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.