THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE BELIEVER'S IN THE CHURCH

Acts 2:42

Morning Meditations 11/24/14

The text today is: "And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."

This is the first place in the New Testament where this word is mentioned. It is amazing that it is not found in the four gospels. This is how the word is found in our King James Version: Fellowship 12, communion 4, communication 1, distribution 1, contribution 1, to communicate 1; for a total of twenty 20 times.

The word "fellowship" (koinonia) means "the share which one has in anything, participation." In secular Greek documents, the word fellowship (koinonia) has three distinct meanings. First, it is used to describe business partnerships. Second, it speaks of marriage contracts the closest of all human relationships (Moulton and Milligan). It is interesting that in classical Greek times a doctor put up a monument to his deceased wife which read, "I shared all life with you alone."Third, the classical writer Epictetus used the term in the context of having fellowship with Zeus" (Discourses 2. 19.27).

In Acts 2:42 the word "fellowship" is placed in the verse right along with "doctrine," "breaking of bread," and "prayers." They were steadfast in all these things. The church is the place for "fellowship." There should be real agreement and the sense of partnership in a local assembly. The different opinions that divide the world should not divide the church. If it does, there is no fellowship. Acts 2:44 says: "And all that believed were together, and had all things common." This describes the result of fellowship. Their purposes were so united in a partnership that the fellowship was obvious.

This fellowship crossed all racial barriers. When one comes into God's family, he comes into a family made up of many races. There is no segregation in God's family. The local church is the place where the body of which all the save are a part is worked out. To segregate the church teaches that God's family is divided along racial lines. This is contrary to Ephesians chapter 2 verses 11 to 17. I will not print these verse here but will let you take your Bible and read them. I personally lived contrary to this early in my ministry. I weep that I was so deceived. There is no middle wall of partition in the body and there shouldn't be in the local church where that body life is worked out.

You say, "They didn't have different races in the Church in Acts 2. They did have people who were called Grecians (Acts 6:2). It was "Grecians against the Hebrews" and it was because the Grecians were not getting the right treatment. How did they handle this church problem? In the body there is no respect of persons. Right? So, they moved as a church to treat all alike.. After this, there is no more complaint. For there to be true "fellowship" in the local church we must recognize our partnership, our fellowship. In Acts chapter 10 the Lord dealt with Peter about the Gentiles entering the church. Peter responded positively and trusted the Lord to know what He was doing and the church followed him and that ended the perceived right in the church to make a difference in the races.

Again, Acts 2:42 says, "And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."

This is not a fellowship in doctrine though that is very true. It is not a fellowship of "breaking of bread," and "prayer" though that is also true. Fellowship is not an adjective modifying the other things mentioned in this verse. It is a word that identifies an idea, a truth that is just as true as the other things that are mentioned in this verse.

There is an obvious difference in social standing in the family of God. All of us are not socially the same. There is an obvious difference in educational attainments on the part of members in the family of God. There is an obvious difference in color or race in the family of God. God does not make us all alike in these matters. But in Christ (2Cor 5:17) all these things have no meaning whatsoever. Galatians 3:27-28: "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." This describes the Body into which we were baptized by the Holy Spirit and created in Christ Jesus. The local church should be the place where we become a model of that body.

Listen. We are not going to straighten the world out on this subject. It will take the Lord's Second Coming to do that. But we must demonstrate in the local Church the truth of the "fellowship" into which salvation brought us (1John 1:3). God expects this. The Bible plainly declares it. When a local church does not deal with mental attitude differences along racial, social, and educational lines, it has sinned and needs to repent. The most effective spirit-filled teacher in the local church may be a person who has not even graduated from high school and he may be teaching a college graduate the Word of God. The college graduate should humbly submit to the leadership of the Holy Spirit without the feeling "I should be doing this, I have an educational advantage" and learn from the person whom God has given as the teacher. When the Lord allows us to win a person of another race, we should act in exactly the same manner with that person as we do with people of our own race. They should be baptized after salvation. Then the discipleship process should begin. As God develops that person, he should be as much a part of that fellowship as any other. What if God develops this person into a teacher and leads the church to put him teaching the adult class? We would go contrary to the Lord if we were not willing to put our personal prejudices aside and obey the Lord. You say, "It wouldn't be wise to put a person of another race teaching in a church that is made up of people who are not of his race." I say it is not wise to reject the leadership of the Lord. He is the Head of the church. God may use something like this to get the same truth across to us that He did to Peter with the vision in Acts chapter 10.

Fellowship is a partnership. It is the relationship that man and wife have together. That's close. If it is not there, there is disobedience somewhere. The only way to deal with disobedience is repentance. I trust the truth of this Word will set us free.

May God bless all of us as we submit to the Lordship of Christ through His Word.

In Christ

Earl White