Fellowship - 1 John
5
Last time we considered how we demonstrate our fellowship with God and other believers in simple, everyday experience. This time we will take it a little further and give some thought to the matter of living lives that please God, or living righteously. In other words, how does John connect the practice of righteousness with the state of righteousness before God that is the position of all those who are justified by faith in Christ. In this letter the apostle John makes it clear that true godliness is seen in a life of obedience to the Lord.
John opens up this subject in chapter 2 verses 3 to 5: “We know that we have come to know Him if we obey his commands. The man who says, ‘I know Him’, but dies not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.”
The evidence of knowing the Lord and being in fellowship with Him is to keep his commandments. In his ministry our Saviour upheld God’s law and warned against ignoring or downgrading it. He says, in Matthew’s Gospel chapter 5 verse 19, “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practises and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven,”
A lesson to learn here is that a growing obedience leads to a growing assurance. John emphasises it twice in these verses when he says that keeping God’s word and his commands is the way to know that we know Him and are in Him. People may make all sorts of high-sounding claims about their spirituality but without the evidence of obedience, it has a hollow ring about it.
This matter of living righteously touches every part of our lives and how we interact with all that is around us. In chapter 2 verse 15 John says this: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Here is a clear warning about becoming ensnared by the things of this world to the exclusion of God. John cautions us against loving the world and everything in it, otherwise we will love these rather than God. In other words, the love of the Father will not be in us. He then sets out, in verse 16, the things of the world, the dangers, that he has in mind. Dangers to be on our guard against at all times. They are: the strong desire to please the sinful nature and to have all that the eyes see (we could call this materialism), and a proud spirit that thinks it can get along without God. These things, he says, are not of the Father, but of the world which is passing away along with all its desires. By contrast, he who does the will of God will live for ever.
At the end of chapter 2 in verse 29, John draws an interesting comparison with the family likeness that is seen in children. It is a further illustration of the need for right living to be seen as an evidence of our being in fellowship with our heavenly Father. John writes: “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” You know how children can strongly resemble a parent either in looks or temperament. So it is in spiritual things. We are born of God by his Holy Spirit so that gradually and increasingly we come to resemble his nature and his ways. The more we become like Him, the more we please Him and the closer we come to Him in fellowship. So our love for God and our obedience to his commands and the way we live brings us into close fellowship with Him.
But what of our fellowship with other Christians? This too is bound up with the keeping of God’s commandments. This may sound strange, but John clarifies it for us in chapter 5 verses 2 and 3: “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” Being in a loving relationship with God shows itself in love for his children also. This is in keeping with the Lord Jesus’ teaching on the commandments of God. In Matthew chapter 22 verses 37 to 39, in answer to the question, ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ He replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” Now note what He goes on to say: “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’”. The keeping of all the commandments is summed up in these two great principles: “Love God” and “Love your neighbour.” The apostle Paul makes the same point in Romans chapter 13 verse 10 where he says, “Love does no harm to its neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.” Also in Galatians chapter 6 verse 2: “Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.” Genuine love for God’s children is evidence of our true fellowship with them.
So, to come back to 1 John chapter 5, you can see how true fellowship is worked out in our lives. The Christian believer loves God. He keeps in close communion with God through Christ. He seeks to keep the commandments and in doing so he will seek only good for his neighbour, not harm. He will, above all, be loving and supportive of all the Lord’s people. Can you see fellowship like this being worked out when you meet with other believers? But first, is it being worked out in your life? If not, it will need to be put right so that you can enjoy the true fellowship that we are discovering together in John’s letter.
The Lord’s commandments are not burdensome, says John in verse 3. What he means is that the Christian is more than happy to keep them. They are not wearying. They do not spoil his happiness. Indeed, they are a blessing and they bring peace and joy into his life as he keeps them. So do not be put off in thinking that it is unrealistic and expecting too much of one another. This is part of the practice of living righteously as a demonstration of fellowship with God and his people.
Remember, too, that not only is such honouring of God’s commandments beneficial in the outworking of Christian fellowship within the church. It has wider implications. The believer who lives righteously is a blessing in his own home, even if family member are not believers. Godly living will have an impact for good and show that what is believed translates into upright behaviour. To live by God’s standards is the best way to set out your testimony as a Christian in the place where you work. Honesty, diligence and truthfulness together with an unwillingness to speak badly about fellow workers will go a long way in securing a hearing for your Christian testimony. People will respect you and what you stand for, even though they may ridicule what you believe.
So be challenged by what we have discovered about working out in our lives what it means to be in fellowship with God and with his children. Are you living this life of obedience that keeps you close to God and that enables you to have true fellowship with other Christians? May the Lord help you to do so and give you the joy and peace this brings.