Fellowship — Jack Gould

Our Father, we bow to thee reverently and with godly fear in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee, our Father, for these hymns of thanksgiving and yet of tremendous challenge that we have sung tonight.

Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. We have to, our Father, confess, be it times, how unlike God and unlike Christ we are, and in one sense it makes us deeply ashamed. Yet, our Father, we thank thee for the help that can be wrought, for meeting together collectively as the saints of God, and help that we derive from ourselves, from the study, the reading, and the meditation of the word of God.

May, our Father, there be that longing in each of our souls and in each of our lives to be more like Christ. Father, we live in a very wicked world, a world that would determine to distract from spiritual things.

A world that will distract us into that which is only tangible, is only for time, and only for the physical. Yet, Father, thou hast saved us to live on a higher plane. Therefore, we pray as a result of the ministry of thy word, might our eyes be lifted to the throne.

Might we appreciate something of the value of the Lord Jesus as our great high priest and as our intercessor. We need him there. We thank thee, O God, he is there, and he is there to plead our cause before the throne of God.

We pray, Father, for the assembly here. We think particularly of the conference coming up on the weekend. We pause to thank thee for the word of God ministered to our souls at the stout gatherings last weekend.

And we pray, Father, tonight as we shall pray and have prayed, that the voice of God may be heard very clearly and distinctly in the gatherings of the Lord's people this weekend. But, Father, we're here just for these next 45 minutes.

We commit ourselves to thee. Give us help to open thy word, to read it reverently, and to divide it accurately, and to give the sense and to give help to each other here as we give thee our thanks for our Lord Jesus Christ.

Fellowship in First John and Acts

Amen. Now, read first with me, please, in 1 John and Chapter 1. 1 John and Chapter 1. In the last two evenings at Manchester and Dunkerton, we've been looking at a few thoughts in relation to the subject of fellowship.

I'm just going to point these out from the verses. We really haven't time to spend too long here because I want to take you from 1 John 1 back to Acts Chapter 2. Verse 1. And we tried to see a little something about the establishment of fellowship.

God desiring fellowship with us as mankind required one of a divine person to come down to reveal to us what God was like. So, verse 1 is the establishment of fellowship. Verse 2. And verse 2 is the excellence of fellowship.

Verse 2 is fellowship between divine persons. And it would do us well at times just to, as we were trying to explain to the believers last night at Dunkerton, just to put your ear to the throne room of heaven and to hear divine deliberations.

The excellence of fellowship, fellowship between divine persons. Verse 3. And truly our fellowship is with the father and with his son, Jesus Christ. Verse 1. The establishment of fellowship. Verse 2.

The excellence of fellowship. Verse 3. The expansion of fellowship. John is saying even though we as apostles had the privilege of meeting with the Lord Jesus and knew him as a real man down here, we do not have priority on fellowship with divine persons because you can have fellowship with him as well.

So there's the expansion of fellowship. Verse 4. The joy may be full. The enjoyment of fellowship. And then verses 5 to 10, and we haven't even time to read those verses, you look at them yourself, is the education of fellowship.

What happens when a believer sins and what provision has God made? Now, that being said, let's go back in your Bible, please, to Acts chapter 2. Verse 41. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, there's our word, and in breaking of bread and in prayers.

The Meaning and Expression of Christian Fellowship

So I want to say something this evening, if I could, about the expression of our fellowship. If I were to ask you whether you were young or old, or maybe better still, that if you were to come up to me and say, Mr. Gould, I'm in the fellowship of the believers at the Cedar Falls Gospel Hall.

And I say, that's good. I'm very glad to hear that. But what does it mean? What does it mean to be in fellowship? I suppose we have all had the experience, and if you haven't had the experience, I hope someday you haven't.

You're talking with somebody at college, somebody at university, somebody who comes to your farm or to your place of work, and they do not meet with us as believers in the Gospel Hall. And they go to other places, and they would call it by a specific name, whatever that name might be.

And you get into conversation with them, and they may say something like this to you, Well, what is your fellowship like? Now, how do we answer it? Not only how do we answer it to the satisfaction of the inquirer, but how do we answer it to the satisfaction of God from the scriptures?

And so very carefully and methodically, you describe for them the worship meeting or the breaking of bread and how it is conducted, and those that are part of the fellowship will take part of the bread and the cup, and there will be a place for you to sit.

And you mean I can't take communion? You mean that I can't take the bread? That I can't drink of the cup? Are you telling me that I'm a second-class Christian? Are you telling me that we don't measure up?

And right away there's an explosion, and they walk away, and you walk away with your head bowed, and you go away discouraged. Been there? Done that? If you haven't, I hope God gives you the experience sometime.

Because you and I need to know what the truth of fellowship is, that which it entails, and the privileges and responsibilities that are therefore associated with it. Okay. Were you wrong in describing for them that there was a place where they could sit and observe and learn?

Or are we wrong? Are we too restrictive? Should we be opening the Lord's Supper to others who are not in assembly fellowship? Now, these are big questions. They're important questions, and they need to be answered satisfactorily to our hearts, because God has given us the answer in His Word.

Just let me say to all of us this evening, you are not going to please everybody. You're not going to please all of your college friends, and you're not going to please the co-workers at the job. They may not understand it, but listen, we are not here to please everybody.

But we are here to please God. And you see, when we have an understanding of what fellowship is, what it entails, and we move in the sphere that God has given us with its limits and with its boundaries, there is a tremendous joy to be linked with the fellowship of Christians gathered alone to the name of the Lord Jesus.

We all agree, and I know we all agree, that when it comes to the gospel, there is only one gospel, and there's only one way to get to heaven, and we know that, and we thank God for that. And I trust tonight that we're convinced of that, because if we're not convinced of that, we shouldn't really be on a gospel hall platform preaching the gospel.

But are we believers, are we as convinced that as believers, God has one way for us to gather. In a world of Christendom, and I use this word Christendom, I was just telling Scott and Kim, I used this word a few weeks ago talking to 235 young people, and some of the people came up to me, Mr. Gould, what does Christendom mean?

So we are guilty, and I am guilty sometimes of using words that aren't understood, and I'm sorry. Okay, Christendom is just an umbrella word for a wideness of individuals who would call themselves Christians, whether real or professing.

And you don't need me to come to Cedar Falls to tell you that Christendom is divided in an awful way tonight that has not brought any pleasure to God. So I want to say something, first of all, about the meaning of fellowship.

Why Definitions Matter in Christian Teaching

Now you're going to say to me, really, is it important for you to try and give us the meaning of a word? Well, I'm just going to tell you why. Back in the 1980s, when we were still living on the island of St. Lucia, the largest organization on the island was losing its members to another denominational sect.

And so what this other denominational sect said, we will adopt the sayings, the practices, the principles of what the big organization is doing, so you don't have to go to them, you can stay with us. Of course, with their own meanings on words.

So that was the 80s. In the 1990s, this same big church organization was now losing its members to the evangelicals, to those that were preaching the gospel. So now they had to change their language. So therefore, you can go into a very large church building right downtown Castries, and you will hear them saying, there's power in the blood.

Oh, and you say, thank God, they must be preaching the gospel. And you can go to a funeral, and the individual taking the service will talk about being born again. And you think they've got it. They've got it until they give their meaning of what the term is.

And the meaning that they give is far from the meaning that God has given in his word. Therefore, it is important to establish before we go any further, the meaning of fellowship. The older believers know this, but just for the sake of some of the younger.

One of the beauties of our Bible, and there's many beauties about our Bible, but one of the beauties of our Bible is this, that in its original manuscripts, it was written in the Greek language. So we're going to search.

You're going to get Mr. Strong's Concordance, or Mr. W .E. Vine's word dictionary, and you're going to look up this little word, fellowship, in Acts 2 and verse 42. And you're going to find that its meaning is sharing.

And then you're going to look up its root word, and its root word means partnership. And its root word means in common. Now, put all of that combination of word picture together. What do you have? Fellowship is sharing in partnership or in common with.

So therefore, we have established, therefore, the meaning of the word. Sometimes young believers may wonder and question, and there's nothing wrong with that. How do your elders who stand before you, and other brethren in the assembly that get up to minister the word, how do they come up and arrive at this is what the passage means?

How do they get to that conclusion? Well, the simple answer is this. Individuals who study their Bible and learn this early in Christian experience, that there are laws to apply to understand what the word of God says.

Principles for Interpreting Scripture

Just let me throw some out to you. Possibly one of the most important is the law of context. And the law of context teaches me that I am not permitted to take a verse out of the Bible, pull it out, and put it on a platter, now say, Christians, this is what the verse means, without taking what's come before and reading what has come after.

We must read our Bibles in context. So that would be one law that we would apply. Another law, of course, is the law of total mention. The law of total mention simply says this. If you were going to study a word, let's just take the word fellowship because that's where we are, you would get Strong's Concordance or dictionary and you would look up every time in the Bible that word is mentioned.

The law of total mention. And after you have looked up every word and read the context of that word, you would then soon discover this is what the Spirit of God says the meaning of the word is. The law of total mention.

Then again, there is the law of single mention. That is, if a word or expression is only found one time in your Bible, you underline that, you note it, because it's very, very significant. But another law that is just as vitally important is the law of first mention.

And the law of first mention teaches me this, that the first time a word or an expression is used in your Bible, take careful note. And the reason for that is this, that in the context of the law of first mention, the Spirit of God throughout all of the scriptures will not depart from certain basic principles.

The House of God from Genesis to First Timothy

Now, can I prove that to you? Well, it might take till midnight. No, it wouldn't take that long. It'll only take a minute. Just let me prove it to you, just so you know that I'm just not talking. The first mention of house of God is Genesis 28.

Jacob, you remember, is running from Esau's brother. He lights down at a certain place. He sleeps, he wakes up, and this is what he says. He said, surely the Lord is in this place. This is a dreadful place.

This is none other than the gate of heaven. Three things about the house of God. The presence of God, the holiness of God, and it's the place of blessing and bounty. Now, take expression house of God and travel in your mind now from Genesis 28 all the way over to 1 Timothy 3 .15.

And in 1 Timothy 3 .15, the house of God, the local assembly, is the place of the presence of the Lord. You want to find the presence of the Lord? Where's the presence of the Lord? I better not get started on this subject.

The presence of the Lord, where is it found today? In the midst of Christians that gather alone to his name. It's a dreadful place because I hope you know you can't say what you like in the assembly. You can't do what you like in the assembly because it's God's assembly.

Jacob discovered it was a dreadful place, the holiness of God. But it was also the gate of heaven, the place of blessing and bounty. Now that being said, Acts 2 .42, this is what I was trying to get at.

Acts 2 .42 is the first mention of fellowship in your New Testament. So therefore, God is going to establish principles in Acts 2 that he is going to carry through. He may give me further light on it in the scriptures to come.

But he will not depart from basic principles related to it. So the meaning of fellowship, common sharing or partnership with. Maybe I should tell you just because there are some misconceptions, what fellowship is not.

What Fellowship Is Not

And sometimes, you know, if you look at things negatively or state it negatively, it does a way of proving it positively in a better light. Just let me give you three examples. Fellowship is not companionship.

Well, you know, somebody comes along to the Cedar Falls Gospel Hall and they say, you know, those believers, those Christians are real nice. You know, they have a coffee break after their morning service, before their Sunday school, and there's cookies, and there is cookies and muffins, isn't there?

I hope so. And you know what? They don't even pass the collection plate. They don't even ask us for it. Sometimes they have a fellowship supper and sometimes they have things going on and my daughter needed a Bible and they bought it.

I mean, I like those. I get the warm fuzzy feelings, you know. Companionship. Oh no. Fellowship is not companionship. It's far more than that. Secondly, fellowship is not compromise. We've all met with believers, haven't we?

Sad to say. They say, well, Jack, you see it that way and we see it this way, so we'll agree to disagree and we'll meet somewhere in the middle. The compromising of truth is one of the biggest challenges of 2006.

Fellowship is not compromise. Thirdly, fellowship is not compassion. Oh, Christendom is so divided. How come there's so many different churches? Everyone calls themselves by a different name. And you know, if we just showed love and just invited just whoever came to the door, as long as they came to the door and they said they were Christians, well, shouldn't that be good enough for them to break bread with us?

Listen, fellowship is not compassion. Now, that's the three negatives. What is fellowship? Fellowship is something we have because we agree. Did you get that? Fellowship is something we have because we agree.

You see, you don't have to work at fellowship. All you have to do is accept what God has said. And when you accept what God has said, and when I accept what God has said, it is something we have because we agree.

The Universal Church and the Local Assembly

So, the meaning of fellowship. But I need to say something about the mystery of fellowship. Now, it's a mystery not because it's hard to understand, because maybe it's a mystery because we have failed to teach it and to emphasize it.

It is absolutely essential, young believers, for you to get into your mind and into your soul the two ways that the Spirit of God uses the word church in the New Testament. And if the Spirit of God does not burn this into your soul, you are going to have doubts and difficulties over reception and in relation to the Lord's Supper and who comes in and who's to sit back.

You are going to have trouble the rest of your life. I tell people, I say, we don't have a reception problem. Now, you might be surprised. We have a problem if we don't understand how the Spirit of God uses the church in two different ways.

Because if I understood, and I'm going to try and explain it to you, if I understood the two ways by which the Spirit of God uses the word church, you will not doubt for one moment the principles of reception that your elders are trying to teach and hold.

You remember in Matthew chapter 16, the Lord Jesus is teaching and He says this, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Bible scholars call it the universal church and although the word universal is not in your Bible, it is an apt and a good word to describe it.

I'm just going to give you the biblical name. It is the church which is His body. And that's the teaching of the Ephesian epistle. The moment that you got saved, God took you as an individual and He put you into that body.

Never to be divorced from that body, never to be divided, and never to be excommunicated from it. God put us into the body and that is why we have the assurance of eternal security. Let me tell you four things about this church.

First of all, it is invisible. You see, it can't be seen. The church which is His body is never seen coming together to break bread. The church which is His body is never seen coming together to hold a prayer meeting.

The church which is His body is never seen coming together to hold a gospel meeting. It is invisible, at least to the eyes of man, but you appreciate, of course, that God knows everyone who is in it. If we believe, and we do, that we are nearing the end of the dispensation of the grace of God, the coming of the Lord must be so near.

That means that the majority that are in the church which is His body are already safe in heaven. They're already there. So it cannot be seen. It's invisible. But secondly, it's indivisible. It cannot be divided.

Why can it not be divided? Well, it cannot be divided because it's a spiritual body. So not only is the church invisible and indivisible, it is invincible. That means it cannot be polluted. The forces of air and evil will not pollute the church which is His body.

Fourthly, it's invaluable. Listen to what Paul said. And he's giving a parallel between marriage, a man, and a woman for life. And in Ephesians chapter 5 he says these beautiful words, Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it.

The church is invaluable. It cost God His Son and it cost the Son His blood in order that the church which is His body could come into existence. So four things about the church which is His body. In an ideal world, and I'm sorry we don't live in an ideal world, but in an ideal world, everyone who is in the body church, God intended to be in local churches.

That was the divine intentions. Therefore, the division that we see in Christendom around us is not of God. Can you imagine what Cedar Falls, Waterloo would be if that was so? Do you know what that would mean, dear believers?

Most of us wouldn't have to drive our vehicles to get to the assembly. Do you know why? Well, you see there'd be an assembly here and then four blocks down the road there'd be another assembly and six blocks down the way there'd be another assembly and four blocks, another assembly.

And we would just all tuck our Bibles under our head. Why? Because there would be a local church in walking distance. Now that was the intentions of God that everyone who was in the body church would be in the local church.

So Matthew 16 is the church which is His body. But when you come to Matthew 18 the Lord Jesus is teaching in view of local churches yet to be formed that in the local church there are going to be those sad to say who aren't going to agree with each other.

And therefore, Matthew 18 teaches me how to solve relationship problems. That's why Matthew 18 is given for us. And what has happened is a brother has sinned. He is guilty. He will not confess his sin.

The individual has gone one-on-one to him. He has taken two or three others with him. The individual still will not confess his fault for he is wrong. And then the Lord Jesus says this, tell it unto the church.

Now just a minute. Didn't I just tell you that the church which is His body is invisible? I did. Didn't I just tell you that the church which is His body is never seen coming together to break bread, to hold a prayer meeting or a discipline meeting of Matthew 18 or a gospel meeting so therefore the Lord Jesus must be talking about something different.

So what is He talking about? Well, you've got to wait to come to the book of Acts. Acts chapter 2. And therefore the epistles to appreciate this that He was speaking of local companies of the Lord's people who out of love and devotion to Him but taking no second name would gather alone to His name.

I'm just a visitor here so therefore that our visitors writes so I'm going to say this. I don't know who you are but if you're saved and baptized your place is in the local church. And I trust that there's nothing in your life and nothing in your practice that would prohibit you from being part of the local church.

It's God's intention that every individual whom He has saved by His blood and by His grace would gather alone solely to Him. Now, the reason why I read 1 John 1 now comes into play. If you can remember this good if not, well, just mark it down.

Fellowship is seen in at least three different ways in your Bible. 1 John 1 .3 Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. So if you're making notes you put a line straight up. Vertical fellowship.

Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. Vertical fellowship. But in verse 3 again of 1 John 1 John says our fellowship is with each other. So now we have a horizontal fellowship.

But when you come to Acts chapter 2 it's not vertical. It's not horizontal. But it's a circle. You see, the fellowship of Acts 2 has a within and it also has a without. There is a receiving to the fellowship.

And sad to say if there is a moral breakdown or a doctrinal breakdown it will be of necessity that an individual be put away from the fellowship. Understand very, very clearly that we do not gather to the one body.

It is absolutely impossible. The scriptures do not make sense to think that we could gather to the one body. That being said then that in this fellowship of Acts 2 there is a within and there is a without.

Salvation, Baptism, and Addition to the Assembly

Let me point out for you in Acts 2, 41 and 42 there are three things that will bring you to God's assembly and there are four things that are going to keep you in the assembly. Now, if you're in the assembly just because mom and dad are in the assembly well, I don't want to be a prophet of doom but you won't last.

If you're just in the assembly because friends are in the assembly you're not going to last. We need something far deeper than that. Three things to bring us to the assembly and four things that will keep us in the assembly.

Okay, three things to bring us to the assembly. Then they that gladly received His word salvation. They were baptized, baptism. Thirdly, they were added. So, three things to bring you to God's assembly.

Well, what then are the four things that will keep you in God's assembly? Now, let me say maybe I should say it again I think you know this but just in case it needs repeating and if it's too simple just forgive me.

The seven things that I mentioned are a divine order. Don't mix them up. I'm going to prove that to you. Don't mix them up. Somebody will come along maybe you'll meet someone else and they say look, I don't see baptism.

I don't see why I need to be baptized to be part of the fellowship of a local church. Well, what's Acts 2 say? They that gladly received His word were baptized. Then they were added. So, you cannot mix up the divine order.

Now, if you can't mix up the divine order of the first three don't you try to mix up the order of the last four. Four things that will keep you in the assembly. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine.

That's teaching. It is essential that you and I appreciate what the assembly is to God. And if I could get it burned in my soul by the Spirit of God what the assembly means to God I would never, never leave it.

We had a visitor from Scotland. He came over for a week of teaching meetings in Winnipeg where we live. And he's a younger man than I am. And he said this. I could hardly believe it. He said, if I was given a dollar for every time I thought of leaving the assembly he says I'd be a millionaire.

Now, he wouldn't have said it if he didn't mean it and was truthful. Why didn't he leave? Because he knew the assembly was of God. I know we are not what we should be. I know there is weakness in all of our lives.

And I know the closer that we get to each other we sometimes rub each other the wrong way. But dear Christian, get this from God. The assembly is of God. And the assembly is for God. And unless that's burned on your soul you're not going to go the long haul like some of the believers have here already.

So the first thing that's going to keep us in the assembly is the doctrine. The doctrine is the teaching. That's why we need to be taught the meaning of words. That's why we need to be taught the within and the without.

That is why there needs to be carefulness in reception. That is why there is an interview by godly men before I come into the assembly. What are they doing? They are guarding what God has given them to look after.

So the apostles' doctrine. What comes next? The fellowship. The fellowship is based on the doctrine. Now you see the fellowship is not based on a nice feeling. And the fellowship isn't based on compromise.

And it's not based on compassion. The fellowship is based on the doctrine. It is a spiritual fellowship even though it has a physical expression. We're going to look at that in just a moment. So the apostles' doctrine, the fellowship, what comes next?

The breaking of bread. Oh no, just a minute now. You have good friends who go to denominations and I have friends that I don't meet very often. Maybe meet them at a coffee shop or see them and we talk.

So when they come and visit us on Lord's Day, why do the elders scripturally show them the seat of the unlearned? Do you know why? Because the fellowship comes before the breaking of bread. Do you see it?

It is so simple. We have made it so difficult. We have said, well, what about this? You don't need to worry about what about this or what about that. Because God has made it plain in His Word. The doctrine, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and then the prayers.

Three things to bring you to God's assembly and four things that'll keep you in God's assembly. So we have talked about the meaning of fellowship and I've tried to say something about the mystery of fellowship.

The Breaking of Bread as a Public Expression of Fellowship

You get in your soul the difference between being in the body and in the local church. In fact, get it good enough into your soul so that the next time you get together as young people, one of you try to explain it to everyone else.

Because when you can explain it to others, then you know that you've got it. The meaning of fellowship, the mystery of fellowship. But I need to say something about the manifestation of the fellowship.

The fellowship is not the breaking of bread. But the breaking of bread manifests the fellowship. You know that loaf of bread that is passed around? And you took your little part and I took my little part and I passed it on to the next.

What are we saying? We are saying that we are in agreement. Because that's what fellowship means. We're in partnership having things in common with. Therefore, as you took your little piece of the loaf and I took my little piece of the loaf, we are saying we are in fellowship.

The one with the other. And the breaking of bread meeting or the Lord's Supper or the worship meeting, whatever you would desire to call it, it manifests this fellowship that we are in. Now let me ask you a question.

Based on what I've tried to say for the last 45 or 50 minutes, is it right and scriptural for an individual who is not part of the fellowship and part of the denominations around us and we're not here to criticize others, I hope you realize that, but an individual who is part of the denominations around us and they come to us this Sunday and then they're going to return to their denominational ties for the next 51 weeks.

Is it scriptural and right to receive them? The answer is no. Well, why? Well, what do we have in common with the place that they are going? Again, fellowship in your Bible is always reciprocal. What does that mean?

Simply this. Here's a believer or an individual they got saved in your gospel meetings and they've been baptized and they've been taught the truth of the assembly and they would like to be received. So the elders meet with them and they're happy that they show signs of life and they've been baptized.

And so they announce to the assembly next Sunday or whatever the day may be our sister, and I don't know if there's anybody, Mary, but we'll just use Mary, our sister Mary is going to be received. Now what happens next Sunday?

Do you know what happens? When Mary is received, the assembly opens up their arms. They say, Mary, we receive you. But Mary coming into the fellowship, do you know what she says? She says, assembly, I receive you.

And what has happened? Fellowship has then become reciprocal. So if we receive an individual from the denominations around us, are they going to receive what we hold? Well, no, they're not. Because they've only got this intention of being with us one Lord's day, then to return to their denominational ties.

Therefore, the distinction and the difference of being in the body and in the local church. So the manifestation of the fellowship is the breaking of bread. Well, I'm going to close with this. And maybe this is the hardest.

Preserving Fellowship for the Next Generation

The maintenance of the fellowship. You see, one generation can hold divine truth. But history teaches us that when truth is initially received or taught or believed, that gradually after every generation, it's relinquished just a bit.

Now, I don't know whether that causes you any concern. But I'll have to confess, it causes me concern. And I'll tell you why. I am third generation assembly believers. That means that my two boys are fourth generation.

Now, it doesn't have to be this way. Thank God it doesn't have to be. But normally what happens is this. That if my father held assembly truth there, there's a possibility that I'll hold it down here just a little lighter.

And the possibility that my sons will hold it just a little lighter too. Dear Christian, it doesn't have to be that way. And secondly, it shouldn't be that way. Do you know why it's not that way? Because for some of us, we have come into assembly truth and we have paid absolutely nothing.

I remember when I wanted to be baptized, I tell you, I had every encouragement in the world. Maybe you did too. Thank God for it. I remember when I was received into the assembly, I had every encouragement.