In this message we want to see the three particular capacities of the divine life: the fellowship of life, the light of life, and the sense of life.
Every life has a nature, and in the nature of every life there are particular capacities, or abilities. A dog has the capacity, the ability, to bark. The ability to bark is in the nature of the dog. As human beings we can speak, hear, see, and understand. These are some of the innate capacities of human life. These capacities are in the nature of the human life.
The divine life also has many capacities. These capacities are the abilities which exist in the nature of the divine life. Of these many capacities, the fellowship of life, the light of life, and the sense of life are very particular and basic. The fellowship of life and the light of life are covered in the writings of John (1 John 1:3, 5; John 8:12). First John 1:1-2 says, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we beheld, and our hands handled concerning the Word of life; and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us." The Word of life in verse 1 is the Son of God, who is the eternal life in verse 2.
The apostles ministered the eternal life to the believers. This eternal life is the Son of God. The believers then received this life and were brought into the fellowship of life. Fellowship comes with the divine life because fellowship is one of the capacities in the nature of the divine life. From the time that we believed into the Lord Jesus and were regenerated, the divine life entered into our being. This divine life is God, Christ, and the Spirit. Within this divine life is a capacity called fellowship. This fellowship is both in a vertical direction, from God to us, and in a horizontal direction, from believer to believer. The fellowship of life is one of the first capacities of the divine life. After receiving Christ and being regenerated, a believer likes to see other Christians. Whenever a Christian finds other Christians, he is happy to talk with them. This experience is an example of the capacity of fellowship in the divine life.