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Fellowship (Philippians 1:1-8)
Fancy a cup of tea? How is the family? The sermon
was good wasn't it? Will you be in church again tonight? Anyway, I've
got to go prepare the lunch. Thanks for the fellowship. How we have
debased that word fellowship!
We have seen that this letter is sometimes called the 'epistle of joy'.
That joy is a constant theme as Paul writes to people he remembers and
for whom he prays "with great joy" (1:3-4). He writes:
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all
my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy…(1:3-4)
Then he explains the reason for his joy and thankfulness:
…because of your partnership in the gospel
from the first day until now(1:5)
That word 'partnership' is the Greek koinonia often translated
'fellowship'. We see this partnership in their constancy and loyalty
to Paul over some twelve years:
From the first day until now (1:5)
In Prayer:
In all my prayers for all of you, I always
pray with joy…(1:4)
I know that through your prayers and
the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me
will turn out for my deliverance (1:19)
In Battle:
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves
in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then whether I come and
see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand
firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel…since
you are going through the same struggle you saw I had and now hear that
I still have (1:27,30)
In Servanthood:
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ
Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi (1:1)
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to
the interests of others (2:4)
In Witness:
Do everything without complaining or
arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God
without fault in crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine
like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life - in order
that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labour for
nothing (2:14-16)
In Practical Sharing:
I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at
last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned,
but you had no opportunity to show it. I was good of you to share in
my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, In the early days of
your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not
one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except
you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again
and again when I was in need (4:10,14-16)
I come back to Paul's words, whether I come and see you or only hear
about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit
and realise that fellowship is not simply close proximity with someone
over a cup of tea. It is a sharing in the work of the gospel, a partnership
in God's enterprise, an endeavouring together in the building of the
kingdom of God.
Ron Sider, author of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, said:
"For the early Christians, koinonia
was not the frilly 'fellowship' of church-sponsored bi-weekly outings.
It was not tea, biscuits and sophisticated small talk in the Fellowship
Hall after the sermon. It was an unconditional sharing of their lives
with the other members of Christ's body."
In all these ways and more may we, whatever our circumstances, be found
this week "fellowshipping" in the work of God as we pray, serve, witness
and share sacrificially so that others may, in turn, come to know and
share in this great work.