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I. The fellowship of life.
II. The two aspects of the fellowship of life:
А. Fellowship with the apostles and the church that they represent.
B. Fellowship with God and the Lord Jesus.
III. The means of the fellowship of life:
А. The Holy Spirit.
IV. Another way of speaking of the fellowship of life:
А. Abiding in the Lord.
V. The believers’ responsibilities toward the fellowship of life:
А. Continuing steadfastly.
B. Obeying the teaching of the anointing.
C. Walking in the light.
D. Confessing our sins.
VI. The results of the fellowship of life:
А. Obtaining the light of God.
B. Obtaining the cleansing of the blood.
C. Having the Lord abiding in us.
D. Bearing much fruit to glorify God.
E. Having our prayers accomplished.
VII. Breaking the fellowship of life:
А. The life relationship between the believers and God never being able to be broken.
B. The life fellowship between the believers and God being able to be broken.
VIII. The recovery of the fellowship of life:
А. By confessing our sins.
IX. The relationship between the sense of life and the fellowship of life.
X. The danger to the believers of not living in the fellowship of life:
А. Losing the function of life and suffering loss.
B. Being fearful and ashamed.
Living in the fellowship of life, like obeying the sense of life, is a very important and practical matter in the Christian life. All those who pursue growth in the spiritual life must pay attention to this matter.
1. “We...report to you the eternal life...that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:2-3).
Two things are particularly spoken of in these verses: eternal life and fellowship. The eternal life is the life of God. This life causes us to have fellowship. Therefore, the fellowship that we have comes out of the life of God. Since both the nature and content of this fellowship belong to God’s life, it is called the fellowship of life.
The fellowship of life involves the life of God entering into us and causing us to have a life-flow with God, the Lord, and all those who have the life of God. In it we can share our innermost feelings and are mingled into one with God, the Lord, and all those who have the life of God.
Every kind of life has fellowship and requires fellowship. The higher a life is, the greater is its capacity to fellowship and the deeper is its need for fellowship. The life of God is the highest life, so it has the greatest capacity to fellowship and the deepest need for fellowship. This life is in us, enabling us to have the highest fellowship and giving us a very deep need for this highest fellowship.
1. “We...report to you the eternal life...that you also may have fellowship with us” (1 John 1:2-3).
The fellowship of life that comes into us has two aspects: one is fellowship with those who have the life of God, and the other is fellowship with God and the Lord. The apostle John says that they report the eternal life so that we may have fellowship with them. We refers to the apostles. The apostles represent the church (1 Cor. 12:28). The church is composed of all who have God’s life. Therefore, the life of God causes us to have fellowship with the apostles, which is the same as causing us to have fellowship with the church, all who have the life of God.
When the life of God comes into us, it spontaneously causes us to have fellowship with those who have the life of God. We become one with them in life because this fellowship is in the one life of God. Although many have this life, the life is one. We have received the one life of God, so the life that we have is the same one life. In this one life we can be one and have fellowship with one another in oneness. This is similar to a light in a room and thousands of lights in a city being one in the one flow of electricity. When we meet a brother or sister in the Lord, there is an inward response and fellowship if there are no barriers in us. It is as if there is a flow of electricity between us. This kind of fellowship is very precious. It gives us the watering and the supply of life.
The life of God not only causes us to fellowship with the children of God but also requires us to do so. If we have fellowship in God’s life with the children of God, we feel inwardly satisfied, comfortable, proper, and natural. If we do not have this fellowship, we feel depressed, miserable, and unfulfilled. This proves that the life of God requires us to fellowship with the children of God. If we respond to the requirement of God’s life in us, we will live in God’s life; that is, we will live in the fellowship of God’s life.
2. “Those then who received his word were baptized...They continued steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles” (Acts 2:41-42).
At the time of Pentecost everyone who heard and believed continued in the fellowship of the apostles after being baptized. This means that they continuously had fellowship in God’s life with all the believers. This fellowship is called the fellowship of the apostles because the Lord’s life is imparted to people through the reporting of the apostles, which makes them the church, the Lord’s Body. The apostles also represent the church produced by the Lord’s life. Thus, the fellowship of the apostles is the fellowship of the church. If a person has fellowship with the apostles, as in 1 John 1, he has fellowship with the church. This fellowship in the believers is from the Lord’s life. They share a common fellowship in the one life of the Lord and should continue to have fellowship in the unchanging life of the Lord. When we fellowship with the believers in this way, we continue in the fellowship of the apostles.
1. “That you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).
The apostles’ fellowship is with God and with the Lord Jesus. Therefore, the fellowship of the church that they represent is also the fellowship of God and the fellowship of the Lord. If we are in the fellowship of the apostles and in the fellowship of the church that they represent, we are also in the fellowship of God and the Lord. Conversely, if we are in the fellowship of God and the Lord, we must also be in the fellowship of the apostles and the church, because the fellowship of the Lord and the fellowship of the church are two aspects of the same fellowship. They are actually just one fellowship.
On the one hand, the life of the Lord causes us to have fellowship with God and with the Lord Jesus, and on the other hand, it causes us to have fellowship with the church represented by the apostles and with all those who have the Lord’s life. This is similar to electricity in the light in a room. On the one hand, the electricity causes the light to have fellowship with the electric power plant, and on the other hand, it causes the light in the room to have fellowship with all the lights in the city. If the light breaks its fellowship with the electric power plant, its fellowship with the other lights in the city is also broken. In the same way, if a person with the Lord’s life breaks his fellowship with the Lord, his fellowship with those who have the Lord’s life is also broken. Even though two believers have the Lord’s life, they will not have the fellowship of life if either breaks his fellowship with the Lord. If a believer has a problem with the Lord, it will be apparent to others because they will not be able to fellowship with him since he is not connected to the electric power plant — the Lord. Thus, the two cannot connect.
If we are living in fellowship with the Lord, when we touch another person who is in fellowship with the Lord, there is an immediate inward life reaction. This is the fellowship of life. This is similar to when a magnet touches a piece of metal — there is an immediate reaction. A missionary from Norway once came to Shantung to preach the gospel. Her topic was always regeneration. When she finished the message, she would immediately hurry to the door of the hall and ask each person as they went out whether they had been regenerated. It did not matter whether they were pastors, elders, or preachers; she asked everyone the same question. Once she asked a preacher named Mr. Wang, who later became a very good brother, whether he had been regenerated. When he said, “Yes,” she said that his voice did not sound as if he had been regenerated. When he heard this, he was very angry. After he went home, the Holy Spirit worked in his heart, and after a couple of days he thoroughly repented, confessed his sins with tears, and received the Lord as his Savior. As soon as he finished praying, he hurried to the missionary’s house. Before he could say anything, she said, “Thank the Lord, you have been saved.” The fellowship of the Lord’s life within us is very marvelous and spiritual. It causes us to have fellowship both with God and the Lord and with those who have the Lord’s life. We have the Lord’s life in us, and this life causes us to have fellowship with the Lord and to have fellowship with one another. The fellowship that we have with others is the fellowship that we have with the Lord, because these two aspects of fellowship are in the one fellowship of life.
1. “The fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Cor. 13:14).
The Lord’s life is in the Holy Spirit. It comes into us and is in us through the Holy Spirit. Our fellowship in the Lord’s life is through the Holy Spirit; therefore, it is also called the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Whether we fellowship with God and with the Lord Jesus or with the church or with a saint, all of our fellowship is in the Holy Spirit and through the Holy Spirit. The fellowship of life, which is in and through the Holy Spirit, becomes our life experience and spiritual reality only when we live in the Holy Spirit and follow the Holy Spirit.
2. “If any fellowship of spirit” (Phil. 2:1).
Since the fellowship of life is in and through the Holy Spirit, it comes out of the Holy Spirit’s operation in us. The Holy Spirit operates in us and causes us, even requiring and compelling us, to have fellowship with the Lord and with the saints in His life. If we follow and mind the Spirit, He will lead us to live in the fellowship of the Lord’s life.
1. “Even as it has taught you, abide in Him” (1 John 2:27).
Our relationship with the Lord is so close that we can abide in the Lord. To abide in the Lord means to not have any barriers between the Lord and us, which is just to fellowship with the Lord. Therefore, abiding in the Lord is another way of speaking of our fellowship in the Lord’s life. When we fellowship with the Lord in His life, we abide in Him, just as a light abides in the power plant by abiding in the fellowship with the power plant.
2. “Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).
After reading these verses, we should understand what it means to abide in the Lord. The branches of the vine have fellowship with the vine. This is their abiding in the vine. The Lord is the vine; we are the branches. Our living in the Lord and our fellowship with Him are like branches abiding in the vine.
To be in the Lord and to abide in the Lord are different. To be in the Lord is a matter of salvation; to abide in the Lord is a matter of fellowship. As soon as we are saved, we are in the Lord, but we must abide in the Lord to fellowship with Him. Although some are in the Lord, they do not abide in Him. We must not have any barriers between the Lord and us, and we must have fellowship to abide in the Lord. Therefore, all who are saved and in the Lord should fellowship with the Lord and abide in Him.
1. “They continued steadfastly in...the fellowship” (Acts 2:42).
As soon as we receive the Lord’s life, we enter into the fellowship of His life. Henceforth, we should continue to live in the fellowship of life. We are responsible for not breaking the fellowship of life.
1. “Even as it has taught you, abide in Him” (1 John 2:27).
If we want to continue in the fellowship of the Lord’s life, we must abide in the Lord, according to the teaching of the anointing. We must obey the teaching of the anointing. In the previous chapter we saw that the teaching of the anointing is the operation of the Holy Spirit in us. We must obey the Holy Spirit’s operation in us and abide in the Lord according to this operation. In this way we can live in the fellowship of the Lord’s life without interruption. As soon as we disobey the operation of the Holy Spirit, however, our fellowship with the Lord will be broken.
1. “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (1 John 1:7).
The fellowship of life brings us into the Lord’s light and requires us to live and walk in the Lord’s light. We must live and walk in the Lord’s light in order to maintain the fellowship of life with the Lord and the saints. As soon as we stop living in the light of the Lord, we lose the ability to fellowship with the Lord, and we will not be able to fellowship with His people in His life.
1. “If we walk in the light...we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin...If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us” (1 John 1:7, 9).
If we live in the fellowship of the Lord’s life, we are indeed in the light of life. This light of life causes us to see our sins. Once we see our sins, that is, once we are conscious of them in the fellowship of the light of life, we must confess our sins to God. If we are willing to confess our sins to God, we will be forgiven and cleansed by God. We will then be brought more deeply into the fellowship of the Lord’s life. If we do not confess our sins, they will remain with us and cause our fellowship with the Lord to be broken.
1. “God is light...If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie...But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (1 John 1:5-7).
God is light. If we fellowship with Him, we will have His light. Therefore, the fellowship of life brings us into the light of God so that we may have His light. Being in darkness is proof that we do not have fellowship with God or that our fellowship has been broken. If we have fellowship with God or with His children, we certainly are in the light of God. The fellowship of life and the light of God cannot be separated. If we are in the fellowship of life, we are in the light of God. If we are not in the light of God, we have lost the fellowship of life.
1. “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” (1 John 1:7).
In the fellowship of life, if we are enlightened by the Lord’s light to see our sins and then confess them to God, the blood of the Lord cleanses us from our sins. Therefore, after we are saved, we can be cleansed from sin by the blood of the Lord in the fellowship of the Lord’s life. If our confession lacks the conviction that comes from the Lord’s light, we will not receive the cleansing of the Lord’s blood. If we want to receive the cleansing of the Lord’s blood, we must be enlightened by the Lord’s light of life in the fellowship of the Lord’s life. The cleansing of the Lord’s blood is not separate from the fellowship of the Lord’s life. If we do not have the fellowship of the Lord’s life, we cannot be enlightened by the Lord’s light of life. If we are not enlightened by the Lord’s light of life, we cannot see our sins to confess them to God. If our sins are not seen and confessed, we cannot be cleansed by the Lord’s blood. If we sin after we are saved, those sins must be confessed to God in order for us to be cleansed by the Lord’s blood. To confess to God we must be enlightened, and to be enlightened we must live in the fellowship of life. Therefore, the sins that we commit after we are saved are cleansed away by the Lord’s blood through the fellowship of life.
1. “He who abides in Me and I in him” (John 15:5, see also v. 4).
If we live in the fellowship of the Lord’s life, we abide in the Lord, and when we abide in the Lord, we have the Lord abiding in us. When the Lord abides in us, He becomes our life, power, joy, and peace so that we may enjoy Him and all the riches of His life in our practical experience. Therefore, the Lord’s abiding in us to be our all is also a result of living in the fellowship of life.
1. “He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit” (John 15:5, see also v. 4).
When a branch abides in the vine without any barriers between itself and the vine, it receives a rich supply of sap and bears much fruit. Similarly, when we abide in the Lord and fellowship with Him, we receive the supply of His life and bear much fruit. Therefore, the fruit in our spiritual life issues from our abiding in the Lord and fellowshipping with Him.
2. “In this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit” (John 15:8).
When we bear much spiritual fruit, God is glorified because His life is expressed. If we want to bear much spiritual fruit, we must abide in the Lord and fellowship with Him. Bearing much spiritual fruit to glorify God and to express His life is a result of the fellowship of life.
1. “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7).
According to the Lord’s promise, if we abide in Him and His words abide in us, whatever we ask will be done for us. This shows that abiding in the Lord and fellowshipping with Him are prerequisites for the matters we pray about to come to pass. Having our prayers accomplished is a result of abiding in the Lord and fellowshipping with Him. If we want our prayers to be accomplished, we must abide in the Lord and fellowship with Him. When we abide in Him, we know His heart’s desire and purpose and can pray according to His heart’s desire and purpose. Since our asking will be according to the Lord’s heart’s desire and one with His purpose, the Lord will accomplish it. We must abide in the Lord and fellowship with Him in order for our prayer to be one with the Lord’s purpose.
1. “They shall by no means perish forever...And no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29).
Our life relationship with God can never be broken because we have received the eternal life of God that enables us to by no means perish forever. Furthermore, God’s hand is powerful; nothing can snatch us out of His hand. Whether we speak from the aspect of God’s eternal life or from the aspect of God’s powerful hand, the result is that our life relationship with God can never be broken.
1. “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (1 John 1:7).
Our fellowship of life with God is based on our life relationship with God. This life relationship cannot be broken, but the fellowship of life can be and is broken very easily because of our sins and disobedience. The life relationship between a child and his mother can never be broken, but it is very easy for their fellowship to be broken. When a child does something wrong, he does not want to see his mother. For example, a mother may say to her child, “I am going out for a while. Do not eat any candy while I am away.” But after she leaves, he may take some candy and eat it. Normally, when he obeys his mother, he is happy to see her, but when his mother returns, he will run away from her if he has eaten some candy. When she comes into the living room, he will run into the kitchen, and when she comes into the kitchen, he will run into the living room. An experienced mother will realize that he has eaten some candy.
If we walk in the Lord’s light, we are living in the fellowship of the Lord’s life. However, we often fail to live in the Lord’s light. Often we are disobedient and sin; therefore, we lose the fellowship of the Lord’s life. As soon as we stop living in the Lord’s light, being disobedient or sinful, our fellowship in the Lord’s life is broken. We will not be able to fellowship with the Lord, and we will not want to fellowship with the brothers and sisters. Nevertheless, this does not mean that our life relationship with the Lord has been broken. It can never be broken. Nothing can break our life relationship with the Lord. However, even a small problem with God, a little argument with God, a small amount of disobedience, or a tiny sin can break our fellowship in the Lord’s life.
1. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, see also v. 7).
Thank God! Although our life fellowship with Him can be broken, it can also be recovered. Since it is broken by our sin, it must be recovered through confessing our sins. If we are willing to confess our sins to God according to the Lord’s enlightening, He is faithful and righteous according to His Word to forgive and cleanse us from our sins because of the Lord’s blood. Thus, our fellowship with Him in life can be recovered. As soon as we confess our sins to God, He immediately forgives and cleanses us so that our conscience has peace and does not condemn us. Thus, our fellowship in life with Him is recovered. As soon as the child tells his mother that he is sorry for taking some candy, she will forgive him, and his fellowship with his mother will be recovered. We can recover our broken fellowship with God at any time. This recovery is based on the eternal efficacy of the Lord’s precious blood, and it is accomplished through the confession of our sins.
Once a believer neglects the sense of life, he immediately loses the fellowship of life. The fellowship of life is maintained in the sense of life, so once we neglect the sense of life, the fellowship of life is broken and lost.
Once a believer loses the fellowship of life, the sense of life is dulled. The fellowship of life is maintained through the sense of life, and the sense of life is sharpened by the fellowship of life. Thus, once the fellowship of life is lost, the sense of life is dulled.
Once a believer obeys even a fading sense of life, the fellowship of life is recovered. We lose the fellowship of life because we do not obey the sense of life. Therefore, if we obey even a fading sense of life, we will immediately recover the fellowship of life.
Once a believer recovers the fellowship of life, the sense of life becomes keener. The sense of life becomes dull when we lose the fellowship of life, but when we recover the fellowship of life, the sense of life is sharpened spontaneously.
The keener the sense of life is in a believer, the deeper is his fellowship. The deeper the fellowship of life is, the keener the sense of life is. These two are mutually related, forming a continuous cycle that causes the believers to grow in life. The sense of life depends upon the fellowship of life; the fellowship of life increases the sense of life. The more we have the sense of life, the more we have the fellowship of life, and the more we have the fellowship of life, the more we have the sense of life. As these two move in an ever-increasing cycle, the Lord’s life within us grows.
1. “If one does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is dried up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:6).
The Lord said that if a saved one does not abide in Him — does not live in the fellowship of His life — “he is cast out as a branch and is dried up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” The function of a branch is to bear fruit. In order for a branch to bear fruit, it must abide in the vine. Otherwise, it will lose the fruit-bearing function and suffer loss. If we do not abide in the Lord and fellowship with Him, it will be the same with us. However, this verse does not say that we will perish if we do not abide in the Lord. It says that we will lose the function of life and not be able to bear fruit to glorify God if we do not fellowship with the Lord. Thus, we will suffer loss. The Lord is not speaking of the requirements for salvation in this verse. He is speaking of the requirements for bearing fruit. If we do not fulfill these requirements, we will not lose our salvation. However, we will lose our ability to bear fruit and glorify God, so we will suffer loss (cf. 1 Cor. 3:15).
1. “Abide in Him, so that if He is manifested, we may have boldness and not be put to shame from Him at His coming” (1 John 2:28).
If we abide in the Lord and fellowship with Him, we most certainly will walk before the Lord and live in His heart’s desire. Thus, when He is manifested, we will have boldness and not be put to shame from Him. If we do not live like this, we will be afraid and ashamed when we see the Lord. This should be a warning for us to live in the fellowship of the Lord.
