In this lesson we want to see something concerning the fellowship of life. The King James Version renders the word fellowship as communion. Communion is a good translation, but its true meaning has been somewhat spoiled by traditional thought and usage.
In Philippians 2:1 the apostle Paul speaks of the fellowship of spirit. A number of translators consider that the spirit mentioned here is the Spirit of God. But actually this is not the Spirit of God but our spirit. We know this because it is mentioned in the context of a list of our spiritual virtues. In Philippians 2:1 Paul speaks of encouragement in Christ, consolation of love, fellowship of spirit, and tenderheartedness and compassions. These are not the virtues of God but our spiritual virtues, so the spirit here must be our spirit. We have to make this point clear to the saints. This is very important because this verse tells us that the fellowship of life is going on in our spirit. Our spirit is the location of today's fellowship which we have with the Lord and with the saints.
In John 15:4-5 the word fellowship is not mentioned, but we know that these verses in fact refer to the fellowship. In these two verses the word used to indicate fellowship is abide. The Lord said, "Abide in Me and I in you." This mutual abiding actually is the fellowship.
In Greek the word for fellowship means sharing in common. First Corinthians 10:16 says, "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the fellowship of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the fellowship of the body of Christ?" We share the Lord's Body in common, and we share the cup in common, so the Body and the cup become our fellowship. In Philemon 6 Paul speaks of "the fellowship of your faith." Philemon had a faith and with that faith there was a kind of sharing in common.
The fellowship of life is the flowing of the divine life within us (1 John 1:2-3, 6-7). We can illustrate this with two things. First, the circulation of the blood is a very good illustration of the flowing of life. The blood within our physical body flows, circulates, all the time, and this circulating, or this flowing, is a good picture of the spiritual fellowship of life, the flowing of the divine life. Another illustration that can be used is the current of electricity. The current of electricity is the moving of electricity. In like manner, the fellowship of life is the moving, the flowing, of the divine life within us. We all know the blood circulation needs the vessels of our body and the electrical current needs the wires. We are like the vessels and the wires for the spiritual flow of the divine life.