; he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his
hair. Then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and he shall
be clean.
10 And on the eighth day he shall take two male
lambs without blemish and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish and
three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering mingled with oil and
one log of oil.
14 And the priest shall take some of the blood
of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right
ear of the one who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on
the big toe of his right foot.
15 And the priest shall take some of the log of
oil and pour it into the palm of the priest's left hand,
16 And the priest shall dip his right finger in
the oil that is in the palm of his left hand and sprinkle some of the oil with
his finger seven times before Jehovah.
17 And from the rest of the oil that is in the
palm of his hand the priest shall put some on the lobe of the right ear of the
one who is to be cleansed and some on the thumb of his right hand and some on
the big toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering.
18 And the rest of the oil that is in the palm
of the priest's hand he shall put on the head of the one who is to be cleansed.
Then the priest shall make expiation for him before Jehovah.
a. The blood and the ointment are applied to
the lobe of the leper’s right ear, to the thumb of his right hand, and to the
big toe of his right foot; the ear signifies our listening to the word of God,
the hand signifies our doing the things of God, and the foot signifies our
taking the ways of God.
b. Spiritually speaking, leprosy is composed
of the wrong hearing, the wrong working, and the wrong walking; because we are
lepers, we need first to be cleansed by Christ’s redeeming blood, and then upon
the blood we need the anointing oil.
c. Consummately, our cleansing is by the
divine fellowship of the Spirit based upon the cleansing blood of Christ.
D. The divine
fellowship is the dispensing of the Triune God into us, the tripartite men,
making us and God one; the Greek word for fellowship means “joint
participation,” and this joint participation issues in oneness:
1. Actually, fellowship is just oneness;
when God is fellowshipping with us, and when we are fellowshipping with God,
that makes God and us one.
2. In the whole universe there is a big
oneness, and this big oneness is the divine fellowship.
3. The Lord desires to make us all one as
the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one; in John 17 the Lord prayed, “That
they may be one, even as We are one” (v. 22b); the church’s oneness is a part
of the divine oneness of the Divine Trinity (v. 21a).
John
17:21a That they all may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You,
that they also may be in Us;
4. Eventually, the church and the Divine
Trinity are one in fellowship—14:21, 23.
John 14: 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, he
is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I
will love him and will manifest Myself to him. . . . . 23
Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My
word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode
with him.
E. We must
experience the cross in order to be thoroughly in the divine fellowship:
1. Because there is an obstacle within us
toward another brother, our fellowship with him is not that thorough; we may
avoid contact with certain saints because of the obstacles within us to the
divine fellowship.
2. Our fellowship is not thorough, and
obstacles remain within us because we do not have the cross in our
experience—Gal. 2:20a.
Gal 2: 20a I am crucified with Christ;
3. Hymns, #631 says, “If no death, no life”;
this means, “If no cross, no Christ”; furthermore, “If no Christ, no Spirit;
and if no Spirit, no fellowship.”
4. In Matthew 16:24 the Lord said, “If
anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and
follow Me”; the Lord used the words his cross, indicating that there is a
particular portion of the cross for each one of us in order to cross each one
of us out.
5. Actually, to bear the cross is to deny
the self, to put the self to death, to apply the cross of Christ to the self all
the time.
6. In order for us to have the horizontal
fellowship, we need to deny ourselves; to deny ourselves means to be senseless
about ourselves; then we can never be offended.
7. We need the experience of the cross to
deepen our experience of the divine fellowship—cf. 1John 1:9.
1John 1: 9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our
sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
WEEK 1 — DAY 1
Morning
Nourishment
1 John 1:3 :That
which we have seen and heard we report also to you that you also may have
fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His
Son Jesus Christ.:
6-7 “If we say that
we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and are not
practicing the truth; but if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we
have fellowship with one another...” The fellowship
of the divine life revealed in the New Testament is abstract, mysterious, and
very difficult to define. The Greek word rendered fellowship in 1 John 1:3 is
koinonia, which means joint participation or common participation. According to
this verse, the divine fellowship is not only with the Father but also with the
Son. In 2 Corinthians 13:14 this divine fellowship is called “the fellowship of
the Holy Spirit,” in Acts 2:42 it is “the fellowship of the apostles,” and in
Philippians 2:1 it is the “fellowship of spirit.” From these portions of the
Word, we can see that the divine fellowship belongs to the Father, the Son, the
Spirit, the apostles, and all of the believers. They are all involved in this
fellowship. This divine fellowship involves many persons; hence, it is mutual.
It is impossible for just one person by himself to have this fellowship. The
fellowship is one, but it involves many persons. (The Triune God to Be Life to
the Tripartite Man, p. 143)
Today’s
Reading
One of the best
illustrations of fellowship is electricity. Electricity is mysterious yet very
real. Electricity is manifested in light bulbs or fluorescent lamps when the
current of electricity flows through them....The bulbs and lamps are connected
by the current of electricity. In a community or city, all of the homes are
joined together by the current of electricity which flows into each of the
homes. This current of electricity is an example of fellowship. The fellowship
is the flow of the eternal life within all the believers who have received and
possess the divine life. By the flow of
electricity, all of the homes are kept in oneness. Similarly, by the flow of
the eternal life, the fellowship, all of the believers are kept in
oneness. First John 1:2-3 and 6-7 reveal
that the fellowship of the divine life has both a vertical aspect and a
horizontal aspect. The vertical aspect of fellowship refers to our fellowship
with the Triune God. The horizontal aspect of fellowship refers to our
fellowship with one another. First John
1:2-3 says, “(And the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and
report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to
us); that which we have seen and heard we report also to you that you also may
have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with
His Son Jesus Christ.” The vertical aspect of fellowship was initially
established with the first apostles. The apostles then reported to sinners the
eternal life in order that they might have fellowship with the apostles. Before
the apostles reported the eternal life to them, the apostles themselves already
had the vertical fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (v.
3). The initial experience of the
apostles was vertical, but when the apostles reported the eternal life to
others, they experienced the horizontal aspect of the divine fellowship.
Verses 6 and 7 of 1
John 1 also indicate the vertical and horizontal aspects of the divine
fellowship. Verse 6 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet
walk in the darkness, we lie and are not practicing the truth.” This is the
vertical aspect of fellowship. Verse 7 says, “But if we walk in the light as He
is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.” This is the horizontal
aspect of fellowship. Both aspects of the divine fellowship are closely
related; therefore, it is difficult to say which aspect comes first. If you do not have the proper fellowship with
the Lord, it is difficult to have fellowship with your fellow believers. In the
same way, if you do not have the proper fellowship with your fellow believers,
it is difficult to have fellowship with the Lord. (The Triune God to Be Life to
the Tripartite Man, pp. 143-145)
Further Reading: The Triune God to Be Life to the
Tripartite Man, ch. 17
MESSAGE
SEVENTEEN
THE
VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL
ASPECTS OF THE FELLOWSHIP
OF THE DIVINE LIFE
Scripture
Reading: 1 John 1:2-3, 6-7; 2 Cor. 13:14; Phil. 2:1-2
The
fellowship of the divine life revealed in the New Testament is abstract,
mysterious, and very difficult to define. The Greek word rendered fellowship in
1 John 1:3 is koinonia, which means joint participation or common
participation. According to this verse, the divine fellowship is not only with
the Father but also with the Son. In 2 Corinthians 13:14 this divine fellowship
is called "the fellowship of the Holy Spirit," in Acts 2:42 it is
"the fellowship of the apostles," and in Philippians 2:1 it is the
"fellowship of spirit." From these portions of the Word, we can see
that the divine fellowship belongs to the Father, the Son, the Spirit, the
apostles, and all of the believers. They are all involved in this fellowship.
This divine fellowship involves many persons; hence, it is mutual. It is
impossible for just one person by himself to have this fellowship. The
fellowship is one, but it involves many persons.One of the best illustrations of fellowship is electricity. Electricity is mysterious yet very real. Electricity is manifested in light bulbs or fluorescent lamps when the current of electricity flows through them. If the bulbs or lamps remain intact and the current of electricity flows, the electricity appears. But if the bulbs or lamps are broken, the electricity disappears. The bulbs and lamps are connected by the current of electricity. In a community or city, all of the homes are joined together by the current of electricity which flows into each of the homes. This current of electricity is an example of fellowship. The fellowship is the flow of the eternal life within all the believers who have received and possess the divine life. By the flow of electricity, all of the homes are kept in oneness. Similarly, by the flow of the eternal life, the fellowship, all of the believers are kept in oneness.
THE DIVINE FELLOWSHIP AND ITS TWO ASPECTS
First
John 1:2-3 and 6-7 reveal that the fellowship of the divine life has both a
vertical aspect and a horizontal aspect. The vertical aspect of fellowship
refers to our fellowship with the Triune God. The horizontal aspect of
fellowship refers to our fellowship with one another.First John 1:2-3 says, " And the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us. That which we have seen and heard we report also to you, that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed the fellowship which is ours is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ." The vertical aspect of fellowship was initially established with the first apostles. The apostles then reported to sinners the eternal life in order that they might have fellowship with the apostles. Before the apostles reported the eternal life to them, the apostles themselves already had the vertical fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (v. 3). The initial experience of the apostles was vertical, but when the apostles reported the eternal life to others, they experienced the horizontal aspect of the divine fellowship.
Verses 6 and 7 of 1 John 1 also indicate the vertical and horizontal aspects of the divine fellowship. Verse 6 says, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in the darkness, we lie and are not practicing the truth." This is the vertical aspect of fellowship. Verse 7 says, "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another." This is the horizontal aspect of fellowship. Both aspects of the divine fellowship are closely related; therefore, it is difficult to say which aspect comes first. If you do not have the proper fellowship with the Lord, it is difficult to have fellowship with your fellow believers. In the same way, if you do not have the proper fellowship with your fellow believers, it is difficult to have fellowship with the Lord.
EXPERIENCING THE VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL
ASPECTS OF THE DIVINE FELLOWSHIP
The
reality of the divine fellowship is one of the most neglected things among the
believers. It is hard to find many who are in the reality of fellowship.
Positionally, we all are in this fellowship, but in our daily living, very few
of us are in the reality of fellowship. We may have the matter of fellowship in
name, but we may not have it in practicality. I have tried to practice this
fellowship, but I have to admit that I have not been completely successful in
maintaining this fellowship hour after hour throughout the day. When we are not
in this fellowship in a practical way, we are out of the Spirit, out of the
Triune God, and out of the divine life.Before we were saved, we were sinners living in sin and dead in sin. We were not involved in the fellowship of life. One day someone reported to us the eternal life (1 John 1:2), and we believed in the Lord Jesus. From that moment we were brought into the divine fellowship. Two things are very striking about our initial experience of the divine fellowship. First, it is difficult to find one person who believed in the Lord directly by himself without the help of someone who preached the gospel to him. Nearly everyone heard a report first and then believed. Second, there is almost always a deep relationship between the one who reported or preached the gospel and the one who received the report and got saved.
Many years ago in mainland China, I preached the gospel a number of times to large congregations, and many people were saved through me. Because I preached the gospel to them and they were saved through my preaching, many of them felt intimately related to me, even though I never talked with them personally. My point in relating this experience is that there is almost always an intimate feeling between the person who gets saved and the one through whom he gets saved. I cannot forget the female evangelist through whom I was saved. She will always be so dear and precious to me because through her I was brought into the divine fellowship. Her preaching of the gospel to me was related to the horizontal aspect of the fellowship of the divine life. After receiving her word, I went to the Lord and was brought into the vertical aspect of the divine fellowship.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL ASPECTS
OF THE DIVINE FELLOWSHIP
There
is a close relationship between the vertical and horizontal aspects of the
divine fellowship. Our vertical fellowship with the Lord is affected by our
horizontal fellowship with others. If we do not have a proper relationship with
those around us, it is difficult to have a good fellowship with the Lord
vertically. The reason for this is that the divine fellowship is one
fellowship. Each day we should be in the divine fellowship, vertically and
horizontally. Most of us may think that we daily start this fellowship
according to its vertical aspect, followed by its horizontal aspect. Most of
the time, however, this is not our experience. Since most of us have spouses,
other family members, or roommates living with us, our fellowship usually
begins in a horizontal manner. If we have a quarrel with our wife, husband, or
roommate in the evening, we will find it difficult to start our vertical
fellowship with the Lord in the morning. We must maintain both the vertical and
horizontal aspects of the fellowship in order to be healthy spiritually.In Ephesians 4:25 the apostle Paul said, "Wherefore, having put off the falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are members one of another." In this verse the word neighbor refers to the brothers and sisters. We must be right with our fellow believers in order to be kept in the divine fellowship. In our experience we often cannot have vertical fellowship with the Lord without first having horizontal fellowship with other believers.
A saint who has a proper living and who is victorious is one who is always in the divine fellowship, vertically and horizontally, all day long. We must learn to fellowship with the Lord more, and we must also learn to fellowship with the saints more. We must thank the Lord for those around us, and we must endeavor to have fellowship with them. The brothers and sisters should have thorough fellowship with one another, even concerning practical things related to their daily living. We should have fellowship with one another to such an extent. When we fellowship in such a way, we receive the benefit.
We may feel that we should only fellowship with those around us about the messages we have read or some other spiritual activity. Of course, our fellowship should include this. However, our fellowship should also include many practical things. I have discovered that the biggest shortage among us is fellowship. Our problem is that we do not have the habit to fellowship, and many of us do not like to fellowship. We must realize that when we fellowship, the Lord is involved. When we turn away from fellowship or stop our fellowship with our fellow believers, the Lord is kept away.
We should try to have fellowship with our fellow believers as much as possible. This divine fellowship not only corrects us; it also molds us and even reconstitutes us. This fellowship brings the divine constituent into our spiritual being, causing a change in our being.
THE DIVINE FELLOWSHIP BEING THE REALITY OF LIVING IN THE BODY OF CHRIST
The
divine fellowship is the reality of living in the Body of Christ. The Lord has
been frustrated throughout the centuries because of the lack of fellowship. In
Revelation 22:20 the Lord Jesus said, "I come quickly," but it has
been nearly two thousand years, and the Lord is still not back. The reason is
that the believers are individualistic, independent, opinionated, and divisive.
The Roman Catholic Church controlled people by its organization, but those who
broke away from Catholicism brought in division after division. The believers
seem to be like horses without bridles. Today nothing seems to control them.
Actually, the divine fellowship should control the believers.The one thing which should rule us is the divine fellowship. We are restricted in this fellowship. By being restricted in this fellowship, the Body of Christ is kept in oneness, and the work of the ministry continues to go on. When we are out of fellowship, everything is finished. The thing which makes everything alive is fellowship. If we learn to fellowship, we will receive many benefits, especially in the Lord's work.