Fellowship With Christ
Zion's Advocate, Vol. 39, No. 4, April 1900.God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. I Cor. i. 9.
The term fellowship signifies companionship and communion. It implies an intimate familiarity and intercourse between those who are equal in some sense; or at least between those who are made equal by the fellowship. We equalize ourselves with another to some extent when we consent to become his fellow. To become the fellow of one who is beneath our rank is either debasing to us or elevating to him, or it may be both.
With this thought in our minds let us consider the great wonder taught in our text that sinners of Adam's race are brought to enjoy real fellowship with Christ. His exaltation, the greatness of his name, and the excellence of his personage we cannot describe. We can only say that is was not robbery in him to make himself equal with God (Phil. ii. 6); that a name has been given him that is above every name (Phil. i. 9); that he is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens (Heb. vii. 26). That one who is thus infinitely high should receive into his own immediate fellowship sin-polluted worms of the dust is a wonder indeed. Angels may well look with astonishment on such a transaction. There is no stronger proof of the depravity and stupidity of sinful mortals than is to be seen in the daring presumption of many who claim that this is to be brought about by their obedience. To say that we can elevate ourselves to the high station of intimate familiarity with one who is said to be the fellow of Jehovah, or that we can induce him thus to elevate us, is the very height of folly and the strongest evidence of spiritual blindness on our part. All who have been enlightened to look within and behold their pollution are ready to admit it to be most marvelous that they should ever have been brought to enjoy fellowship with Christ. Each can say,
"Great mystery, that God should place
His love on one of Adam's race,
That I should also share a part,
And find a mansion in his heart."
Though it is a mystery it is nevertheless true. "Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." I John i. 3. David sang sweetly of this, saying, "How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee." Ps. cxxxix. 17. "God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them: and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." II Cor. vi. 16.
Those who enjoy this fellowship have been called unto it. This calling is as miraculous and effectual as the raising of Lazarus from the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." John v. 25. To live in this sense is to enjoy spiritual communion and fellowship with Christ. This calling is not the preaching of the gospel, for the gospel is preached to the Jews and Gentiles who are not called, to the one a stumbling block, and to the other foolishness. All who hear the gospel proclaimed do not live, but all who hear this calling do live because the call itself imparts spiritual life. It is, then, a calling from death to life. As death cannot resist one who is able to give life, the calling is irresistible. This calling is an impartation of life to the dead and not a mere offer. Jesus says, "I give unto them eternal life," but it is never said to be offered. This calling is from darkness to light, and consists in a deliverance from the power of the former and a translation into the sweet fellowship of the latterfellowship with Christ in his glorious kingdom.
Christ is not ashamed to call them brethren whom he is engaged to bring to glory, for he has atoned for all their sins by the shedding of his own blood, and he takes away their stony hearts and gives them hearts of flesh. A man of temperate habits and upright life would be ashamed to associate with drunkards and thieves, and equalize himself with them. But suppose he had the power to lift them up and change their nature so as to cause them to become sober and respectable, he would not feel ashamed of their companionship. Thus Christ has not disgraced himself in becoming a brother to the elect of God, for he has given himself for them to redeem them from all iniquity. They are purified, and a new disposition is given them, and his name is glorified in their exaltation. While the benefit is all theirs, the praise is all due to him. When he says to them, "I freely forgive all your sins," their hearts are made to glow with love and to rejoice in his sweet fellowship.
This fellowship once truly enjoyed begets in the heart a longing for frequent enjoyments of it. The sweetest joy of a regenerated heart is to be able to say, "My beloved is mine, and I am his." To hear the bridegroom say in accents of tenderest love, "Thou art all fair my love, there is no spot in thee," melts the soul, and raptures of inexpressible joy are experienced. There is, then, a panting of the soul after God, as the hart panteth after the water brooks. While the poor pilgrim realizes that the waves and billows have gone over him, yet it is his consolation to know that "the Lord will command his loving kindness in the day time," and that "in the night his song shall be with him," so that his prayer is unto the God of his life. Ps. xlii. 7, 8.
"What'ere thou deniest, O give me thy grace,
The Spirit's sure witness, and smiles of thy face;
Indulge me with patience to wait at thy throne,
And find even now a sweet foretaste of home."
The blessed fellowship to which we are called is to be more sweetly realized by walking in obedience to his commands. The joy that springs from a feeling sense of our having obeyed him is proof that we have been called to his fellowship. How sweet it is to be gently led by him and feel that he is with us in his own dear pathway! It is the privilege as well as the duty of God's children to live to his glory and praise, for in this way they find the rest that he has promised to those who obey him. He comes in to those who hear his voice and open unto him, and they are permitted to sup with him to the comfort of their hearts. It is only his living children that hear his voice and are able to open to him by obedience. Then, leaning upon the arm of our beloved, let us be led by him, pursuing our journey in his appointed ways.
"From all that's mortal, all that's vain,
And from this earthly clod,
Arise, my soul, and strive to gain
Sweet fellowship with God."
For the benefit of those who long to feast upon the sweets of his fellowship he has erected a throne of grace. How kind it is in him to assure us that if we ask we shall receive; that if we knock it shall be opened unto us; that if we seek we shall find. To feel our need of his presence and his blessings, and to be gifted with the burden of prayer, and to have access by faith to the mercy seat, what a favor bestowed upon unworthy mortals! As Jacob wrestled in the night, so are the Lord's people sometimes permitted to wrestle with him. They cannot let him go without a blessing. Sometimes in desertion's dismal night they can only sing with Watts,
"O that I knew the secret place
Where I might find my God!
I'd spread my wants before his face,
And pour my woes abroad."
Then encouraged by his word and actuated by his love, they are emboldened to exclaim,
"Arise, my soul, from deep distress,
And banish every fear;
He calls thee to his throne of grace,
To spread thy sorrows there."
"We have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities." Heb. iv. 15. He knows our every temptation and our every weakness. Our sorrows and afflictions are felt by him, so that in all of them we have his fellowship. When in deep trouble it is such a stay to have a faithful friend to confide in. We have such a friend in Jesus, for he hath "bourn our griefs and carried our sorrows." He can never be submerged by the waves that roll over us, and he promises that as he lives we shall live also. When we are carried by affliction's hand beyond the reach and help of mortals, his strong arm will still be our support and his sweet fellowship will be our solace. When the body is racked with pain and scorched with fever, the soul, in sweet fellowship with Jesus, rejoices to know that "the afflictions of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed." Finally the last struggle must come, the last breath must be drawn, the last moment of earthly life must flee away, and we must smother in death. What will the world be worth to us then? The grass will have withered and the flower will have fallen away. The silver cord will then be loosed. The golden bowl, the pitcher at the fountain, and the wheel at the distern will then be broken. The dust will then return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it, to rest forever in fellowship with the blessed Jesus.
J. R. D.
Copyright c. 2003. All rights reserved. The Primitive Baptist Library.
