The New Testament describes fellowship as something to be valued, built, and maintained among Christians. In his first epistle, John declared that the apostles taught the message of the gospel “so that you too may have fellowship with us” (1 John 1:3). When the apostles in Jerusalem wanted to demonstrate their acceptance and approval of Paul and Barnabas, they “gave to [them] the right hand of fellowship” (Galatians 2:9).
The word translated fellowship is the Greek word koinonia. It contains the idea of association, community, communion, and joint participation (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon). Because of this definition, this same word is used elsewhere in the New Testament to describe a contribution made for needy saints (Romans 15:26; 2 Corinthians 9:13) and participation in their support (2 Corinthians 8:4), a sharing in the body and blood of Christ as we partake of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 10:16), and a participation with Paul in the work of preaching the gospel (Philippians 1:5).
While we sometimes think of fellowship in a generic sense and talk about the “fellowship” we have with Christians around the world (even those we have never met or even know of), the way the term is used in the New Testament has a much more limited scope. It is true that all Christians – whether they know one another or not – have a common bond in Christ. We are all brethren (1 Peter 1:22; 2:17) and part of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). But fellowship – the sense of community, the close association, the shared communion, and the way in which we jointly participate in the Lord’s work – demands a more personal and localized view of fellowship rather than one that is vague and impossible to see how far it extends.
The reason this is important is because of the limits that we see in the New Testament on fellowship. There are certain people to whom we must not extend fellowship (not associate with them, not welcome them into the local church community, not commune with them, and not work with them in the cause of Christ). It would be impossible to respect the limits placed on fellowship if we were automatically “in fellowship” with others, whether we knew about them or not.
What are these limits? Notice some of the people or groups we are not to have fellowship with:
- Unbelievers – “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). It is impossible to avoid all contact with unbelievers, because we would “have to go out of the world” (1 Corinthians 5:10). But we cannot join into fellowship with them. Instead, we are to “come out from their midst and be separate” (2 Corinthians 6:17).
- False teachers – “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds” (2 John 9-11). It is common in the religious world for people to overlook doctrinal differences and accept anyone who claims to preach Christ, regardless of the message he teaches. However, John warned that anyone who went beyond the teaching of Christ would lose his fellowship with God. If we join into or maintain fellowship with such individuals, we stand to lose our fellowship with God as well.
- Christians living in sin – “But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one” (1 Corinthians 5:11). Not only do many professed Christians overlook false teaching [previous point], they often will also overlook sin so as to not disrupt their “unity.” Some even pride themselves on how “tolerant” they are by ignoring people’s sin. The brethren in Corinth did the same thing, and Paul rebuked them for becoming “arrogant” over their acceptance of a brother in sin when they should have “removed [him] from [their] midst” (1 Corinthians 5:1-2). Paul told the Ephesians, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:11).
- Christians who ignore New Testament teaching – “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us. […] If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame” (2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14). The apostles were commissioned to teach disciples “to observe all that [Jesus] commanded” (Matthew 28:20). We are to hold firmly to the traditions taught by the apostles (2 Thessalonians 2:15) and keep the Lord’s commandments (1 John 2:3). If we have brethren who refuse to do this, we cannot maintain fellowship with them.
- Those we believe to be in sin – “When [Saul] came to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple” (Acts 9:26). Prior to Saul’s conversion, he persecuted the church to such an extent that he was “entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, [and] would put them in prison” (Acts 8:3). When he returned to Jerusalem after his conversion in Damascus, many of the Christians there refused to accept him because they only knew him as “a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent agressor” (1 Timothy 1:13). It was not until Barnabas explained to them that Saul was converted that they welcomed him into their fellowship. Before they knew that, they could not accept him. We are not omniscient like God is. We can only act based upon what we know. If we do not know that someone has been converted, or that a brother who has fallen away has repented and turned back to the Lord, we cannot have fellowship with them. We should be happy to accept them once we learn the truth about their good standing before God, just as the brethren in Jerusalem were with Saul (Acts 9:27-28). But until then, we cannot have fellowship with those we believe to be in sin.
- Those who refuse to have fellowship with us – “I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church” (3 John 9-10). Diotrephes was so determined to maintain his control over this particular congregation that he would refuse to accept the teachings of the apostles. Those who did, he would “withdraw fellowship” from them, casting them out of the church so that others would not have fellowship with them either. Diotrephes needed to be confronted and called to repentance, and John said he would do that if the opportunity presented itself. However, until that happened, there was no way for the faithful brethren who were cast out by Diotrephes to maintain fellowship with their brethren in that group. Fellowship involves mutual acceptance and a willingness to work together. If there are brethren who refuse to accept us and will not work with us, fellowship is not possible with them.
Fellowship is one of the great blessings we have as brothers and sisters in Christ. However, there are limits to this fellowship – not just due to a lack of proximity to one another, but also due to sin, error, misunderstandings, and poor attitudes. To whatever degree we are able, we can work to remove these obstacles to fellowship. At the same time, we should strive to maintain fellowship with like-minded brethren as we all enjoy fellowship with God. Let us be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3) so that we can continue to enjoy the blessings and benefits of fellowship as the Lord intended.
