READING • 1 CORINTHIANS 3
Fellowship means sharing
Bible fellowship is more than friendship or simply enjoying someone’s company. It is a spiritual sharing of faith, hope, worship and life in Christ — with God, with the Lord Jesus, and with fellow-believers.
Created for relationship
God created human beings for relationship. After Adam was made, God said that it was not good for the man to be alone. Eve was created as a companion and helper, and marriage became the first human partnership described in Scripture.
“It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.”
Genesis 2:18 • King James Version
Sin damaged both human relationships and the relationship between mankind and God. Genesis 3 shows blame, fear and separation entering where there had been openness and trust. The rest of Scripture shows God working to restore people to Himself and to one another through His purpose in Christ.
What is Christian fellowship?
The New Testament presents fellowship as a shared relationship built upon the apostolic message. John links fellowship with hearing and receiving the truth about Jesus Christ:
“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
1 John 1:3 • King James Version
This gives fellowship three directions: toward God, toward His Son, and toward fellow-believers. It is therefore deeper than social friendship. Christians can and should be kind, neighbourly and helpful to everyone, but Bible fellowship refers especially to the shared faith and worship of those who belong to Christ.
FELLOWSHIP INCLUDES
FELLOWSHIP IS NOT
Sharing the same Gospel hope; praying and worshipping together; learning Scripture together; encouraging one another; remembering Christ together.
A claim that believers must have identical opinions about every secondary matter; social isolation from everyone outside the ecclesia; mere attendance at the same building.
Worship in spirit and in truth
When Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman, the discussion turned to the correct place of worship. She referred to the Samaritan tradition centred on Mount Gerizim and the Jewish worship centred on Jerusalem. Jesus directed attention beyond a particular sacred site to the character of true worship.
“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.”
John 4:23 • King James Version
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
John 4:24 • King James Version
The point is not that truth is unimportant; it is the opposite. Worship must be sincere and must also agree with what God has revealed. Enthusiasm without truth is not enough, and correct words without a sincere heart are not enough.
People matter more than buildings
A fine building cannot make worship true. The New Testament repeatedly directs attention to believers themselves as God’s spiritual house. A meeting place can be useful, but it is not the church in the biblical sense.
God’s dwelling place
The Jerusalem temple was magnificent — John 2:20 records that it had been in building for forty-six years — yet Paul taught the Corinthian believers to think of themselves collectively as God’s temple.
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”
1 Corinthians 3:16 • King James Version
The foundation of that spiritual building is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11). Each believer therefore has a responsibility to build carefully: sound teaching, faithful conduct, love and service all matter.
Ecclesia: a congregation of people
Christadelphians commonly use the word “ecclesia” for a local congregation. This helps emphasise that the community is made of people, not bricks and mortar. First-century believers often met in homes, and a modern ecclesia may meet in a hall, a home or another suitable place.
Christadelphian ecclesias do not have a separate ordained priesthood. The Lord Jesus is the High Priest, and local baptized members share responsibilities according to Scripture and the arrangements of the ecclesia. The purpose is not status, but service.
Separate from ungodly ways — not from people
The New Testament calls disciples to holiness. Jesus prayed that his followers would remain in the world while being kept from its evil. “World” in passages like John 17 can describe a way of thinking and living that is opposed to God; it does not mean that every person outside the ecclesia is to be treated as an enemy.
“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
John 17:16–17 • King James Version
A disciple should therefore avoid joining in worship, teaching or conduct that contradicts the Gospel, while still showing kindness, patience and practical love to neighbours, colleagues, relatives and strangers. Separation is about loyalty to God, not pride or contempt.
Fellowship and shared belief
Shared doctrine matters because worship expresses what we believe about God, Jesus, salvation and the Kingdom. Paul warned believers against relationships that compromised faith:
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”
2 Corinthians 6:14 • King James Version
Christadelphians therefore seek ecclesial fellowship with those who share the same Gospel and baptismal faith. This does not mean that every difference of judgement must become a division. Romans 14 and 15 show that believers can differ over matters of conscience while still receiving one another in love.
Truth and patience belong together
Fellowship needs both conviction and humility. First principles of the Gospel matter, but believers must also learn when Scripture allows individual judgement. We should not turn every personal preference into a test of fellowship.
Encouraging one another
One reason fellowship matters is that disciples need encouragement. Faith is difficult to sustain in isolation. Meeting, talking, praying, reading and serving together can strengthen believers when they are tired, discouraged or under pressure.
“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:”
Hebrews 10:24 • King James Version
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:25 • King James Version
The Breaking of Bread
Jesus gave bread and wine to his disciples on the night before his death and told them to remember him. The bread recalls his body given for us; the cup recalls his blood shed for the forgiveness of sins.
“This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.”
Luke 22:19 • King James Version
Paul also describes the bread and cup as a sharing — a communion — in Christ. They bring believers together around the saving work of the Lord rather than around personality, status or culture.
“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?”
1 Corinthians 10:16 • King James Version
In Christadelphian practice, baptized believers who are in fellowship share the bread and wine. This is not because the emblems become physically transformed; they remain bread and wine and function as the remembrance Christ appointed.
Meeting regularly
Acts 20:7 records disciples gathering on the first day of the week to break bread. Scripture does not present a detailed universal timetable for every ecclesia, but Christadelphians have traditionally found a weekly Breaking of Bread a fitting and valuable pattern.
A typical ecclesial meeting includes Bible readings, hymns, prayers, an exhortation and the sharing of bread and wine. Arrangements vary, but the purpose is the same: to remember Christ, worship God and strengthen one another.
When believers are isolated
Some believers live far from an ecclesia, are housebound, or face circumstances that make regular physical meetings difficult. They should not think that they are forgotten. Letters, telephone calls and online contact can provide real encouragement and teaching, although where physical fellowship is possible it should be valued.
An isolated baptized believer may also remember the Lord in bread and wine according to the arrangements and guidance of the ecclesia with which he or she is in fellowship. The aim is to remain connected in faith, worship and mutual care rather than to become spiritually isolated.
Fellowship is active
Belonging to an ecclesia is not simply receiving help from others. Every disciple can contribute: by prayer, hospitality, encouragement, practical service, careful listening, teaching where appropriate, and showing patient love.
Fellowship through practical service
The New Testament picture of fellowship is practical as well as doctrinal. Believers share burdens, notice those who are struggling, welcome one another and use their abilities for the good of the whole body.
A HEALTHY ECCLESIA WILL
EXAMPLES
Encourage
Listen, pray, visit, write, telephone and strengthen those who are discouraged or isolated.
Share
Offer hospitality, practical help and material support when brothers or sisters are in genuine need.
Restore
Where someone is struggling or has fallen into sin, seek recovery with humility rather than gossip or harshness.
Serve
Use time and abilities for the benefit of others, without treating ecclesial service as a way to gain status.
A family that crosses human boundaries
The Gospel brings together people of different nations, backgrounds, ages and circumstances. Their unity does not come from being naturally alike, but from belonging to the same Lord and sharing the same hope.
This makes fellowship a discipline as well as a blessing. Believers sometimes disappoint one another. We need forgiveness, patience and the willingness to listen. Christian unity is strengthened when truth is spoken with love and when members care more about building up the ecclesia than winning arguments.
Fellowship now — perfect fellowship to come
Our fellowship now is imperfect because we are imperfect. Yet it points forward to the completed purpose of God, when sin and division are finally removed and God’s people live in complete harmony with Him.
“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
2 Corinthians 6:16 • King James Version
SUMMARY
1
Fellowship means spiritual sharing. It joins believers with God, the Lord Jesus and one another through a common Gospel faith.
2
True worship needs spirit and truth. Sincerity and biblical truth belong together; buildings and numbers do not determine whether worship is acceptable.
3
Believers are God’s spiritual temple. An ecclesia is first of all a congregation of people built upon Jesus Christ.
4
Separation does not mean isolation. Disciples avoid beliefs and practices contrary to God while showing kindness and love to everyone.
5
Fellowship strengthens disciples. Regular gathering, prayer, Bible study, service and encouragement help believers remain faithful.
6
The Breaking of Bread is central. Christadelphians regularly remember the Lord Jesus together in the bread and wine he appointed.
Chapters to read
1 John 1 • Romans 14–15:7 • 1 Corinthians 10 • Hebrews 10:19–25
LEARN BY HEART • 2 CORINTHIANS 6:16
“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
2 Corinthians 6:16 • King James Version
CHRISTADELPHIAN BIBLE MISSION • 5
CHRISTADELPHIAN BIBLE MISSION • 1