Fellowship of The Spirit (Part 1)

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. The communion of the Holy Spirit. So what is this? This is fellowship with God, fellowship with His people.

Fellowship with God and Unity in the Local Church

Communion with God and community with His people. So how do we experience the fullness of this fellowship or communion? Well, you are already there in chapter 13. So look at verse 7. Paul tells them, now I pray to God that you do no evil.

Then he says, you should do what is honorable. Then in verse 8, he reminds them how he stood for the truth. Then at the end of verse 9, he tells them, we pray that you may be made complete. And in verse 11, he gives his farewell.

He says, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. And in that statement, I believe we see a condition implied that in order for the God of love and peace to be with you, you must be a person of love and peace.

And you must live in love and peace. And then what does he say? Greet one another with a holy kiss. Why did he say that? Well, consider as the reading of this letter, because Paul would write the letter, be sent to the church.

They would read it amongst the assembly. Everyone would hear it. And as the letters coming to an end, he says, greet one another with a holy kiss. So this is an exhortation to embrace one another. Just as churches today will say, you know, turn around and greet two or three or shake hands with your neighbor.

What does this do? It promotes fellowship amongst the assembly. And then we come to this great benediction. Verse 14, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Amen. So the way to experience the fullness of this blessing, this fellowship to share in the fellowship, we need to heed Paul's message. The church at Corinth needed to heed Paul's message. We need to do that.

We need to do no evil, stand in the truth, be of one mind, live in peace. And what is this? This is a call to unity. So that's what this sermon is about. It is about unity, the communion of the Holy Ghost.

Before we continue, let's open in prayer. Our father and gracious God, how thankful we are for each and every blessing you have bestowed upon us. And as your word tells us that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Lord, you have given your people grace upon grace, loving us with an everlasting kindness that we deserve not. So Lord, because of that, may we do no evil and stand firm in your truth. And live in peace with one another.

We pray these things in Christ's name. Amen. All right. To begin, let's look at this statement, the communion of the Holy Spirit. So just that we're clear on what we're talking about here. This is a theme of unity.

Now, in regards to the benediction at the end of Paul's letter, the love of God is certainly something that we understand. The love of God is mentioned from pulpits everywhere just about every week. I would say it's rare for a church to go through a service or two or one or two or three weeks without mentioning the love of God.

This is something that we constantly hear and rightly so. Also, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you're a Christian, if you know the gospel, you understand the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. So what about this statement, the communion of the Holy Spirit?

That's a little more difficult to wrap your mind around. And as I've already indicated, the word communion is synonymous with what? Fellowship. Fellowship. So this is our relationship with God, if you will, by which we are joined together through the communion of the Holy Spirit.

We are joined together with God and with one another. So this spiritual unity really, if you're a believer, this already exists. We already have a spiritual unity with God and with one another. So now in a local church, it's just about making this invisible spiritual reality, if you will, visible in the life of the church.

And to do this, I believe it requires many things, perhaps, but it requires a proper understanding of the spirit's work in the local church. Now, it has been said you may or may not agree with this, but it has been said that the Holy Spirit is the most misunderstood person of the Trinity.

I personally think that that's true. And I think one of the reasons why he is so misunderstood is because he is so often misrepresented. Just a statement or two about this. Let's start with the obvious.

The Holy Spirit is not a dove. The Holy Spirit is not actually a bird. Okay, we probably knew that. He's not God's impersonal force. Okay, you probably knew that as well. But nor should you expect, because we hear about people filled with the spirit, right?

Nor should you expect a person under the Holy Spirit's influence to be shaking or quaking or acting in a bizarre manner. Neither does the Holy Spirit give private revelations to people that contradict the scripture.

Neither does the Holy Spirit cause God's people to unite with apostate forms of Christianity. Never mind false religions. The fruit of these false manifestations is not unity. It is division. And that is what we have seen within the body of Christ, well, throughout the ages, but in particular, our lifetime.

So, sad to say, all of that has been done in the name of the Holy Spirit. So, there are the false manifestations of the spirit. But what about the true manifestations of the spirit? How do you know if someone is being led by the Holy Ghost?

How do you know if someone is under the Holy Ghost's influence? Well, I just want to talk about a couple things. And by the way, one of the biggest problems in the Corinthian church, which we saw in chapters 12 through 14, was an abuse of the spiritual gifts.

But the fruit, the true fruit of the Holy Spirit, we know love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. But also, the Holy Spirit brings obedience and true unity within the true body of Christ.

You can just make a note of this. There are three things that we are going to focus on this morning. How does the Holy Spirit, or what does the Holy Spirit lead Christians into? What is the fruit of the spirit?

The Holy Spirit Glorifies Christ, Illuminates Scripture, and Leads in Righteousness

Number one, the spirit leads us to glorify and praise the name of Christ our Lord. That's number one. Because in John 16 verse 14, Jesus said, he, speaking of the Holy Spirit, he will glorify himself?

No. He will glorify you or glorify this or that? No. The Holy Spirit will glorify me, Jesus says. So number one, the spirit leads us to glorify and praise the name of Jesus Christ. Number two, the Holy Spirit illuminates the scripture, leading us into sound doctrine.

Also in John 16 verse 14, Jesus said, he will take of what is mine and declare it to you. And then number three, the Holy Spirit leads us on the paths of righteousness. Galatians 5 16, Paul says, I say then walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

So to go over these again, number one, the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ. Number two, he gives us understanding of the scripture, leading us to sound doctrine. And then number three, he leads God's people into obedience.

And if we are obedient, we will love one another. So this is the Holy Spirit. And have you ever wondered? I've thought about this off and on. Why is he called the Holy Spirit? I mean, God, the father, he is holy, but he's not called Holy Father.

I mean, there is one instance where Jesus prays using that term as a descriptor. But Holy Father is not the father's primary name. Also, Jesus is holy, sanctified, he set apart, lived a sinless life. But his disciples did not refer to him as Holy Jesus or Holy Christ.

Like with the father, there was one instance at least where he is described as holy. But the Holy Spirit, that's part of his name, right? The Holy Spirit. Why is that? Well, it is not only a description.

It's his job description. This is who he is. It is what he does. The Holy Spirit will lead you into obedience. So speaking of unity and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we could say more. But these three things that come to mind, they are the result of the work of the spirit.

Glorifying Christ, teaching us God's word and sound doctrine, and leading us on the paths of righteousness. If we just do those three things, the church will have unity. If we do those three things, you will have this blessed relationship with God and you will have a closeness with God's people.

Now the Corinthians, we're in 2 Corinthians, right? The Corinthians at times were lacking some of these things, right? They were lacking unity. They were not always obedient. They were getting sidetracked and they had divisions among them.

Look at what Paul says in verse 7. 2 Corinthians 13 verse 7. He says, Now I pray to God that you do no evil. So if you want God to be with you and to bless you, if you want to experience close fellowship with God, you need to get the sin out of your life.

You need to get the sin out of the church if the church is going to have unity. So turn away from sin, Paul says, and do no evil. You say, Well, didn't they already know that? Why does he have to tell them?

Hey, people need to be reminded a lot. Back in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Remember there was that man doing evil? And Paul says he needs to be removed from the fellowship because a little leaven leavens the whole lump.

So if you harbor sin and you coddle it and you want to keep it there, it's just going to grow and makes things even worse. Look at verse 7 again. Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified.

Do I have another word there? Another translation uses a different word. Reprobate or reprobates. Well, that's an interesting term. Reprobate. Some church members were saying about the Apostle Paul and his son in the faith, Timothy, who is with him.

They were saying that the Apostle Paul was a reprobate. So if you have a King James version of the Bible, that's the word that is used. Paul and Timothy, they're reprobates. Now, that word has taken on a little bit of a different meaning in our day.

If you call someone a reprobate, you're basically saying they are the worst of the worst. This is not someone you even want to be around. But in Scripture, the term reprobate basically means disqualified, unapproved, not passing the test.

Reprobation biblically just means those who are lost, those who are outside of the faith. And you remember from last week, what does Paul say? Examine yourselves, right? Test yourselves. So some people were saying this about Paul and Timothy.

They were not passing the test. They were reprobate concerning the faith. Those people were not exactly promoting unity within the church. Is that a fair assessment? Hey, if you're calling Paul a reprobate, you got to go.

Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, MorrisCornickChurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.