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.