What is a relationship? What is fellowship?
A relationship is a state of interaction between two living
beings, a giving and a receiving. Two
living beings conversing with each other, sharing things with each other, and
doing things for each other, are in a state of interaction, a relationship.
This processes of conversing, sharing and doing that takes place between
them is called fellowship. Thus
living beings that are fellowshipping with each other are in a relationship.
God wants all human beings to have fellowship with him, to be
in a relationship with Him in spirit, soul and body, their entire being.
God wants human beings to converse, share, and do things with Him.
He desires for all human beings to give to and receive from Him.
Man has fellowship with God by faith, a belief that “He exists and that
He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) Man must believe in God
and desire a relationship with God in order to experience fellowship with God.
Men of faith, such as Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David and
Elijah experienced (face to face) fellowship with God.
“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was
walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God
among the trees of the garden. But
the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’
He answered, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked;
so I hid.’ ”
Genesis 3:8-10 (Moses
expresses that Adam and Eve recognized the familiar sound of God walking in the
garden because He had done it many times before.
After the Fall of Man,
God has always asked the question of man, “Where are you?” because He desires
fellowship with man. It was man’s
new found insecurities that caused him to hide from God.)
“And Enoch
walked
with God: and he was not; because God took him.”
Genesis 5:24 (Moses expresses that Enoch was one of few pre-flood
men who experienced a relationship with God.
God enjoyed him so much that He took him to be with Him in spirit, soul and
body.)
“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and
your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make
your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’ ”
Genesis 12:1-3 (Moses
expresses that God called Abraham, the father of the Nation of Israel, out from
among his people, Gentiles, in order to have fellowship with him and establish a promise of
relationship for his children.)
“Abram believed
the Lord, and He credited it
to him as righteousness.”
Genesis 15:6 (Moses expresses that because Abraham had faith in God
and His promises, God considered Abraham righteous, in right-relationship with
Him, in fellowship with Him and thus Abraham experienced such.)
“It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise
that he would be heir of the world, but through the
righteousness that comes by
faith.” Romans 4:13 (Paul
expresses that Abraham experienced a relationship with God because of his faith
in God and His promises, not because of the written Law given by Moses.)
“Therefore,
the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be
guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the
law but also to those who are of the
faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.”
Romans 4:16 (Paul expresses
that just as Abraham experienced a relationship with God because of his faith in
God and His promise, so to can any man experience a relationship with God
because of that man’s faith in God and His promise.)
“God also said to Moses, "I am the LORD.” Exodus 6:2,
“Then Moses spoke and the voice of God
answered him.” Exodus 19:19,
“The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.”
Exodus 33:11, “And the
Lord said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am
pleased with you and I know you by name.” Exodus
33:17, “Since then, no prophet has risen
in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.” Deuteronomy
34:10 (Moses expresses
that he conversed with God face to face continually throughout his life as a
ruler over the nation of Israel and as God’s prophet to Israel. Moses experienced direct fellowship with God and God was
pleased with him and knew him by name, intimately.)
“Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, ‘Here I am.’”
1 Samuel 3:4, “The Lord
continued to appear at Shiloh, and there He
revealed
Himself to Samuel through His word.” 1 Samuel 3:21 (Samuel
expresses that God called him at a very early age to have fellowship with Him
and throughout his life God revealed Himself to Samuel.)
“Once again David
enquired of the Lord, and the Lord
answered him.” 1 Samuel 23:4,
“But David found
strength in the Lord his God.” 1 Samuel 30:6,
“David became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty
was with him.”
2 Samuel 5:10, “David,
who kept my commands and followed
me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes.”
1 Kings 14:8, “I have found
David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.”
Acts 13:22 (Samuel and
Luke expresses that David experienced fellowship with God, and God answered him,
strengthen him, and empowered him because He followed God with all his heart.)
“the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
1Kings 19:9 (Samuel expresses that the Lord sought Elijah, a prophet of
Israel, and asked him to explain why he was hiding.)
Men of faith, such as Moses, Samuel, David and Elijah had
fellowship with God, and yet in their fellowship He commanded them to prophetically
demonstrate the Life, Death and Resurrection of the Messiah through the shedding
of the blood of animals. This
shedding of blood was a prophetic foreshadow of what God would require of His
own Son, Jesus. It was a price that
demonstrated the depth of man’s separation from God and the cost of restoring
man’s ability to experience eternal life.
Before the Messiah came, men and women looked forward by faith to the life, death, and
resurrection of their Messiah, their Anointed One, Jesus.
God credited them righteous before Him, covering their sin because of
their faith in what their Messiah would do, as prophetically demonstrated by the law of
Moses.
"Make an altar
of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship
offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause My name to
be honored, I will come to you and bless you."
Exodus 20:24 (Moses
expresses that God promised He would come and bless the Israelites who sacrificed fellowship
offering to Him.)
"He is to bring
one of each kind as an offering, a contribution to the Lord; it belongs
to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the fellowship offerings.”
Leviticus 7:14 (Moses expresses
that fellowship offerings were a contribution to the Lord, a giving and
receiving took place.)
"Sacrifice
fellowship offerings there, eating them and rejoicing in
the presence of the Lord your God."
Deuteronomy 27:7 (Moses expresses
that the Israelites were to sacrifice fellowship offerings before the Lord and to
rejoice in God’s presence, to fellowship with Him.)
"David
built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship
offerings. Then the Lord
answered prayer on behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was
stopped."
2 Samuel 24:25 (Samuel expresses
that David fellowshipped with God by sacrificing fellowship offerings and God
answered his prayer.)
"At the end of
these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt
offerings and fellowship
offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the
Sovereign Lord."
Ezekiel 43:27 (Ezekiel expresses
that God requires man to sacrifice his life’s possessions upon His altar in
order to be pleasing and acceptable in His sight.)
Men of faith, such as James, John, Peter, Paul and billions more today have fellowship with God. This fellowship is through Jesus, who fulfilled God’s requirement with the shedding of his own blood, as the Lamb, the Messiah and the Son of God. God deems man righteous before Him, covering their sin, because of their faith in what Jesus did. Today, men and women look back by faith at what our Messiah did, His life, His death, and His resurrection, and thus the physical sacrifices of animals is no longer needed to demonstrate what has already taken place in history.
"God, who has
called you into fellowship
with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."
1 Corinthians 1:9 (Paul expresses that God has called man into fellowship with
Him through His Son Jesus.)
"May the grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
2 Corinthians 13:14 (Paul expresses
that God fellowships with man through the presence of His Holy Spirit.)
"I want to know
Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship
of sharing in his sufferings,
becoming like him in his death,"
Philippians 3:10
(Paul expresses that his life purpose was to have a relationship with
Jesus, to experience His life, His death through suffering, and His
resurrection, in his spirit, soul and body.)
"We proclaim to
you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And
our fellowship is with the Father
and with His Son, Jesus Christ." 1
John 1:3
(John expresses that he has fellowship with God the Father and God the
Son.)
In the course of time and space, a relationship and its
fellowship begins with, continues with, and ends with, a series of promises.
The intensity of fellowship is based upon the number or the magnitude of
these promises. A covenant, a
testament, or a legal contract is considered the most powerful set of promises
and can be the strongest intensity of fellowship between human beings.
The set of promises and its intensity of fellowship determines the level
of commitment that is required by each being in the relationship.
God gave to the Israelites (and now to the
Gentiles, the nations, any
man or woman, because of the Israelites' initial rejection of their Messiah) the
most powerful set of promises with the strongest intensity of fellowship within
the entire Bible and such demands the highest level of
commitment. Those promises allow
for the fullest experience of fellowship with God, being one with His Holy
Spirit.
"May your
unfailing love come to me, O Lord, your salvation
according to your promise;"
"My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise
preserves my life."
"I have sought your face with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to your promise."
"May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your
promise
to your servant." "Sustain
me according to your promise, and I
shall live; do not let my hopes be dashed." "Direct my footsteps according to your word
(promise); let no sin rule over me." "Defend
my cause and redeem me; preserve my life according to your promise."
"May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to
your promise."
Psalms 119:41, 50, 58, 76, 116, 133, 154, 170 (David expresses that God’s promises give man the ability
to fellowship with Him. His
promises give man eternal life, relationship with God, fellowship with God.)
"This is what the
Lord says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so
I
will give them all the prosperity I have promised
them."
Jeremiah 32:42 (Jeremiah, a
prophet of Israel, expresses that prosperity comes from God’s promises.)
"Exalted to the
right hand of God, He (Jesus)
has
received from the Father the promised
Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear."
"The promise (the Holy Spirit) is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for
all whom the Lord our God will call." Acts 2:33, 39
(Peter, a Messianic Jewish businessman, expresses that the Holy Spirit was promised
to Nation of Israel and to anyone who would call upon God.)
"He redeemed us
in order that the blessing
(promise)
given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by
faith we might receive the promise of
the Spirit." "But
the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what
was promised (the Holy Spirit), being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those
who believe." Galatians 3:14,
22, "And you also were included in
Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised
Holy Spirit,"
Ephesians 1:13
(Paul expresses that the Holy Spirit was promised to the Nation of Israel and to anyone
who would believe in Jesus, even the Gentiles, all nations.)
"For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that
those who are called may receive the
promised eternal inheritance-"
Hebrews 9:15 (The author of Hebrews expresses that man’s eternal inheritance,
eternal life, fellowship with God was promised to all who are called.)
"His divine
power
has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our
knowledge
of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious
promises,
so that through them you may participate in the divine nature
and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."
2 Peter 1:3-4 (Peter expresses
that through His promises man can experience the divine nature and thus be in
perfect fellowship with God.)
"But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness." 2 Peter 3:13 (Peter expresses that man’s new home of righteousness, a relationship with God, was promised by God.)
True fellowship with God, a relationship with God, eternal life has been promised by God for anyone to receive who will come to God in faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah. A relationship with God, and all that such fellowship includes, is available to anyone through the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit. The Law of Moses was given to keep us from grieving and quenching the presence of the promised Holy Spirit in our daily lives, so that we would indeed live in God's indwelling presence. (More about the Law of Moses later.)
Next Section - The Gifts of Life