Fellowship of The Saints - #4 - Practical Expressions

Para 2… ‘By their profession of faith, saints are committed to the maintenance of a holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God and in the performance of such other special services as promote their mutual well-being. They are also bound to relieve one another in their temporal concerns according to their various needs and abilities. According to the rule of the gospel, this type of fellowship, while it particularly applies to the family and church relationships of saints, is to be extended, as God gives opportunity, to the whole household of faith, that is to say, to all who in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. At the same time, however, it must be understood that such a sharing one with another as saints, does not deprive any man of the title and proprietorship which he has in his own goods and possessions, nor does it infringe such title.’ – Acts 5:4; 11:29,30; 1 Cor. 12:14-27; Eph. 4:28; 6:4; Heb. 3:12,13; 10:24,25.

J.I. Packer – ‘I believe that one of the reasons why great sections of the modern church are so sluggish and feeble, compared with our counterparts of one or two centuries ago, is that the secret of fellowship has been lost... I believe (Christ) would rebuke us for talking so glibly about the happy fellowship we have with each other when lack of fellowship really is one of our glaring shortcomings. A body in which the blood does not circulate properly is always below par, and fellowship corresponds to the circulation of the blood in the body of Christ. We gain strength through fellowship and we lose strength without it.’ – (as quoted by Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines Within The Church (p.153)

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