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.