Scripture Reading: 1 John 1:3-7
In previous messages we have considered the first of the basic matters in this Epistle — the divine life. Now we come to the second basic matter, and this is the fellowship of the divine life. Actually, the fellowship of the divine life is the topic of the entire Epistle of 1 John. In the Gospel of John Jesus Christ is revealed as the divine life for us to receive. When we believe in Him, He comes into us, and we have Him as life within. As the continuation of the Gospel of John, this Epistle shows us that after receiving the divine life, we may have the fellowship of life as the issue of the divine life. The fellowship of the divine life is the real enjoyment of the divine life. In other words, if we would experience the divine life, we need to pay close attention to the fellowship of this life.
In 1:3 John says, “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.” Verse 1 speaks of “have heard” and then “have seen.” Here it is vice versa. In receiving revelation, hearing is the basic thing. But in preaching, in reporting, seeing should be the base. What we preach should be what we have laid hold of and experienced of the things we have heard.
The apostles have heard and seen the eternal life. Then they report it to the believers that they may also hear and see it. By virtue of the eternal life, the apostles have enjoyed fellowship with the Father and with His Son, the Lord Jesus. They desire that the believers may also enjoy this fellowship.
The Greek word for fellowship, koinonia, means joint participation, common participation. It is the issue of the eternal life, and is actually 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 water of life in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:1). Hence, all genuine believers are in this fellowship (Acts 2:42). It is carried on by the Spirit in our regenerated spirit. Hence, it is called “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Cor. 13:14) and “fellowship of [our] spirit” (Phil. 2:1). It is in this fellowship of the eternal life that we the believers participate in all the Father and the Son are and have done for us; that is, we enjoy the love of the Father and the grace of the Son by virtue of the fellowship of the Spirit. Such a fellowship was first the apostles’ portion in enjoying the Father and the Son through the Spirit. Hence, it is called “the fellowship of the apostles” (Acts 2:42) and “the fellowship which is ours [the apostles’]” in 1 John 1:3, a fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. It is a divine mystery. This mysterious fellowship of the eternal life should be considered the subject of this Epistle.
Fellowship is a common participation, a joint participation. Therefore, to have fellowship is to have a corporate participation in something. The fellowship of the divine life is the issue and flow of the divine life. Because the divine life is organic, rich, moving, and active, it has a particular issue, a certain kind of outcome. The issue, the outcome, of the divine life is the fellowship of life.
The fellowship of the divine life is clearly portrayed in Revelation 22:1. In this verse we see that in the New Jerusalem the river of the water of life flows out from the throne of God and of the Lamb. The throne of God and of the Lamb is the throne of the redeeming God, the Lamb-God. In Genesis 1:1 we have God, but in Revelation 22:1 we have God with the Lamb. In Genesis we have the creating God, but in Revelation we have the redeeming God. Out of this redeeming God as the source flows the river of water of life. The flow of the river of water of life is the fellowship of life. This means that fellowship is the outflow of the divine life from within the redeeming God.
According to the picture in Revelation, the river in the New Jerusalem flows downward in a spiral until it reaches the twelve gates of the city. By this we can see that the entire city of the New Jerusalem is supplied by the flow of this living water; that is, it is supplied by the fellowship of life. The fellowship of the divine life flows out of God and through His people in order to reach every part of the Body of Christ, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem.
The fellowship of the divine life, or the flow of the divine life, is the fellowship of the Spirit. Second Corinthians 13:14 says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Here we see that the love of God is the source, that the grace of Christ is the course, and that the fellowship of the Spirit is the flow of the course. It is this flow that brings the grace of Christ and the love of God to us for our enjoyment. Therefore, the fellowship of the divine life is called the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
The fellowship of the divine life is a fellowship between the believers and the apostles (1 John 1:3b; Acts 2:42). This means that there is a joint enjoyment of the Triune God among the believers and the apostles. The believers and the apostles need to have contact with one another. When there is the proper contact, there will be a two-way traffic, and this traffic is fellowship, a common participation. When we have this two-way traffic, we enjoy the divine life that is within us. This means that when we have fellowship, we have the enjoyment of the divine life.
The more of this two-way traffic we have, the better it will be. The more we contact the apostles, the more we shall enjoy the divine life. However, some may point out that the apostles are no longer with us. This is true, but we still have the writings of the apostles. Whenever we come to the apostles’ writings, we may have the sense of being brought into fellowship with the apostles and enjoying the two-way traffic between us and them. Then in this traffic we enjoy the divine life together with them.
The fellowship of the divine life is between the believers and the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. John says that first the believers have fellowship with the apostles through the divine life. Then he says that the apostles have fellowship with the Father and the Son. By this we see that fellowship joins the believers to the apostles and to the Father and the Son. Therefore, in this fellowship there is the full oneness of the divine life.
The flowing of electricity is a good illustration of the fellowship of the divine life. Electricity flows from the power plant into a building. The electrical current connects the power plant to the building. Furthermore, in a lighted ceiling of a particular room in the building, the individual lights are connected to each other by the flow of the electrical current. Apart from the flow of the current, the lights in the ceiling are separate. But through the flow of electricity, the lights are brought into a “fellowship” with one another, for they are all in the one flow of electricity. This is an illustration of the fact that the apostles and the believers enjoy fellowship together in the divine life.
In the divine life the believers have fellowship with one another (1:7; Phil. 2:1). As the electrical lights in the ceiling of a room have a current flowing within them, so we all have the divine current flowing within us. In this divine life and through this divine life we have fellowship for the enjoyment of the divine life. The more we have the divine life flowing within us, the more we enjoy the divine life.
In 1:3 only the Father and the Son are mentioned, not the Spirit, because the Spirit is implied in the fellowship. Actually, the fellowship of the eternal life is the impartation of the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit — into the believers as their unique portion for them to enjoy today and for eternity.
John goes on to say in 1:4, “And these things we write that our joy may be made full.” Instead of “our,” some manuscripts read “your.” The apostles’ joy is also the believers’ joy because the believers are in the fellowship of the apostles.
Fellowship is the issue of the eternal life; and joy, that is, the enjoyment of the Triune God, is the issue of this fellowship, the issue of participation in the Father’s love and the Son’s grace through the Spirit. By such a spiritual enjoyment of the divine life, our joy in the Triune God may be made full.
We do not usually regard joy as a major item. But in this Epistle, joy is the third matter of major importance to be covered, coming after the divine life and the fellowship of the divine life. The divine life issues in fellowship, and fellowship issues in joy.
Are you a joyful Christian, or are you a sorrowful one? To be sorrowful may be an indication that you are out of the fellowship of the divine life. But if you are joyful, full of joy, you are in this fellowship.
The New Testament uses three words to describe our joy in the divine life. In addition to the word “joyful,” the words “rejoice” and “exult” are used. Not only should we be joyful — we should also rejoice and exult. It is possible to be joyful and yet be silent. But in order to rejoice and exult we cannot remain silent. God’s salvation makes us joyful and causes us to rejoice and exult. Therefore, when we gather together, we should be joyful. In the Old Testament God’s people were full of joy when they came together for the feasts. In the Psalms they were even charged to make a joyful noise unto the Lord (Psa. 95:1; 98:4, 6). Religion does not like to hear a joyful noise, but God appreciates it. He likes to see that we are full of joy. Hence, the apostle John tells us that if we enjoy the fellowship of the divine life, we shall surely be full of joy. Furthermore, when we are full of joy, we shall rejoice and exult. We all should be such rejoicing and exulting Christians. Let us come to the church meetings joyfully because we enjoy the divine life in the divine fellowship.
In 1:5 John says, “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.” In addition to the three main things in the preceding verses — life, fellowship, and joy — a further message, which the apostles have heard from the Lord, is to announce to the believers that God is light. First we have the divine life, and then out of this we have the fellowship of the divine life. Fellowship issues in joy. When we are in this joyful element of the fellowship, we are in the light of God. Therefore, the sequence is life, fellowship, joy, and light.
In the preceding verses, the Father and Son are mentioned with clear words, and the Spirit is implied in the fellowship of the eternal life. Here God is mentioned for the first time in this Epistle, and He is mentioned as the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. This God, as revealed in the light of the gospel, is light.
The message that John and the other early disciples heard was, undoubtedly, the word spoken by the Lord Jesus in John 8:12 and 9:5 that He is the light. However, John says here that the message was that God is light. This indicates that the Lord Jesus is God and implies the essence of the Divine Trinity.
The expression, “God is light,” like “God is love” in 4:8 and 16, and “God is Spirit” in John 4:24, is used not in a metaphoric sense but in a predicative sense. These expressions denote and describe the nature of God. In His nature God is Spirit, love, and light. Spirit denotes the nature of God’s Person; love, the nature of God’s essence; and light, the nature of God’s expression. Both love and light are related to God as life, which life is of the Spirit (Rom. 8:2). God, Spirit, and life are actually one. God is Spirit, and Spirit is life. Within such a life are love and light. When this divine love appears to us, it becomes grace, and when this divine light shines upon us, it becomes truth. John’s Gospel reveals that the Lord Jesus has brought grace and truth to us (John 1:14, 17) that we may have the divine life (John 3:14-16), whereas his Epistle unveils that the fellowship of the divine life brings us to the very sources of grace and truth, which are the divine love and the divine light. His Epistle is the continuation of his Gospel. In his Gospel it was God in the Son coming to us as grace and truth that we may become His children (John 1:12-13). In his Epistle it is we, the children, in the fellowship of the Father’s life, coming to the Father to participate in His love and light. The former was God coming out to the outer court to meet our need at the altar (Lev. 4:28-31); the latter is we entering into the Holy of Holies to contact Him at the ark (Exo. 25:22). This is further and deeper in the experience of the divine life. After receiving the divine life in John’s Gospel by believing in the Son, we should go on to enjoy this life in his Epistle through the fellowship of this life. His entire Epistle discloses to us this one thing, that is, the enjoyment of the divine life by abiding in its fellowship.
God is Spirit. This refers to His Person. God is also love and light. Love refers to His essence, and light, to His expression. Both God’s love and light are related to His life. This life is actually God Himself. Life is also the Spirit.
When this life was manifested, it came with grace and truth. When we received the Lord Jesus, we received life, and we now enjoy grace and truth. This life brings us back to God. First, God came to us so that we may receive grace and truth. Now we go back to the Father and contact Him as the source of grace and truth, and this source is love and light. Going back to the Father, we may enjoy love as the source of grace and light as the source of truth. Therefore, in the fellowship of the divine life, we are being brought back to God to enjoy love as the source of grace and light as the source of truth.
This understanding of love and light is not derived from human reasoning; it comes from the divine revelation in the Word. In this revelation we have a number of items for our enjoyment, comparable to many courses of a feast. We have God, the Spirit as the nature of God’s person, love as the nature of God’s essence, light as the nature of God’s expression, the divine life, grace, and truth. When we have all these divine things, we are brought back to God the Father. When we are brought back to the Father, we meet Him and enjoy Him as love, which is the source of grace, and light, which is the source of truth. How marvelous that in the fellowship of the divine life we enjoy the divine light!
In the fellowship of the divine life we join with the apostles and the Triune God for the carrying out of God’s purpose. John’s word in 1:3 indicates the putting away of private interest and joining with others for a certain common purpose. Hence, to have fellowship with the apostles, to be in the fellowship of the apostles, and to have fellowship with the Triune God in the apostles’ fellowship is to put aside our private interest and join with the apostles and the Triune God for the carrying out of God’s purpose. According to John’s writings, this purpose is twofold. First, this purpose is that the believers may grow in the divine life by abiding in the Triune God (2:12-27) and, based upon the divine birth, live a life of the divine righteousness and the divine love (2:28—5:3) to overcome the world, death, sin, the Devil, and idols (5:4-21). Second, it is that the local churches may be built up as the lampstands for the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 1—3) and consummate in the New Jerusalem as the full expression of God for eternity (Rev. 21—22). Our participation in the apostles’ enjoyment of the Triune God is our joining with them and with the Triune God for His divine purpose, which is common to God, the apostles, and all the believers.
When we enjoy the Triune God in the divine fellowship, we shall be brought into a situation where spontaneously we join ourselves to the apostles and the Triune God for a common purpose. God has a purpose, and the apostles work out God’s purpose. By enjoying the divine life in the divine fellowship, we participate in this purpose and its outworking.
The purpose God desires to fulfill through the apostles and also through us is first that the believers would grow in the divine life by abiding in the Triune God. Furthermore, God intends that, based upon the divine birth, the believers would live a life of the divine righteousness and the divine love to overcome the world, sin, death, the Devil, and idols. Second, God’s purpose is that the local churches would be built up as the testimony of Jesus and that ultimately this testimony would consummate in the New Jerusalem. Therefore, God’s purpose is to have every child of His grow in the divine life and live a life of righteousness and love to overcome all negative things. Then the local churches will be built up as the testimony of Jesus, and ultimately there will be the New Jerusalem as the eternal expression of the Triune God. This is God’s purpose, and this is the burden of the apostles in their work. They have this purpose in common with God. Now we should join them in the fellowship of the divine life, and this enjoyment of fellowship in the divine life will usher us into the interests the apostles have in common with the Triune God. Along with the Triune God and the apostles, our purpose will be the believers’ growth in life and their living a life of righteousness and love to overcome negative things so that the local churches may be built up and issue in the New Jerusalem as the consummate expression of the Triune God.
If we see what fellowship really is, we shall realize that fellowship is a great matter. However, for years we have understood fellowship to be merely a kind of enjoyment in the divine life. We have not seen that fellowship also involves a common interest. God does not supply us with enjoyment without a purpose. God is purposeful, and He has a purpose in giving us the enjoyment in the fellowship of His life. God’s purpose is to feed us so that we may grow in the divine life and that with the divine birth as the basis we may live a life of the divine righteousness and divine love to overcome the evil one, the world, sin, and all idols. It is also God’s purpose that the local churches may be built up as the testimony of Jesus. Eventually, this testimony will consummate in the New Jerusalem as the complete and eternal expression of the Triune God. This is the purpose of the fellowship of the divine life.
