In 1:9 Paul says that God has called us into the fellowship of His Son. The meaning of the word fellowship is deep and profound. The New Testament illustrates this fellowship by a feast. In the Gospels the Lord Jesus said that a feast had been prepared and that people were invited to it (Matt. 22:1-3; Luke 14:16-17). We all have been invited to a marvelous feast. Here at the feast we are enjoying course after course. This enjoyment of the feast is a mutual participation, a co-participation. Thus, in the fellowship of God’s Son we have enjoyment. This enjoyment, however, is corporate, not individualistic. As we enjoy this feast together, we have fellowship, communion.
Some versions translate the Greek word for fellowship, koinonia, as communion. Fellowship definitely implies communion. To have communion is to share something in common. When you eat breakfast alone, you do not enjoy communion. But when you come to a feast attended by a large number of people and enjoy the feast with them, you have communion. This communion is a co-enjoyment, a co-participation.
Fellowship also includes communication. Whenever we feast together with others, there is communication. You communicate with others, and they communicate with you.
The fellowship into which God has called us is the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. This fellowship includes the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. It is the fellowship of the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected Christ, the One who in resurrection is the life-giving Spirit. This all-inclusive One is our feast, and this feast is the fellowship. As those who have been called into this fellowship, we are now enjoying Christ by feasting on Him. Furthermore, we have communion and we are in communication with one another. This fellowship, this communion, is the church life.
The church life is the resurrection life in which we all participate. Furthermore, this resurrection is the life-giving Spirit, the life-giving Spirit is Christ, and Christ is the incarnated God. Christ, an all-inclusive Person, also implies justification, sanctification, and redemption. Christ is God, even the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. As the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected One, He is both resurrection and the life-giving Spirit. He is even our feast. Furthermore, Christ Himself is actually the fellowship into which God has called us. To say that we have been called into the fellowship of Jesus Christ means that we have been called into Him. Christ is the life, the resurrection, the sanctification, the justification, the redemption, and everything to us. Therefore, He Himself is the fellowship.
Let us consider once again the background of 1 Corinthians. Paul wrote this Epistle to philosophical Greeks, to those who regarded themselves as very wise. Because of their philosophizing, some of them said, “I am of Paul,” others said, “I am of Apollos,” and still others declared, “I am of Cephas.” The believers at Corinth thus had preferences. These preferences caused them to be divided. To say, “I am of Paul,” is equal to saying, “I have been called into a preference for Paul.” The same is true of saying, “I am of Apollos,” or, “I am of Cephas.” Instead of taking Christ, the all-inclusive One, as their portion, the Corinthians were taking another person, Paul, Apollos, or Cephas, as their portion. Thus, in this Epistle Paul seems to be saying, “Believers at Corinth, you have not been called into your own preferences. God has called you into the fellowship of His Son. You should not prefer me, Apollos, Cephas, or anyone else. We all have been called into one living, all-inclusive Person. We all have been called by God into the fellowship of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.”
In the original Greek text of the New Testament, there were no verse divisions. This means that 1:10 is the direct continuation of verse 9. Again and again we have pointed out that in verse 9 Paul says that God has called us into the fellowship of His Son. Then in verse 10 he goes on to say, “But I beseech you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion.” Here we see that Paul beseeches the believers through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the very name upon which all believers call. In particular, Paul was beseeching them to speak the same thing. Because the Corinthians were saying, “I am of Paul,” or, “I am of Apollos,” they were speaking different things. If we go on to consider verses 11 through 13, we shall see that the fellowship in verse 9 is in contrast to the divisions in verse 10. Furthermore, these divisions were caused by preferences for certain persons. We have not been called into preferences, into divisions, but into the unique fellowship, into the unique enjoyment of Christ and participation in Christ. Oh, it is vital for us to see this! Only one thing can keep us from division—the realization that the all-inclusive Christ is our portion and that we have been called into the fellowship, the enjoyment, of such a One.
Christians today are divided because of their preferences. This may also be true of us in the church life. You may be pleased with the church today because the condition of the church matches your preference. Some may say, “Praise the Lord! The church life in my locality is excellent. The meetings are high and living, and I enjoy them very much.” Perhaps after a period of time, the meetings will not be as high or as living as they are now. Then some may become disappointed, leave the church life, and pursue something which suits their preference.
To have a preference is very different from enjoying the all-inclusive Christ. If we have seen what it means for Christ to be our portion and what it means to be called into His fellowship, we shall not be concerned whether the meetings are high or low. We shall not have preferences concerning the meetings. The primary source of division among Christians is this matter of preferences. But if we have seen that God’s good pleasure is simply to work the all-inclusive Christ into us as our portion for our enjoyment, we shall not care for anything other than Christ and the enjoyment of His fellowship.
We have seen that the fellowship is the enjoyment of Christ and the co-participation in Christ. There is no need for us to analyze this fellowship in a doctrinal way in order to experience it. When you eat breakfast, do you analyze everything you eat? Do you make a study of the composition of the eggs, the toast, and the juice? No one would be so foolish as to study breakfast instead of enjoying it. Furthermore, we should not be concerned about the utensils used for eating breakfast. How foolish to dispute about the silverware, the glasses, or the bowls! Would it not be ridiculous for someone to turn from the food prepared for his enjoyment and to be occupied with the kind of knives, forks, and spoons on the table? Nevertheless, this is an illustration of the actual situation among Christians today. Instead of caring for Christ as their unique portion, many argue about doctrines and practices.
Suppose you come to a church meeting and find the chairs arranged in a very unusual way. If this bothers you, it proves that you have not yet seen what the church is. The proper church life does not depend on a particular arrangement of chairs. The church is the fellowship, the communion, the co-participation, the mutual enjoyment, of Christ. This Christ is now the resurrection and the Spirit. If you have seen that the church life consists in this fellowship, you will not be concerned about such things as the arrangement of chairs in the meeting hall. Furthermore, you will not be distracted from Christ by doctrines or practices.
I would encourage you all to seek the experience and the enjoyment of the fellowship of God’s Son. The more we enjoy the co-participation in this fellowship, the better the church life will be. We need to enjoy this fellowship both at home and in the meetings. Then we shall not be troubled by opinions, gossip, or different teachings, for we shall not care for anything other than the practical co-enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ who is to us the Spirit, the resurrection, and the Triune God. This fellowship is the reality of the church. Thus, we must seek to experience this fellowship all the time. Then we shall enjoy Christ in the church.