Fellowship with God’s People
LESSON 3
The moment you give your heart to Christ, you become a member in a huge family that spans the world over, every country, every race, and every generation. The Scriptures tell us that you now become one of God’s children, one of His own sons and daughters. You share this wonderful blessing with all your brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world. God desires for us to gather together in His name to worship Him and learn from each other using our unique gifts and abilities. There are actually special promises that God has given us that only apply when we are together with other believers. Here you will learn some of these and the joys of being a part of God’s great family.
Becoming part of The Family of God
We have a very BIG family. It will take eternity to meet them all… And then there are the angels… Only when we get to Heaven will we begin to realize just how big our family really is. The scriptures call us brothers and sisters in Christ. We really are blood family… and it is the blood of Jesus Christ that ties us all together.
“You are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.” Eph. 2:19
This scripture also refers to us as fellow “citizens” with others in Heaven. In Phil. 3:20, Paul states that “our citizenship is in Heaven”. What a joy it will be to spend eternity WITH others who, like us, have Christ living in their hearts and are full of God’s love and grace.
“Breaking Bread” Together and Growing in the Community of Faith
One thing that most every human being has in common is that we enjoy eating together with our friends and loved ones. There is just something special about sitting around a table or a campfire and sharing a meal together and telling stories to one another or sharing about our day. We were made to do this and to enjoy it… Why?… because these are shadows… glimpses of what we will experience for eternity… in Heaven.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to FELLOWSHIP, to the BREAKING OF BREAD, and to prayer.” Acts 2:42
“…They BROKE BREAD in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” Acts 2:46.
What a joy it will be to meet our brothers and sisters from other countries… other cultures… even other generations in time… before and after our own!
Continuing to meet together
One of the beauties and strengths of the early church was their commitment to gathering together… even during seasons of persecution by the Romans.
“They continued to meet together… Acts 2:46
We NEED one another. Like logs in a fire. If you remove ANY one of the logs in a glowing fire, the other logs will continue to burn (albeit not as bright), but the one you separated from the rest will grow cold and die out. We need one another, and they need us.
“Let us not neglect meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing” Heb. 10:25
There is great joy gathering together with like-minded friends and God’s family. And even Jesus Himself promised to join us saying, “For where two or three gather in My name, there am I among them.” Mat. 18:20
We Each Have Special Gifting
The scriptures teach us that every one of us has special gifts that are important for the life and health of God’s family.
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” 1 Cor. 12:7
This passage goes on to read “All these (gifts) are the work of one and the same Spirit (the Holy Spirit), and He distributes them to each one, just as He determines.”
Every one of God’s children has been given special gifts and abilities… and we need the gifts that others bring into the family… and they need our gifts as well. This has always been God’s plan. He wants and loves a “big family”… and we are each a vital part of it!!
