Experience shows that most of a believer’s problems are related to fellowship. If a believer has normal fellowship, his life will be normal. Hence, new believers must have a good understanding of this lesson and practice it. Since this is a very broad topic, we will cover it in a few lessons.
Fellowship is the contact between God and man. This, however, is a shallow definition. Fellowship also includes the mutual contact among God’s people. In a deeper sense, fellowship is a kind of mutual flow. The blending and flowing of two kinds of liquids is a mutual flow. In one sense, fellowship is a two-way contact, but in a deeper sense, it is a mutual flow. Something flows into us from God, and something flows from us to God. At the same time, as God’s people, something flows mutually among us. This is what we call fellowship.
The Christian life is a life of fellowship. A believer cannot be independent; neither can he be individualistic. Being independent is toward God, and being individualistic is toward other believers. No believer should be separated from God and live an independent life. Anyone who is separated from God and becomes independent from Him can no longer live a normal Christian life. A believer who is severed from God is a Christian in name only, but he is no longer a Christian in his practical living. We may be a Christian in name and in position and yet no longer be one in our practical living. Whether we live a Christian life in reality depends on whether we are living a life in fellowship with God or are independent from God. Being independent from God means that we have broken our relationship with Him and have lost the mutual flow with Him. Thus, God is separate from us, and we are separate from God. There is no flow joining us and God. We are separated from one another.
Man’s eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis 3 was according to the principle of independence from God. The principle of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is that man lives and works apart from God. Man lives without God, without needing God, without having God, without depending on God, and without contacting God. This is the principle of independence, the principle of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The principle of the tree of life is the opposite. Its principle is dependence, not independence. In the universe anything dead is independent and unrelated to other things, but anything living is dependent. As long as a tree is living, it relies on soil, and as long as a fish is living, it relies on water. But once they die, soil and water mean nothing; the tree is independent from the soil, and the fish is independent from the water. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil results in death; therefore, its principle is independence. The tree of life results in man having life; therefore, its principle is a continual dependence on God. The entire Christian living should be of life. There should not be any trace of death. Nevertheless, whenever we are independent from God and live according to the principle of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we are living in death, not in life. Regardless of whether we are working, studying, taking care of our family, or doing other things, as long as we do these things on our own, apart from God, we are cut off from fellowship with God. This is abnormal. A normal Christian life is a life of fellowship. This means that we cannot be separated from God; we cannot be independent from God. From the day of our salvation we no longer exist as individuals, and we should no longer be independent.
Today people love to speak concerning freedom and independence. Although it may be right for human beings to speak in this way, it is abnormal for Christians to speak in this way, because Christians are the most dependent people. Whenever a believer becomes independent, he is no longer a believer in his living. Christians are people who depend entirely on God. Without God they do not have life, without God they cannot live, and without God they will fall into death.
Even if we do something very proper, we will be dead if we are independent from God, because the principle of independence is death. We usually pay attention to whether something is right or wrong or good or bad, but these are moral concepts. Being pious is a religious concept. Our concept in God’s salvation should not be morality or religion; it should be fellowship. We may be right in doing something, but we should ask whether it was done in fellowship. We must ask whether we did it independently from God or in fellowship with God. Therefore, a life of fellowship means that we have fellowship with God, are connected to Him, and have a mutual flow with Him in everything. We should not focus on doing things that are right, good, or godly. Rather, we should focus on whether we are joined to God, connected to Him, and in a mutual flow with Him when doing things that are right, good, or godly. We should focus on not being separated from God.
Before a person is saved, he may be the most independent person on earth. He may be great, capable, and able to do everything by himself. But once this great and capable person is saved, he becomes a dependent person. Without God he cannot live, make decisions, or have an opinion. Previously he had his own point of view, method, and insight concerning everything. But from the day he becomes a Christian, he is changed and can no longer decide things on his own or be independent. He feels that he needs to contact and consult God related to every problem he encounters, that is, to bring every matter to the Lord and to consider, examine, and determine things before Him. This believer is the best type of Christian. In this respect, every Christian needs to be weak to the extent that he neither has his own ideas, makes his own decisions, or takes any action related to what he encounters without contacting the Lord and consulting with Him, allowing Him to make the decisions. This is the best and sweetest living of a Christian.
We need to realize that every descendant of Adam, every fallen man, is very strong and independent. This applies both to men and women and to the elderly and children. We can all find a way out of any situation and cope with problems on our own. We have all had this experience. Therefore, one of the consequences of being saved is that strong, independent persons such as ourselves become weak and are no longer strong or independent. We feel that we have no alternative but to fellowship with God in all things, discuss all things with Him, and allow Him to handle all things, speak in all things, and make every decision. Whenever we encounter something, our being is softened. We feel that we cannot do anything without Him. Therefore, we depend on Him and rely on Him. We are not independent persons, but we are dependent persons. Today it is shameful for someone to be referred to as a dependent person; rather, it is considered an honor to be self-supporting and independent. However, for a Christian to be self-supporting and independent is shameful, not glorious. It is glorious for a Christian to be dependent. No normal Christian can be independent. We depend on another One—God—at every moment and in every matter.
A life of fellowship not only has the aspect of not being independent but also has the aspect of not being individualistic. This means that we not only need God, but we also need other Christians, other brothers and sisters. On the one hand, we are not independent from God; on the other hand, we are not individualistic toward the brothers and sisters. We must all be very clear that the nature of Christians is that of a flock. In the Bible Christians are likened to sheep. Sheep are always in a flock. They always flock together. Individual sheep cannot survive very easily, but in a flock one can survive easily. Christians are not like butterflies flying around individually. Rather, we are like bees, which are always in a swarm. Hence, as Christians, our nature is altogether corporate and related to being in a flock.
If we desire to be a normal Christian, we must not be independent toward God and individualistic toward the brothers and sisters. We fellowship with God and with the brothers and sisters in all matters. We have God, and we have the brothers and sisters. Hence, in everything we can say, “I have consulted with God, and I have also conferred and considered it with my brothers and sisters.” If we are like this, everything we do will be safe and secure, and it will definitely be full of light, peace, and sweetness. When we are living in this way, we are living in fellowship, and this kind of life is called the life of fellowship.
In this life of fellowship, we must constantly see that we not only have God but also have the brothers and sisters. It is true that as a Christian we should keep certain things to ourselves. But one thing is certain: the more we open to the brothers and sisters, the better Christians we will be. As long as we have thoroughly fellowshipped with at least two or three saints, we can be assured that it will not be easy for us to make a mistake; at least, we will not sin. There is hardly anything in our Christian life that does not require fellowship with the saints. There are bound to be risks and mistakes in anything we initiate, decide, and do on our own. Being individualistic, not fellowshipping, is a mistake in itself. The best way for us to keep from sinning and from making mistakes is to fellowship with the saints in everything. For example, if we want to watch a movie, we should first fellowship with the saints to see if we should watch the movie or if they would watch the movie with us. We will be clear once we fellowship. Another example is playing sports. We should fellowship with the saints concerning our being involved in certain kinds of sports. There is a greater likelihood that we are doing something right if a brother can go with us and fellowship with us. If what we do is in fellowship, there will not be much problem, and there will be a safeguard. On the contrary, anything that we cannot do in fellowship is dangerous and should not be done. Hence, we should not be independent toward God; moreover, we should not be individualistic toward the brothers and sisters. This kind of living, which is neither independent nor individualistic, is the normal life of a Christian. Our entire Christian living should be one that depends on God and relies on the brothers and sisters.