PRINCIPALS OF GROWTH fellowship discussion THREE

 To all who have been crucified to the flesh for the cause of Christ Jesus I give greetings:


   There is no other name under which we can be saved apart from  the name of Jesus.  For those among the  WAY that believe and have obeyed there is a longing for us to be once again of the same mind and Spirit just as the church was in the time of the first church,  and yet we continue to fall short in our efforts to fellowship with one another as family due to the indoctrination of traditions that men have developed.

 This discussion then deals with another principal of growth in the maturity of our Christian life which is "THE PRINCIPAL OF FELLOWSHIP. This is our third discussion, and I might add a very important one to our on-going development in Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 is a passage of scripture that Paul gives us that brings out the very core of what Jesus gave us as the newest commandment from God which is " to love one another as we would love ourselves".  Paul starts out by making a statement that the church is like a body within itself. Although our body is made up of different parts they all go into the make up of one body.  It is the same way with us as the body of Christ (the church).

  Paul begins to explain something that we who are in the church today have not yet taken hold of within our society.  The church in Paul's time was being threatened by people who wanted to split up the followers of Christ to make disciples of their own.  They started by wanting to minimize or maximize certain ministries within the church body  This is not unlike the denominations of Christians today who gravitate to a type of worship style or a particular type of working done through the Holy Spirit.  In this light of truth through Christ we must realize again that one cannot be greater than the other just as the disciples had to learn from Jesus washing the disciples feet.  Our real power is as one in mind and heart under the complete control of the Holy Spirit.  It is this bond that we have with one another through Christ's Spirit that gives us  the power that cannot be overcome by this world.  We talked last blog about the unity of mind and heart in prayer being so powerful that the prayers they had could shake the very ground they were on as they prayed, and it is that power that comes into play here with our fellowship.

  I don't believe that we are aware of the great battle we are in right now with the forces of evil who more than anything else want to keep us separated from each other through these denominational strains and brands of Christ that are being preached and taught.  Hebrews 10:23-25 reflects the fact that we should not neglect being with one another, and as these days are growing ever more violent and hateful we need to reconcile even the smallest differences that we may have in teachings to align ourselves with the direct teachings of Christ alone instead of following any others teaching of man.  In the first church there were four things that kept the new Christians together as they grew; which is found in Acts  2:42 They devoted themselves to the teachings that came directly from Christ, to the fellowship of ; The breaking of bread ( eating together), and to prayer.

  Just about 90% of our time is spent with non Christian people, and when that happens  you know which group will have the greatest influence on your life don't you?  Today we cry for the church to regain it's power in this world, but we continue to deny one another as true brother and sister in Christ through the lack of fellowship because of doctrinal differences.  My friends there  should be no difference in our doctrine if it comes from Christ alone.

  The question is "What is our testimony in Christ"? Why is it any different than anyone else's testimony in salvation, and why can't we  come together as one as they did in the first church?  It may be a series of questions that you need to ask yourself?  May you richly bless God through your life in Him.


THE UNWORTHY SERVANT