In 1 John 1:3 we read these words, “That which we have seen and heard we declare to you…” Remember John had seen Jesus with his own physical eyes, and heard His words with his own physical ears and it was what he saw and heard that he was anxious to share with his Christian brothers and sisters, “…that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” The Greek word for fellowship means partnership, participation, intercourse, and benefaction. This means an association with unity, sharing together as brothers and sisters, each contributing help to one another, and having communion with one another. This is the kind of relationship John enjoyed “with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ”, and desires that we share in the same. Now this fellowship is not only vertical to God but returns to us and becomes horizontal to other believers; in verse 7 he says “…if we walk in the light as He is in the light, (remember Jesus and His word are light) we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” This leads me to see a continuous cleansing as we walk in the light, and thus what we perceive as minor flaws in the life of another should not negate or break our fellowship, but rather we edify one another (see Romans 14:19) so that together we are being cleansed form these!
Fellowship
By Rose Hill
When we are in God’s family,
We aren’t in darkness, God’s way we see.
When we walk in the truth, we are always sharing,
The things of Christ and for others caring.
Fellowship we surely have now,
Those in darkness don’t see how.
But when Jesus cleanses us from all sin,
Together we are companions of Him.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.