Fellowship: It's Much More Than Just Supper Together (by Peter Brock)

In Stephen J. Lawson's book about expository preaching entitled, Famine in the Land, he describes the multifaceted impact of the apostles teaching as found in Acts 2:42-47. One aspect that he addresses from the passage is that of "energized fellowship" as found in verse 42, "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." On page 46 of his book Lawson writes, "These two activities - the apostles teaching and fellowship- are closely related, suggesting that the the apostles biblical preaching directly impacted the quality of the new believer's' personal relationships. Koinonia, the Greek word translated "fellowship," means "association, communion, fellowship, close relationship." It denotes "the unanimity and unity brought about by the Spirit." Lawson goes on to explain how biblical preaching promotes pure fellowship. "As God's Word purged and purified their (early Christians) hearts, the quality of their love for each other grew even stronger" "A Word-fed church will be a fellowshipping church."
As believers, our fellowship with one another is rooted in the truth of God's Word. The more we learn about our jointly held relationship with Jesus Christ, the deeper, fuller and purer will be our fellowship with other believers. May we be marked as those who engage in true, Scripture-fed fellowship. May we be identified by Holy Spirit empowered unity rooted in God's truth.