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Fellowship Vs. Personal Relationship Defining the Terms



“Where does the Bible say “personal relationship with Jesus” and how do I get that?”


I have heard many ask this question, and I wondered myself the first time I heard it. Like all other new candies that entice Christians, it has become a topic of conversation. However, no one can quite answer this question which is referring to a relationship with Christ. Yet when you turn to the New Testament there is no terminology, scripture and/or teaching that would point us to such a thought. The Old Testament doesn’t allude to it either. So, what do we do? Like always, we need to dig down and look in the Word to understand what is being said and where it stems from. If you are familiar with Fellowship or Relationship, another post I made, then what I am going to say will be clear. If not, that is ok. These next few post will add to our understanding of fellowship and personal relationship. Here is the link for the Fellowship or Relationship,  http://stevelynnjohnson.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-partnership.html

Finding the Answer


I write this post because it concerns me that so many don’t know what they mean or what they are saying when the utter the phrase “I have a personal relationship with Christ.”  I have heard what seems to be some attempts individuals have made to be self-explanatory on the subject, but nothing definitive. It all seems to be dependent on the individual.  I took it upon myself to search the Scriptures to see if what I was hearing was true (Acts 17:11).  This seems the fair minded thing to do.  I ask that once again as we dig into this subject, you join me in diving into the Word as we journey through it to find the answers we seek.



The Definition of Personal Relationship


Relationships suppose that there is a building of strong emotion toward someone.  A relationship means the only tying bond or connection is my choice to love. There is no other binding thread to one another. That doesn’t mean we have things in common it just means your action and mine don’t bind us together. I can accept or not accept anything about you. As in this case it would be a personal, individual building of strong emotion towards Christ and Christ towards you. As we look at fellowship we will see the issues with this teaching.

     This phrase was first widely used in the 1930’s.  Its use was prompted by a Baptist Preacher during a revival. How one came to have such a thing was by “asking Jesus in your heart”.  It doesn’t show up in Topical bibles or commentaries until around the 1970’s. Even then the word relationship is used to describe the partnership we have in Christ. Its use is an attempt to aid our understanding of fellowship. The use of the word is by its 3rd or 4th definition that partners have a task in relation to one another. Personal relationship infers that God is a respecter of person’s. Peter makes it clear that God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34).

 


The Definition of Fellowship


Layman’s Bible Encyclopedia defines fellowship like this, “Sharing, having or giving a share in something with someone; the association together of persons with a mutual aim and interest.” (pg. 251).  The New Combined Bible Dictionary and Concordance says “companionship, familiar interaction” (pg. 174). James Burton Coffman puts it like this, “This fellowship stands for membership in the corporate spiritual body of Jesus Christ.” And “Oneness with God in Christ is the basis of Christian fellowship, and it cannot exist without it”.  Take a moment and look at this described definition and note that this doesn’t mean a relationship.

       Let’s combine the definitions and see what this means. Fellowship means companionship, familiar interaction, sharing, having or giving a share in the Kingdom with the Godhead and the body, as we are in a corporate partnership together in Christ Jesus, so that by our association together we have a mutual aim and interest. Our mutual interest is to save the world (John 3:16; Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 2:39). Salvation means restoring what was broken in the garden by Adam and eternity in heaven (Rm. 5:12-21). Please note, this fellowship only takes place as we are in Christ. As we continue our study, we must not leave this definition, nor contradict, for this is exactly what 1 John 1:1-10 is stating.



Fellowship Goes Deep

When David speaks of the joy in the fellowship of God, we see him exemplify this corporate partnership. The Lord is working and constantly being faithful to His part and so is David.  Because of that David rejoices (Psalm 63:1). We see the Psalmist illuminate who will be in fellowship with God in Psalms 94.  In 94:20 he points out that those of the throne of iniquity that devise evil by law will not have fellowship with God. From this we see that only the righteous will have fellowship with God.  

        In Acts 2:42 we see the New Testament church partake in this fellowship, so much so they continued in it. We know that fellowship is walking in the light as obedient children of God in unity and commonality in Christ by Christ. Those folks were saved believers (Acts 2:47). These New Testament Christians were righteous in God’s eyes as they lived in obedience to His commands (Luke 1:6; Matt. 18:20; Acts 2:42). This fellowship includes one another, with the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and not with the wicked.  As we continue we can’t leave the definition of fellowship behind. Let’s look at these areas.

Do you understand fellowship?

 

We will be studying this topic more. Stay tuned for our next post:
“Fellowship With God"
http://stevelynnjohnson.blogspot.com/2015/03/fellowship-with-god.html
 

  





Crudes Complete Concordance, Alexander Cruden; 1949 Zondervan Publishing Co.
 

The New Combined Bible Dictionary and Concordance, Baker; 1965 Baker Publishing House


Naves Topical Bible, Orville J. Nave; 1974, The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago


The Layman’s Bible Encyclopedia, William C. Martin; 1964 The Southwestern Company


Commentaries on the Old and New Testaments, James Burton Coffman. 1985 Abilene, Tx : A.C.U Press http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/view.cgi?bk=61&ch=

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