Fellowship with God refers to the intimate, personal relationship believers can have with God through faith in Jesus Christ. It speaks to the spiritual connection and communion we experience with God when we become children of God through faith (John 1:12). Fellowship with God is made possible by Christ’s atoning work on the cross that reconciled us to God and restored our relationship with Him (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
When we enter into relationship with God by grace through faith, we are brought into fellowship with Him. This fellowship allows us to experience closeness with God, to walk in agreement with His will, and to share in His divine life and love. Fellowshipping with God leads to joy, spiritual growth, answered prayer, and the production of spiritual fruit in our lives (John 15:1-17). Let’s explore some key aspects of what it means to have fellowship with God:
Fellowship with God Involves a Personal Relationship with Him
The fellowship believers enjoy with the Father and the Son is first and foremost a personal, intimate relationship of love. 1 John 1:3 says “that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” This highlights the personal nature of our fellowship with God. It is not merely knowing facts about God, but actually knowing God in a relational way. Jesus spoke of this in John 17:3 when He defined eternal life as knowing God and Christ intimately.
As in any personal relationship, fellowship with God grows over time as we spend quality time with Him in prayer, in His Word, through the Spirit, and in worship. As we draw near to God, He promises to draw near to us (James 4:8). An indicator of strong fellowship with God is hearing His voice with clarity, sensing His guidance and responding in loving obedience to His will. Just as close friends share intimacies with each other, close fellowship with God involves sharing a deep mutual understanding as God imparts wisdom to us, and we bare our heart before Him.
Fellowship with God Involves Walking in the Light and Turning from Sin
For ongoing fellowship with God, we must walk in the light and truth of God’s Word (1 John 1:7). The light of Christ exposes sin and deception in our hearts. Therefore, maintaining fellowship with God requires honesty about our sin and willingness to turn from it through repentance and faith in Christ’s cleansing blood. We confess our sins so our fellowship with God may be restored when it is disrupted by sin (1 John 1:9). As we put off the old self and walk in the newness of the Spirit, our fellowship with God is sweet and unhindered by the weight of unconfessed sin.
Fellowship with God Involves Communion through the Holy Spirit
A key aspect of fellowship with God is the communion we enjoy through His indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was given to believers to be God’s abiding presence with us and in us (John 14:16-17). The Spirit confirms our adoption into God’s family (Romans 8:15-16), assures us of Christ’s presence with us, and mediates God’s love to us (Romans 5:5). As we walk in step with the Spirit through faith and obedience, our fellowship with God deepens and we experience more of His presence and power.
The Holy Spirit also facilitates sincere worship of God – a key aspect of fellowship with Him (Philippians 3:3, John 4:23-24). As we worship in spirit and in truth, commune with God through prayer, and meditate on His glory, we enjoy holy intimacy and sweet fellowship with the Almighty. The Holy Spirit connects us vitally to Christ and makes fellowship with the triune God a reality.
Fellowship with God Involves Shared Life Together
Fellowship means sharing in common – sharing life together. When we enter into relationship with God by faith, we become partakers of His divine nature and share in the eternal life He has in Himself (2 Peter 1:4, 1 John 5:11-12). We are united to Christ spiritually and partake of His resurrection life that transforms and sustains us. As we abide in Christ, He abides in us, resulting in a mutual indwelling fellowship that impacts every area of our life (John 15:1-5).
This sharing of His life and resources with us is an act of amazing grace. Despite our unworthiness as sinners, God chose to bring us into fellowship with Himself through Christ (1 Corinthians 1:9). He shares His Holy Spirit with us. He grants us access to His power through prayer. He conforms us to the image of His Son. God also shares His heart with us, imparting spiritual wisdom, revelation and understanding by the Spirit (Ephesians 1:17-18). As His children, we are privilege to share in His eternal inheritance (Romans 8:17). Amazing fellowship!
Fellowship with God Involves Shared Love Between God and Man
Fellowship between friends always involves a sharing of love – a mutual care, affection, and delight in one another. The same is supremely true in our fellowship with God. God invites us into spiritual intimacy and closeness with Him through Christ so He may lavish His love upon us as His beloved children. His Word assures us that God sets His love upon His own (1 John 3:1), and that nothing can separate us from His boundless love (Romans 8:38-39).
As we walk in fellowship with God, basking in His love, our hearts respond in love for Him and affection for His person. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). This love for God manifests itself in wholehearted worship, joyful obedience, and loving service for His glory. Our fellowship with Him involves the mutual delight of shared affection between lover and beloved.
Fellowship with God Involves Partnership in His Mission
When we enter into fellowship with God, we become partners with Him in accomplishing His will on earth. No longer estranged from Him due to sin, we are now reconciled and enlisted into His service as beloved friends. Our fellowship with God does not terminate on personal blessings from God, but overflows into partnering with Him in His missional purposes in this world. We have the privilege of co-laboring with Christ as His Body (1 Corinthians 3:9).
The early church understood this, devoting themselves not only to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, but also to their partnership in advancing the Gospel through Christ’s mission (Acts 2:42). As we walk in fellowship with God, He invites us into His work of reconciling the world to Himself and building His kingdom on earth (2 Corinthians 5:18-20, Matthew 6:10). Spirit-empowered ministry is the natural outflow of true fellowship with God.
Fellowship with God Involves Shared Suffering for Christ
Taking up our cross to follow Christ necessarily involves sharing in His sufferings (Luke 9:23). When we enter into real fellowship and union with our Lord Jesus, we also enter into the fellowship of His sufferings so that we may be united with Him in His death and resurrection (Philippians 3:10). On our own we lack the strength to suffer for Christ. But in the power of the Spirit, we share in His suffering which is but for a moment, and which works in us an eternal glory (2 Corinthians 4:17).
To walk in fellowship with a suffering Savior inevitably means walking the Calvary road with Him. This may involve various trials and persecutions as we identify with Christ (John 15:18-21, 2 Timothy 3:12). But sharing in His sufferings also yields deeper fellowship with God, spiritual maturity, refined faith, and an eternal reward! It is a fellowship marked by cross before crown.
Fellowship with God Involves Experiencing His Peace
One blessing of cultivating continual fellowship with God is enjoying His perfect peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7). God’s peace, flowing from His sovereign control of all things, guards our hearts and minds. As we commune with the Lord through His Word, prayer and worship, He calms our fears with His faithful assurances: “Fear not, for I am with you” (Isaiah 41:10); “My peace I give to you” (John 14:27); “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
Anxiety is dissipated in God’s presence as we entrust our cares to Him. As we walk through this broken world, the peace of God – which exists independently of circumstances – garrisons our redeemed hearts and rules our thoughts when they are focused on Him. Thanks be to God for the peace which only fellowship with Him can provide.
Fellowship with God Yields Spiritual Fruit
As already highlighted, fellowship with God deeply impacts our walk with Him. But spiritual fellowship also yields positive fruit in our lives for His glory. When we walk in unbroken fellowship with the Lord, the Holy Spirit produces His fruit in us: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). This fruit nourishes and refreshes others.
Abiding in vital union with Christ as His Word abides in us results in spiritual fruitfulness that brings glory to God (John 15:5,8,16). As iron sharpens iron, close fellowship among believers also stimulates spiritual fruit in one another’s lives in Christ. Our fellowship together as brethren is thus intended to actively build up others and bear collective fruit for God’s kingdom. The果
Fellowship with God Requires Obedient Faith
As we have seen, fellowship with God blesses us with His love, life, and peace through the Spirit. But it is critical to remember that only obedient faith positions us to enjoy the blessing of fellowship with God. Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word…Whoever does not love me does not keep my words” (John 14:23-24). Willful, unrepentant sin erects a wall between us and God, disrupting fellowship with Him.
But as we walk in faith and obedience to God’s commands, staying aligned to Christ, we maintain close fellowship with the Father and access His abundant blessings reserved for faithful followers of His Son. Let us heed John’s words: “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
Fellowship with God Involves His Faithful Discipline
Because God loves us as His children, He will also lovingly discipline us when we stray from close fellowship with Him. Hebrews 12:6 says “the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” His discipline is intended to turn our hearts back to Him in repentance and renewed faith. Though painful for a time, it produces righteousness and peace in those trained by it (Hebrews 12:7-11). By humbly submitting to God’s discipline, we are able to stay the course of following Christ and walking in sweet fellowship with Him.
Fellowship with God Requires Forgiving Others
As believers walking in fellowship together, we are called to “forbear one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2) by forgiving those who offend us. We must forgive others their offenses against us so that our fellowship with God is not blocked. Mark 11:25 makes this truth plain: “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” An unwillingness to forgive others grieves the Lord and hinders our own fellowship with Him. As we forgive others in the depth Christ forgave us, we remain in the center of God’s will, enjoying unbroken communion with Him.
Conclusion
Fellowship with God through faith in Jesus Christ is an amazing gift He has given us by His grace. It allows us to enter a personal relationship with the Creator where we share in His divine life, love, and mission to the world. As we walk in reverent fellowship with God, we experience His presence, peace, sanctifying power for service, and many spiritual blessings that help us know, love and serve Him wholeheartedly. By His Spirit who unites us to Himself, unbroken fellowship with God through continual faith and obedience is possible, transforming our lives for His glory.