(All quotes from scripture are from the BSB translation unless otherwise noted.)
Fellowship Synopsis
The common idea of 'fellowship’ is getting together with friends or family for a temporary time period over coffee or a meal.
While scripture does rarely infer this idea with the word fellowship, the majority of use is a group of people called together in a more permanent way with a common mission or purpose.
As I previously mentioned, this is how Tolkien use the word in his book titled “The Fellowship of the Ring”. In the books and movies this was a group of people who joined together with the mission to destroy the “one ring” in the fires of Mount Mordor.
Obviously during this mission, this group ate together, etc. However, the purpose of the term 'fellowship' in this usage is a description of the group itself - not the actions of the group while on the mission.
Sometimes in scripture this is a subset of believers in a local setting who have a specific 'mission', like a special tragedy, where they help each other. But the word still describes the entity of the group, not the individual actions of the members.
Most often in scripture, this word fellowship means the entire body of Christ in union with the Trinity as partakers of the divine nature - with the universal mission of the church.
As believers we are the “called out” ones (1 Peter 2:9). It is this common calling or mission that we all share in that makes us part of the 'fellowship' of Christ.
Realize that the fellowship of Christ and the family of God are one in the same. The epistolic authors liked to give multiple analogies to describe what we have as new creations.
Why This Matters?
There are passages of scripture, (the most obvious being 1 John 1 which I already covered), where a misunderstanding of this term can vastly change the meaning of the passage.
If maintaining fellowship with Christ is a daily work or effort on the believer's part, then this places the focus on the self-effort of the believer to maintain it.
However, if fellowship with Christ is a gift from Christ given when we are born again and become part of God's family - with a common mission and calling - then this drastically changes the focus.
Rather than seeking activities that religion has told us will help us maintain 'fellowship' with God, we can rest in the fellowship we already have and enjoy the natural communion with God that flows from that connection.
There is nothing forced or fake in this Christ sourced communion. It is a natural product of our faith and trust in God's gift of fellowship. It becomes a Christ focused - not a self focused - idea.
Thus while activity and action within the community of believers will be a by-product of the fellowship of Christ, if we think we must act to make it happen, we will miss out on true fellowship, even within the body.
But, enough of my synopsis, let's dig into scripture.
Another Resource
Before I get started, I wanted to provide another resource that I believe does an OK job at getting at the heart of what fellowship means.
Unfortunately, the web site won't let me link directly, but if you do a web search for “Koinonia: What the Bible Means by Fellowship Bible Study Tools” then it should bring up a link to biblestudytools.com with an article with that title. That would be the resource I am referring to.
Four Greek Words
There are four Greek words that indicate 'fellowship’: a verb, two nouns, and an adjective. It is important to distinguish the grammatical differences in scripture. They are there for a reason.
Here are the Greek words: koinóneó (verb); koinónia (noun); koinónos (noun); and koinónikos (adjective).
These different parts of speech describe various aspects of the overall 'fellowship’. Sometimes they describe the fellowship itself; sometimes the participants; and sometimes the actions of the participants.
The Root: Koinos
It is interesting, because the root of this word is 'koinos’, which almost always is negative. Here is what Discovery Bible Copyright 2021 has to say about this word:
“2839 koinós – properly, common, referring to what is defiled (stripped of specialness) because treated as ordinary ("common"). 2839 /koinós ("defiled") describes the result of a person reducing what God calls special (holy, set apart) – to what is mundane, i.e. stripping it of its sacredness.
2839 /koinós ("defiled because treated as common") is always used negatively, i.e. for what is profaned – except in Jude 1:3 where it refers to the gift of salvation shared (held in common) by all true believers.
Isn't that interesting? Now clearly this is a contextual word since Paul uses it positively in Jude. But when you add 'nio', 'nos', etc. to the word, it is almost always used positively in scripture.
To me this demonstrates how God takes something common and corrupt (humans living in Adam) and gives them newness of life; makes them a member of His family; and calls them to be children of God. They are common no longer.
But let's check out these other words.
Koinónos
Here is what Discovery Bible Copyright 2021 has to say:
“Cognate: 2844 koinōnós (a masculine noun/substantival adjective) – properly, a participant who mutually belongs and shares fellowship; a "joint-participant."
Partaker of the Divine Nature
I deliberately started with this word because this describes the person who is in the fellowship. And this word is used in one of my favorite passages which I will quote here:
2 Peter 1:2-4 - “2-Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
3-His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
4-Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
This is a powerful passage. We have everything we need for life and godliness because we are connected to Christ. This 'knowledge' is more than just information - it refers to an intimate connection with Christ.
Note: So much of the varied language in the epistles is an attempt to describe our union with Christ. One day I will write about this. But here are a few:
Christ in you; you in Christ
Fellowship with Christ
Union with Christ
Abiding in Christ
Being in-dwelled by the Word, Light, and Truth
Being joined to or one with the Holy Spirit
We are joint-heirs with Christ
We are children of God
These are only a few ways scripture describes this connection we have with the Trinity. Through this connection and the calling Christ has given every believer, Peter says we have His precious and magnificent promises and we have escaped the corruption in the world.
Note: here is a plain statement. “We have escaped the corruption in the world.” Do you believe it or act like you have escaped? This is exactly what Paul says in Romans 6.
So many messages in the Christian world act as if we haven't escaped - we must do more, behave better - to escape. That is not the truth.
It is the fact we have escaped that enables good behavior. Don't listen to messages that act as if we are still slaves of sin. We are not.
Because of these promises humanity can become partakers (koinōnós) of the divine nature. We become a part of the fellowship of Christ.
These are all different ways of talking about union with Christ. When the object is the fellowship of Christ, a koinōnós is someone who is a child of God.
Partaker of Christ's Glory
1 Peter 5:1 - “As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you:”
Here Peter uses this word again to describe how he is a “partaker of the glory to be revealed”. This is just another way of saying he is a subject in the Kingdom of God. Yes, there is more glory to be revealed, but we are partakers of God's glory now. (See Christ's prayer in John 17.)
Partner in the Fellowship
Philemon 1:17 - “So if you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me.”
Philemon is an interesting letter. Paul writes to Philemon (and his church) about a runaway 'slave' named Onesimus.
Note: 'Slavery' in this society is a complicated subject that I cannot give justice in one or two sentences. Know that it was not always exactly how we would think of modern slavery.
They were sometimes like a servant - often they were paying off a debt, etc. Either way, their treatment greatly depended on their master. Some were treated quite well.
Here is an overview of slavery in the NT, if you are interested:
https://www.bibleodyssey.org/passages/related-articles/slavery-in-the-new-testament/
My point with this is that when Paul calls himself a 'slave' of Christ, his perspective would have been on the goodness of the Master - not on the badness of the concept of slavery.
In this particular case, Onesimus had somehow run into Paul (probably in prison) and was returning to Philemon. Paul sent this letter with him.
He uses this word as leverage to encourage Philemon to respond in a Christ like way. He is basically saying, “Hey, you and me are united by Christ, just like you and Onesimus. Remember this and treat him well.”
Thus, we see that the gospel seeks to overcome the fleshly attitudes of the surrounding society, while recognizing that the society itself may not change. We are truly foreigners and strangers.
Koinōnós Conclusion
There are a few other times this word is used, often translated 'partner'. Paul describes Titus and himself as partners in working for the gospel. It can also be used negatively, as in warning not to be a 'partner' in evil.
Anytime we call any other believer a “brother or sister”, it is the same thing as this word. The fellowship is a family mission!
We are children of God, partners in the family business, called to spread the good news of grace through the new covenant and God's unconditional love. The same love that “covers a multitude of sins.”
But we should not confuse descriptions of a partner in the mission with the description of the mission itself.
Koinónia
This word is the main focus of this article as it is where the most confusion lies. This word can be contextual and refer to a smaller 'group' or 'fellowship’; yet it most often refers to the fellowship of believers established with the Trinity through Christ.
The universal Church = the fellowship = the body of Christ. These are several ways of describing the group of believers intimately connected to the Trinity and each other.
This is clearly a noun. It is a thing - an entity - it is not an action. Being in the 'fellowship' of God absolutely produces attitudes and actions that flow from membership in it. However, these by-products should not be confused for the fellowship itself.
This is a common error.
I already covered 1 John 1 in my first 'confession' article, so I won't dive into it here other than to say that this noun koinónia is what is used there. John is referring to the fellowship of Christ itself, not the activity happening within it.
For John, you are either ‘in’ or ‘out’ based on faith and the finished work of Christ. There is no gray area where you are in when you do your quiet time, and out when you watch a secular movie, as we so often portray in Christian circles.
This fellowship is permanent and based on your new birth into God's family. Basing it on our own works is anti-faith. Yes, I am saying that sometimes your “quiet time” can be sinful. I know, shocking right? But, “everything that is not of faith is sin.” (Rom. 14:23b)
But let's take a look at some other uses in scripture.
Devoted to “The Fellowship”
Acts 2:42 - “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
This is the one passage that seems to go against my thoughts about “the fellowship”. But let me share why I think this is the same thing.
This is still a noun and BSB correctly calls it 'the' fellowship. What fellowship were they devoted to? The fellowship of believers and Christ.
They were setting their mind on “the fellowship” which is a Heavenly thing manifested on earth, not an earthly thing.
There are four separate things this verse says they are devoted to:
The apostle's teaching
The fellowship
Breaking of bread
Prayer
It would be easy to conflate the breaking of bread with the fellowship. Yet, this is an action or verb, not a noun. While these are related, they are not the same thing.
I believe Luke used the noun purposefully. It was their devotion to the fellowship of Christ - their embrace of their identity as children of God -that led to all of the actions surrounding this verse.
Again, it was not the actions like breaking of bread that defined the fellowship - it was the fact they were in the fellowship that motivated their generosity and sharing of meals. It was a natural outflow.
My point is that they did not simply join in with these other believers out of obligation - it was a heart based inspiration because they were part of the fellowship. Unbelievers break bread all the time, yet they are not 'in' the fellowship.
God Calls You Into The Fellowship
1 Corinthians 1:7-9 - “7-Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
8-He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9-God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”
The opening statement in verse 7 is quite bold. Paul tells these believers that they “do not lack any spiritual gift”. Hmm. Again, a bold statement, but not my direct topic today. Yet, this is true because they are in the fellowship.
Of course, Corinth was a church full of fleshly mindsets. Some wanted all the flashiest “spiritual gifts”. I believe some of them even faked gifts to try and attain some status in the church.
Paul was letting them know they have been gifted from God everything they need. This is much like Ephesians 1:3 where he proclaims believers have “every spiritual blessing in Christ”.
Verse 8 is yet another affirmation of our spiritual safety in Christ. This leads to verse 9 where he shows the reason we are safe is because God is faithful and has already called us into (the) fellowship with Jesus Christ.
Note: this verse clearly shows that being part of the fellowship of Christ is something God does, it is not something we do. Again, it is a gift.
Whether we open the gift and use it is a different discussion. But if we think we must cause or maintain the fellowship, we will never have a proper mindset to use it well. A gift mindset is essential for all things in God's kingdom.
I won't get into a full study now, but this word translated 'call' has a connotation of power behind it. Because God is love, we can resist His call. But once we submit to it, it is His power that enforces it.
It would be easy to think God is calling out to us, and it is somehow up to us to come up with power to put ourselves into the fellowship. That is not the context of this word 'call' at all. It implies the power comes from the Caller - God's call is a gift, not an obligation.
The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit
2 Corinthians 13:14 - “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”
I sometimes feel like we minimize the greetings and endings of the epistles as if they were just between the author and the audience. However, there is often a lot of truth in them.
This is the final recorded sentence Paul writes the Corinthians. He is reminding them of three things:
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
The love of God
The fellowship of the Holy Spirit
The way the last phrase “be with all of you” is translated could make it seem like Paul is uncertain about this. Some translations even add 'may' to the beginning of the verse.
In the Greek, it is only the word 'with'. The 'be' is added by translators to make it flow better in English. I think I would use the word 'are'. Thus all of these promises “are with all of you”.
I firmly believe Paul is reminding them that all of these things are with them already. These three things are the major components of the gospel!
This one verse alone captures everything we need to put our faith in! If we truly believe and trust in the grace, love, and fellowship of the Trinity, then we will do well in life!
The Fellowship Is the Foundation and Power for Christian Unity
Philippians 2:1-2 - “1-Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
2-then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose.”
If there is any passage that conveys the 'fellowship’ message I am trying to get across it is this one. But once again, we must deal with translation shenanigans.
The phrase “with the” is added in. The Greek word is just “pneuma” which in context means “Holy Spirit”. There is no Greek equivalent for “with the”.
I know I am being picky here, but this matters. A better way would just say “Holy Spirit fellowship” or “fellowship of the Holy Spirit”. Again, we want to avoid confusion that this is a noun, not an action. This simply describes our permanent connection to the Spirit.
The word 'any' could be confusing too. It is an indefinite pronoun (because fellowship and these other descriptions are nouns).
Paul is being deliberately hypothetical and theoretical here. He just ended chapter one by writing that they were “serving the gospel” and even suffering for it. But he also writes that they were struggling with unity with one another.
Thus, Paul is almost being sarcastic! Especially by using this word translated 'any'. This is a word of uncertainty in the Greek. Yet, Paul is not hedging these truths.
His point is that if they have even the smallest part of Christ's love - and thus His comfort and encouragement - along with even the tiniest bit of being in the Spirit fellowship - which provides the fruit of sympathy and compassion - then they should easily be able to unify behind the common mission and purpose of this fellowship - because they are in the family of God.
Of course, the truth is they have all of these in spades. They are fully in the Holy Spirit fellowship - and they have all of Christ and His character within - just as believers do today. But Paul is using this language to make a point.
If you have even the smallest part of Christ and union or fellowship with the Trinity, then union with your fellow believers should easily flow from these things. If they don't, then it is because you (or they) have a mindset of works not faith.
This is similar to Christ saying tiny mustard size faith would move mountains. He was not advocating mountain moving, only that we often expect to move mountains when we don't even have faith that God can work in the smallest part of our lives.
Having the Same Love?
Verse 2 can also be confusing because there is more translation treachery afoot. Let me repeat it in another translation for clarity:
“2-fulfil ye my joy, that ye may mind the same thing -- having the same love -- of one soul -- minding the one thing,” (YLT)
Despite the archaic language, Young's literal gets it best, though not perfectly.
The only 'command' in this verse is for them to be 'like-minded' and have 'oneness of soul'. Paul is saying that they already have the same love. The Greek word for love here is a root of 'agape' which can only come from God.
The translation phrasing can make it seem like Paul is saying they need to “gin up” love. However, it is their mindset Paul is going after, not any particular action. Here is how I would write it:
“Since you possess the same love, complete my joy by setting your mind properly on Christ and the gospel, thus enabling oneness of soul.”
I highly recommend you go to biblehub.com (or whatever resource you choose) and look at the Greek word by word for this verse. I cannot help but be suspicious of translators and their biases.
Like-Minded and Oneness of Soul
The last two words of the verse (‘sympsychoi’ and ‘hen’) mean “one soul” and 'one'. The word 'psuché’, where we get psychology, always references the soul in scripture. Paul combines this with 'sýn’ (root 'sun') which means 'united'.
Using Spirit here is incorrect. They are already one in Spirit because they are part of the fellowship. However, they will only be like-minded when they understand the gospel and set their mind on those promises and truths.
All of these promises flow from being in the fellowship of God. And being 'like-minded' should flow from these things. The more you truly understand the gospel, the more unified you will be with others who also do.
Paul uses soul here because this is the mind, will, and emotions. He is indicating that their union with Christ in the fellowship leads to a deep psychological union between believers here on earth; but only if they are like-minded towards the gospel.
Like-Mindedness is Easy if it is Based on Faith in the Fellowship
Because of these truths, being like-minded should be easy. Yet, often it is not. And this is because we forget these truths. Paul is reminding the Philippians (and us) of what we have in Christ.
Thus, if we read this word 'fellowship’ and think it means some specific activity on our part, then our faith will end up pointed at the activity and we will begin to walk by the flesh and not by the Spirit.
However, a proper understanding of Paul's meaning will accomplish what he is expecting: a focus on Christ and His power within to enable like-mindedness and unity with the other believers who are “in the fellowship”.
Obviously, each person will need to have these mindsets and everyone is at different levels in their understanding and faith. We cannot condemn ourselves if the other person is not mature, though Spirit patience is needed.
However, once each believer begins to have a proper understanding of the basics of the gospel and truly believe God is for them, not against them - His love is truly unconditional - they will begin to unify naturally.
And that is Paul's point. The foundation of unity is they “have the same love” - the agape love of Christ poured into their hearts.
The Fellowship of Faith
Philemon 1:4-6 - “4-I thank my God always, making mention of you upon my prayers,
5-hearing of your love and the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints,
6-so that the fellowship of your faith might become effective in the acknowledgment of every good thing that is in you toward Christ.” (BLT)
Sadly, beyond knowing the story of Onesimus, I have never really closely studied Philemon. Yet again another powerful greeting. Verse 6 may become one of my top 10 verses!
Interesting. We now see the context of verse 17 that I discussed above. The fellowship of the faith is what Paul indicates Philemon and himself are partners in.
I used the Berean Literal Bible because it translates the word as 'fellowship’, but it still doesn't quite phrase it quite right. It should be “your fellowship of the faith”. The point is the power of Christ within, not your own faith.
Also, the phrase “might become” is deceptive. This is the aorist subjunctive tense which doesn't really have a time-frame. It is hard to translate into English, but there could be a better choice. Here is a good discussion of this tense:
https://socratic.org/questions/what-is-the-aorist-subjunctive-tense-in-layman-s-terms
Here is the takeaway from that link:
“However if the subjunctive mood is used in a purpose or result clause, then the action should not be thought of as a possible result, but should be viewed as a definite outcome that will happen as a result of another stated action.”
This is a spectacular truth! What Paul is saying here is that the fellowship of faith (or of Christ) becomes effective because of our intimate knowledge of all the good things that are in us because of Christ!
Recognize you are in the fellowship of Christ, intimately connected to Him, and believe and trust in everything that is in you because of that truth.
Paul is indicating that Philemon is in the fellowship, he has an intimate knowledge of Christ, yet the only question is how effective will it be? Paul's prays that Philemon (and all believers) learn to allow those two truths to become effective.
This word translated effective is 'energḗs’. You can see the resemblance to the English word energize.
This is all about what is energizing us. When we submit to the power of the fellowship we are in, and the intimate connection to Christ, it will energize and motivate us!
Intimate Knowledge of Christ
This word translated 'acknowledge' is a special word - ‘epignósis’. It happens when you take the word ‘gnósis’ and add 'epi' to it. Gnósis is where the word Gnostic comes from. They believed they had 'special' knowledge.
Yet again, false teaching twists truth. We do have “special knowledge” of Christ, but it is caused by Him, not us.
Much like we get our word 'epic', adding 'epi' was a way to emphasize the connectivity of this knowledge. In scripture this most often describes union with Christ or salvation. This word is closely tied with faith.
It is different from just “knowing stuff”. It is an impactful knowledge - an intimate knowledge - an active knowledge - an energizing knowledge.
One Verse Encapsulates It All
This verse is just so cool. Paul is saying that we can be energized in life because we are in the fellowship of faith and have an an intimate knowledge of all the benefits Christ brings.
My friends, this is what the Christian life is all about. The whole purpose of my writing is to portray what I have learned about these benefits of being in Christ, and Christ in me.
The knowledge is there, the Word is right in your ear. However, the fog of religion and the pull of self made 'righteousness' has obscured it (dare I say corrupted it.)
This is the battle we all face. May my writing and perspectives help you face it better, even if you don't always agree.
Do Good or Goodness?
Hebrews 13:16 - “And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
Many believe, including obviously translators, that this verse is advocating specific actions: doing good and generosity. However, that is not the case at all, at least not directly.
I always want to emphasize that the works for which we were recreated in Christ should always flow from His power within by faith - we should never “gin them up” in some effort to please God - they must come from faith in order to be pleasing to God.
As I go into this verse, I must say that I want to acknowledge the many times the epistles give instruction on what good human actions look like. I do not want to de-emphasize that. Obviously, doing things from faith is best; however, it is better to do less harmful sin than more harmful sin (in this life).
However, this verse has no action words in it, so this is not one of those passages.
So Simple: Noun vs. Verb
So are the translators deliberately doing this or are they just being sloppy? Am I missing something?
Again, I am not a Greek scholar, nor do I claim to be. But I do know basic parts of speech, along with most 3rd graders.
And the words translated “do good” and “to share” are nouns. They are not verbs. Hmm. The English translations certainly make them sounds like verbs.
Whether these are verbs or nouns makes a huge difference! Again, you can look it up yourself. It is just the two nouns, no verbs in sight.
“To Do Good” Is Really “Goodness”
In the phrase “to do good”, “to do” is added in. The word is a noun that describes the concept of goodness. There are no other words modifying the noun in the Greek.
To be fair, since this is a noun created by an adverb and a verb, I'm not as concerned with this one. However, the way this is translated is still deceptive. The author is not giving the command to “do good” here.
What he is saying is to remember the concept of 'goodness'. The focus is on belief, not an action. The question is whose “goodness” are we focused on? Our own, or Another's? I believe he is saying focus on the goodness of Christ.
“To Share With Others” or “The Fellowship”?
I have a bigger problem with translating ‘koinōnias’ as 'to share with others'. This is a bigger error. They have clearly taken a noun and turned it into a verb in the English. This word clearly means “the fellowship”.
Neglect
Here is Discovery Bible Copyright 2021 on this word translated neglect:
“1950 epilanthánomai (from 1909 /epí, "on, fitting" and 2990 /lanthánō, "unnoticed") – properly, to overlook, especially the effects that go with failing to notice. 1950 /epilanthánomai ("overlooking"), as an intensification of 2990 (lanthánō), focuses on the consequences that build on the forgetting (note the epi, "upon").”
Notice the 'epi' again. This is an epic forgetfulness. Neglect is not a bad translation, but it doesn’t quite get it. Again, I think the author is getting at something that precedes action or behavior - something at the root of it. He is talking about a life lived completely disconnected from the idea of “the fellowship” and “goodness”.
Hebrews 13:16 Conclusion
So, one of the main themes of Hebrews is Christ's sacrifice is greater than the Torah based sacrifices - I.e. Christ is greater than Moses. And we say 'duh'. But that wasn't so easy for these Hebrews (or many today).
Verses 9-16 are all about 'sacrifice'. The author is speaking to the Hebrew believers in his audience and helping them to stay focused on the superiority of Christ. He starts verse 9 by saying:
“Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings…
This is a direct warning against Judaism, Torah, and the sacrificial system, which some tried to mix into Christianity. He then tells them that to be a Christian they must be willing to go outside the gate. Then he goes into a verse I covered in my confession articles.
“15-Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.
This is the context leading up to verse 16. It is all about Christ and His superior sacrifice. The only sacrifice that was pleasing to God.
Hebrews 13:16 - Final Thoughts
Final thoughts - finally. 🤔 So, I realize it seems we have gone off on a major rabbit trail. But this is a perfect illustration of the point of this article.
Here is my paraphrase of the verse:
“Avoid utterly forgetting goodness and the fellowship. For with these sacrifices God is pleased.”
OK, so now, which “fellowship”? Since this is not a verb, what does he mean? Clearly he is referencing the fellowship of Christ. Remember he is not advocating direct action, he is saying to remember these things. This is a faith based focus.
Immediately before, he says that “through Jesus” we are able to offer praise by confessing His name. It is through this confession that we are part of the fellowship and have the goodness of Christ in our hearts.
Instead of the sacrifices in the Torah, here are the faith based sacrifices that are pleasing to God:
Praise - (the fruit of confessing Christ)
Remembering goodness - (given to us by Christ)
Remembering we are part of the fellowship - (of Christ)
It is remembering Christ's sacrifice that the author considers important. This is the foundation of a faith based sacrifice - a focus on Christ.
How Does The Author Conclude?
I realized while studying this passage the the author makes his own conclusion evident in his benediction. So, rather than continuing to draw my own conclusion, let's study his.
Hebrews 13:20-21 - “20-Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord,
21-equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (NASB 1995)
So, I used a translation that doesn't add 'may' at the beginning. I'm not going to get into it, but this word 'equip' uses a Greek part of speech that could mean 'hypothetical’. But in this case the author is not indicating God 'might' equip you - I am simply out of space to explain why.
Just know this is not an uncertain action by God. Just as Paul says in Philippians 1:6 that Christ will complete the good thing He started in us - the author of Hebrews is saying the same thing.
My main focus is verse 21, but verse 20 is a powerful reminder of the eternal covenant, which is also referred to as the “new covenant” to distinguish it from the Mosaic covenant - which the Hebrews were so caught up in.
Be Empowered by the Sacrifice of Christ - Not our Own
Verse 21 directly relates to verse 16 - notice the direct correlation. He says God will equip you in every good thing and what He is working IN us will please Himself. And all of this happens “through Jesus Christ”.
The author evidently doesn't want his audience to get confused either and think that he was encouraging them to do good or be generous in their own power. He is making sure their focus is on the goodness being worked in them by Christ.
Thus, I contend the 'sacrifices' that are the focus - that please God - are remembering the sacrifice of Christ and being empowered by Him. These lead to a naturally praise, trust, and gratitude.
Our Sacrifice or Christ's Sacrifice?
I want to make a point is that it is quite easy to read a verse like this and think that God wants us to 'sacrifice' - meaning achieve something through deliberately inflicting some hardship upon ourselves or choosing to go out of our way to make life hard.
I have heard many preachers preach something along the lines that if your Christianity isn't painful it is not real or that if you are not 'sacrificing' then you don't love God enough.
This mindset leads to all sorts of faithless activity. It is a subtle, yet destructive concept that leads to self-focus and self-reliance, not relying on Christ.
As Part of “The Fellowship of Christ” - Hardship will Come
While it is quite true, as evidenced by the new testament and history, that being a Christian often leads to hardship, that is not the point the author is making. It is quite the opposite.
He has just completed a letter trying to get these physical sacrifice loving and trusting Hebrews to abandon that concept. Remember, meat was a scarce commodity back then. The animal sacrifices were no small thing for most people - the bearer lost a valuable food source.
The Hebrews were no stranger to personal sacrifices for God - what they struggled with was God sacrificing for them! It is what most of us struggle with today!
His whole point is that it is the blood, sweat, tears, and ultimately death of Christ in our place that matters, not our own. For every Christian martyr, there are hundreds, thousands, perhaps millions who are not martyred.
My point is that being in the fellowship of Christ may require hardship. Simply being in a world and physical body infected by sin automatically causes hardship! But we don't seek it out to gain some status with God, nor should we feel guilty if our life doesn't feel “difficult enough'.
Do Not Use Difficulties to Measure your own Spirituality
We should never have a mindset of measuring our 'spirituality' or 'godliness', based on the hardships or how much of a 'sacrifice' our activity feels like.
This is quite asinine if you truly consider it. It is the fruit of the same faithless mindset of those in church history who flagellated themselves or stood on posts. It is a most subtle form of narcissism.
It is asinine because the fruit of the Spirit is joy and peace within suffering, not seeking out suffering to prove something. A miserable Christian is never a healthy one.
This is one of the reasons I utterly question any modern day 'fasting' - but that will definitely be another CCC (see Colossians 2:16-23).
Only by remembering and trusting in the sacrifice of Christ will we be prepared to face the real hardships of this world and the requirements of being in the fellowship of Christ.
God is absolutely sovereign - if He allows hardship, we won't have to seek it out. There is nothing to 'prove'.
In the meantime, we should be working on our mindsets so that we actually remember and have faith in what Christ has done and is doing inside of us when hardships inevitably come.
And that is the point of Hebrews 13:20-21. We can sit in awe and thank God for His amazing plan and covenant with Christ that we can participate in! And this will buoy our soul when hardship inevitably comes.
Fellowship of the Gospel and Partakers of Grace
So, isn't this fun? Sorry, one more verse about the fellowship, then we will get to some action words.
Philippians 1:3-7 - “3-I thank my God every time I remember you. 4-In every prayer for all of you, I always pray with joy,
5-because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6-being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7-It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. For in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partners in grace with me.
I had no idea when I wrote about Phil. 1:6 that I was about to cover this passage in regards to fellowship. But here we are - another exciting fellowship passage.
Once again, this fellowship (translated partnership here) is a noun, not a verb. Paul is not thanking God and praying with joy over their actions (at least not here). He is excited about them being in the fellowship of Christ or the gospel. This is all the same 'fellowship’.
Christ is the gospel - the gospel is Christ. The fellowship of the gospel is union with Christ. It is this union with Christ that continues to help us grow in grace and knowledge of Christ. It is His good work within that will mature us.
Sugkoinónos and Sugkoinóneó
So, I sort of missed a couple of 'fellowship’ words. I say sort of because they still include the root words. But they add the word 'sun' to it.
We are all learning together! I could go back and change my earlier writing, but I think I will leave this discovery in here. It is part of my own journey and you are looking over my shoulder.
This is a fascinating word - it simply strengthens 'union'. It's sort of like saying “super partners”. Paul is indicating that because the Philippians are in the fellowship of the gospel with him, they are super partners of grace.
Of course, Paul calls the gospel “the gospel of grace”. Once again, Christ = gospel = grace. It's all the same. And as believers, we are super partners in this amazing fellowship of the Divine Trinity. That is truly good news.
Are you jazzed yet? Such powerful truths once again part of Paul's greeting. I hope you can understand the power of these statements concerning our union with Christ and each other.
I think I have made this clear, but this noun that means fellowship - when connected to the gospel, faith, grace, Christ, the church, or the Holy Ghost -must be seen as the powerful act of God's uniting us with Himself.
This describes the enacting of what Christ prayed for in John 17. The fellowship is the answer to His prayer.
While scripture does use this word to describe smaller groups united for a smaller mission (and even those united in a mission of evil), we must not miss the implications of this universal fellowship called the church and established by God.
It is His power that created the union, His power that maintains it, and His power within us that enables the promises of being in His fellowship to be revealed and enacted.
Koinóneó and Sugkoinóneó
So, you must be wondering, where's the action? Most of what I have been discussing is an attitude, a mindset - setting your mind on the wonders of the fellowship of Christ.
And yes, that is the root. Actions flow from thinking - you must think and believe a certain way so that you make “the fellowship of faith” effective. And actions that flow from wrong beliefs, that are not of faith, are not effective.
But when true power from the fellowship becomes effective and impactful, what does that look like?
Well, thankfully we have these two verbs in scripture. So, let's check them out.
Note: the verb form of these words are only used 11 times, less than 1/2 of the noun. Scripture often emphasizes specific words for a reason. If you have a proper mindset of being in the (noun) fellowship, then the action (verb) will naturally follow.
However, actions are often signposts or indicators of our mindset, so they are still valuable to recognize and study.
Share with Saints in Need
Romans 12:13 - “Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.”
You can't really get much simpler than this. This is what the verbal action form of 'fellowship’ looks like. Please realize Paul is not giving a Law type command here. And that is why the study of the noun 'fellowship’ is so important.
These actions flow out of Christ's goodness placed in our new heart. When Paul instructs the Corinthians on giving, here is what he says:
2 Corinthians 9:7 - “Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.”
Note carefully that there is no regret (meaning no one is shaming them) or compulsion. If this was a 'command' of Christ, wouldn't that be compulsion?
This word 'decided' has the idea of “this is your choice”. Sometimes you are not motivated by the Holy Spirit - He is motivating someone else to serve. And we should not be shamed by another human to give out of fleshly motives.
When Christ is motivating your heart to give, you don't need guilt trips. You are not paying Him back in some way. That idea is ludicrous.
There is nothing we can give that compares to what Christ gave. It is the ultimate in narcissism to think you could. So, if you are not getting “brownie points” from God for your giving, what is the motivation?
As both Paul and the author of Hebrews indicate, if you are in the fellowship of Christ, with a good heart in-dwelled by the Holy Spirit, then Christ's indwelling goodness will be the motivation.
Acting from that motivation is faith - only faith pleases God. The gospel proves God is not in the business of “carrots and sticks”. We do not earn blessings or avoid cursing by behavior. But that is another CCC.
Partners in Suffering
So, honestly the verb form is most often used negatively, as in don't partner with evil. For my purposes today, I hope that not partnering with evil is obvious, so I will not focus on that.
There are a few which discuss partnering to help other brothers and sisters, either in physical need or spiritual need. I mentioned one of those above. But of the few times the verb is used, only about 5 or 6 are positive.
Here is one final usage:
1 Peter 4:12-13 - “12-Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.
13-But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.”
As I mentioned above, another aspect of being in the fellowship of Christ is we share in His suffering. No, that does not mean we all go to a cross, but it does mean that there is a conflict with sin in the world and our new spirit - the same conflict Christ had on earth.
As I mentioned, this is not self-induced in order to somehow 'prove' our love for God. As Peter indicates, we won't have to seek it out. The conflict simply exists - don't be shocked.
It ranges from normal everyday temptations - like blowing up at your family (or them to you) and causing relational conflict - to actual martyrdom.
Avoid the temptation to measure your trials against another person - either in the present or the past. Let God handle your circumstances - our only duty is to learn to rely on Christ to deal with whatever we have been given.
But the fact is, however we may try to measure trials in a fleshly way, if you are in the fellowship of Christ, then you have a conflict with the world. And Christ predicted this:
John 16:33 - “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
Notice the phrase “in Me”. As I have covered over and over, being “in Christ” means you are a believer, you are a new creation, and you are in His fellowship. And it is there you have peace.
Fellowship Conclusion
This is the perfect verse to end this article. Being in the fellowship is being in Christ. The gospel is very consistent - it is always about Christ. We are able to have peace in this world because He is is us. Without Him, we can do nothing.
Thus, is it about His sacrifice, not our sacrifices. It is about His love and character within us, not about us trying to prove anything. It is about His generosity from a true heart motivation, not us being guilt-ed into discomfort because some other human has a fleshly mindset.
“Give 'til it hurts” is not from God - it is a fleshly works-based mindset. Even a cup of water genuinely given by faith and in the name of Christ is a sufficient gift.
Often a reliance on Christ and setting our minds on the wonderful fellowship we are in with Him will lead to powerful acts of generosity and “bearing each other's burdens”.
Scripture is full of these examples and 1 John indicates an innate love for believers is built-in for Christians.
Someone who is mature and confident in their connection to Christ will resist the temptation to compare their 'sacrifice' with others. They will not act out of fleshly compulsion. They learn to sense if their action is truly Spirit motivated or not.
And that, as always, is my main point.
There is far more in scripture indicating you should “set your mind” on and remember your connection to Christ -being in His fellowship - than discussing the act of 'partnering' or 'fellow-shipping’.
This is true of every good thing we have in Christ. When you set your mind properly, gaining a proper gospel mindset, then you will begin to learn your true heart motivations. And when this is motivating your actions, they will be powerful actions indeed.
These may look a bit different for you than others. The body of Christ is truly diverse. But you will gain confidence as these attitudes and activities begin to flow naturally from your gospel mindset and the power of Christ within, and you won't have to apologize or answer to anyone but God Himself.
Because we are in His fellowship, having gained peace with God through Christ, this is not a scary prospect. It is an awe inspiring prospect, but not scary. What a blessing we have in Christ!
Meditate on all you have because you are in the fellowship of Christ. As this meditation gives you motivation, enjoy how it makes your faith effective in your daily life and walk.
Once you learn this well, and the fruit of the Spirit begins to naturally flow without effort, you will only hunger for more! For then, you are truly living.
John 10:10b - “I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.”