The most profound thought a man can have is: Christianity is Christ in you the hope of glory. It is the life of Almighty God in the soul of a man. This is a God who is so great the Heaven of heavens cannot contain Him, yet He condescends to live in the soul of a man.
There is little said in most churches today about fellowship with God. Most Christians give little thought to their spiritual walk. It has not always been thus. John Calvin said, “Let his money perish with him who prefers all the riches of the world to one day’s communion with Jesus Christ.”
The Bible says, “As by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned” (Rom 5:12). Since the entrance of sin into the world no man could have communion with God. God is Light; we are darkness. What communion hath light with darkness. What agreement can there be between fallen man and a holy God. We were “without Christ, without God, without hope in the world.” (Eph 2:12). We were alienated from God (Eph 4:19). Amos warned that two cannot walk together unless they be agreed.
The idea that we can have continual fellowship with God is not found in the Old Testament There were men who had fellowship with God: Abraham was the friend of God; David was a man after God’s own heart; Enoch walked with God. But there was no boldness or confidence in their fellowship. The way into the holiest of all was not manifest as long as the first tabernacle was standing (Heb 9:8). The Vail was always before them. They did not have freedom to enter the Holy Place. We are not told we can have fellowship with God until we come to the New Testament. But now, our High Priest has entered into the holy place (Heb 4:16-17). Jesus has opened to us a new and living way into the presence of God. In Christ, we have boldness and access with confidence to enter into the presence of God (2 Cor 3:17-18). We have fellowship with a Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “Through Him we have access by the Spirit to the Father” (Eph 2:18).
Fellowship with God is such a profound thought that even Paul, the greatest intellectual mind in the history of the Christian church saw it as beyond our natural ability to conceive in Eph 3:14-19. That was especially true for those disciples who had seen Him in the flesh, walked with him and come to understand who He was. Peter said, “We were eye witnesses of His majesty when we were with him in the holy Mount.” He was transfigured before their eyes. The glory that was within Him suddenly burst forth.
It was especially overwhelming to John. For three years he had been an intimate with the Lord. On that last night we see John with his head on Jesus’ breast. That would seem extremely awkward if Jesus were merely a man. But once he saw Jesus as God and God as his Father it wasn’t awkward at all. Haven’t there been times in your Christian life, in your prayer life, in your meditation when you have wanted to lay your head on the bosom of Almighty God. He had many years to reflect on what it means to fellowship with God. He was the youngest of the disciples and had outlived them all. He was an old man now and longs for others to know that same fellowship with God he has known. He wrote, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).
What is communion with God. John always traces it back to the beginning: “That which is from the beginning” (v.1). Not the beginning of Jesus ministry. Not the beginning of creation. No! Beyond that! He goes all the way back to the very beginning when there was nothing and nobody but God. In John 1:1 he wrote, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” When everything began to be that ever began to be Jesus Christ was already there. John says he was “with God.” Literally: “Face to face God.” This is a God who dwells in light unapproachable with whom is no shadow of turning. He was face to face with the Father and there was not so much as a shadow between them. Can you conceive of that. I want you to try. Because the glory of Christianity is that through Christ God has brought us into that fellowship that always existed within the Trinity.
Fellowship with God is not an imaginary thing. John’s message was of a real Christ and fellowship with Him is just as real. John began, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the Word of life…we have seen it, and bear witness… that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you” (v. 1-2). The Gnostic heretics denied the humanity of Christ. John knew better. He had heard, seen, looked upon, and handled Christ. He also knew that fellowship with God was equally real. He continued, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. There will be a day when that fellowship will be more full than it is now (Rom 8:18). But it will never be more real than it is now. This is the birthright of every believer, the heartbeat of the Christian life.
What is this communion? John tells us this Eternal Life with the Father was “manifest” unto us. I believe communion is God’s communication of Himself (His love, His life,) to us with our returning unto him that which He requires and accepts from us. It is communion with the Trinity. It begins with the Father and comes to us through Christ and returns to the Father by the Holy Spirit. “Through Him we have access by the Spirit to the Father” (Eph 2:18). To have communion with the Father two things must take place. There must be giving and receiving. Until the love of God is received through faith in Christ there can be no communion. We also return to Him that love which began in the heart of the Father. God said, “My son, give me thy heart, (thy love, affection) (Prov. 23:26)” Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy strength and with all thy mind“ (Luke 10:27). That is the return He demands.
This is the desire of Christ. Jesus said to the Laodicean church, “I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and sup with him and he with me” (Rev 3:20). That is not an evangelistic text. It was spoken to the church which He purchased with his blood saying, “I want to fellowship with you.” Too often people think of the spiritual life only in terms of being born again. That is just the beginning. God doesn’t redeem us just to redeem us. He redeems us that He might have fellowship with us. God wants to restore what man lost in the garden of Eden. We lost communion with God and man is not saved until that communion is restored. Jesus Christ rejoices over you as a Bridegroom rejoices over his bride” (John 17:24). He delights in us. Every day we live is his wedding day to us.
It breaks my heart to preach these rich truths and see people respond with apathy and lukewarmness. There is nothing cold or lukewarm in his love for you. He is passionate. How dare we respond with cold indifference.
The Father rejoices in this communion as well. In Zeph 3:17, God promised, “I will rejoice over thee with joy; I will rest in my love; I will joy over thee with singing.”
“I will rejoice over thee.” Can you comprehend a sovereign God who delights in and rejoices over his people in spite of all our sins. How can that be? My sin has been imputed unto Christ. He has ransomed me. His righteousness has been imputed unto me. God sees me clothed in the righteousness of Christ and even God Himself cannot find fault with that righteousness. The sin issue is settled forever.
There is nothing between my soul and the Savior,
Naught of this world’s illusive dream.
Nothing preventing the least of His favor,
The way is clear, there is nothing between.
He rejoices over me with joy. How can it be that in my heart I would not return that joy. If my God rejoices over me. How much more should I rejoice in him.
“I will rest in my love.” To “rest” is to be satisfied, content. He is satisfied with his love for us. This fellowship doesn’t find its foundation in anything I have done. It rests in his love alone. He doesn’t hear the voice of accusation against me. There isn’t something more we have to do for him to love us. He rests in his love for us.
If God rests in His love, shouldn’t we rest in his love. Your communion with God doesn’t rest in your love for him but in His love for you. The sisters of Lazarus didn’t send to Jesus saying, “Lord, you know how much Lazarus loves you.” No, they said, “He whom THOU lovest is sick.” If you begin with your love to him you will find a million reasons why you can’t fellowship with God. But if you begin with his love and rest in that, you will find fellowship with God. His love is enough. I don’t need anything else.
My faith has found a resting place, not in devise or creed.
I trust the ever living One, His wounds for me shall plead.
I need not other argument. I need no other plea.
It is enough that Jesus died and that He died for me.
“I will joy over thee with singing.” At creation, we read that the angels sang together. But we do not read that God sang. But when it comes to redemption and fellowship with His people this great God breaks out into singing. Ought we not to sing his praises forever. I don’t know if Jesus sang but He sure put a song in my heart.
Why should I sing of lesser things and things that pass away
When I’ve a Friend like Jesus I can sing about each day.
I have no song to sing but that of Christ my King
And through eternity my praise shall ring.
