Bible Studies

FELLOWSHIP IN A NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH

God never intended Christians to be isolated units. His desire is that His people should meet together as an encouragement to each other, and as a united force that will be effective in His service. The New Testament calls such a congregation a “church of God” (1 Cor 1.2). The word church is a translation of a Greek word ekklesia which means people who have been called out. God has called these people from the millions in the world to be a united witness for Him.

All the meetings of churches of God are open to the general public, but the public who attend are distinct from “the whole church” (1 Cor 14.23). In other words there is a recognised membership, what Paul calls “them that are within” in contrast to “them that are without” (1 Cor 5.12-13).
What qualifies a person to be a member of a New Testament church and to enjoy its fellowship, and share its responsibilities? The Bible itself gives the answer.

THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR FELLOWSHIP

1. The first necessity is to be saved. The members of the first local church were people who had received Peter’s word, that is, they had believed his preaching and had been saved (Acts 2.41). Churches of God were also called “churches of the saints” (1 Cor 14.33), that is, every member was a believer. Membership was not mixed, with some believers and some not, as in many denominations today.
2. The next step is to be baptised (Acts 2.41). This topic is dealt with as a separate subject on the web site. Remember that baptism was commanded by the Lord Jesus (Mt 28.19), and that an unbaptised believer is never anticipated in the New Testament.
3. The next requirement for fellowship is to continue “stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine” (Acts 2.42). This means that the baptised believer must be willing to believe and obey what the apostles taught. That teaching is now contained in the New Testament. There are instructions there that affect every part of our lives, including the way we ought to meet as a church.

To summarise, those who should form the membership of a New Testament church are baptised believers who wholeheartedly believe the teaching of the Bible, and whose behaviour is in line with its commands. Bad behaviour disqualifies (1 Cor 5.9-13).

THE PRIVILEGES OF FELLOWSHIP

1. In Acts 2, those who continued in fellowship enjoyed the privilege of breaking bread in remembrance of the Lord Jesus (v.42). Again, a separate study is devoted to this theme, but remember that it is a congregational activity, and that you can only engage in it legitimately in connection with a church of God. Linking yourself with a local church will allow you the privilege of obeying the Lord in this way.
2. The same verse indicates that collective prayer is another of the privileges of fellowship. The Lord taught the importance of united prayer (Mt 18.19), and its effectiveness is seen in Acts 12.5.

THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF FELLOWSHIP

1. To God. God must have His portion first, and that is the “sacrifice of praise” (Heb 13.15). The Lord’s Supper is a wonderful opportunity for collective worship although worship is not confined to such occasions.
2. To elders. Recognise them, esteem them, obey them (1 Thess 5.12-13; Heb 13.17).
3. To each other. The local church is the sphere where your spiritual gift should be used for the good of every other member (1 Pe 4.10). Failure to function is as damaging to the local church as a malfunctioning organ would be to your body (1 Cor 12.14-27). Reluctance to fulfil your responsibilities deprives your fellow-Christians.
4. To the world. Every New Testament church has a major responsibility to spread the gospel in its area: “with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Phil 1.27). The assembly is symbolised as a lampstand (Rev 1-3), and the light of the gospel should be shining out brightly in our dark communities. It is only as each individual believer feels a responsibility to witness personally, and to support fully every collective effort to preach the gospel, that the duty of the assembly will be discharged.

PASSAGES TO STUDY AND QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

1. In the notes, mention is made of the phrase “them that are without”. You will also find it in Mark 4.11. Using your margin or concordance, find another three references in the epistles. (In one of them the word “which” is used instead of “that”.)
2. In Acts 18.27, Romans 16.1-2, and Colossians 4.10, letters were used to recommend people for reception to the local church. Who were the people involved?
3. The total number of believers of this Christian age makes up what the Bible calls, “the church, which is his body” (Eph 1.22-23). That is a single unit (ch.4.4), whereas there are many churches of God, that is, local churches (1 Cor 11.16). We read of the churches of God in Judaea (1 Thess 2.14). Judaea was a region, and wherever the word “church” is used in connection with a large area the word is always plural, and never for example, the Church of Judaea, as if there was an ancient equivalent of what is now called the national church. Check this out in the following passages - 1 Corinthians 16.1,19; 2 Corinthians 8.1; Galatians 1.2,22; Revelation 1.4.
4. Take time to read 2 Corinthians 6.14-18. These verses reinforce the point that churches should not have a mixed membership of saved and unsaved. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers”, is a command that applies to marriage, business, recreational clubs, and to our church fellowship.
5. Who were the three individuals who were baptised in Acts 8, 9, and 10?
6. From the notes, find the passage which shows us that bad behaviour disqualifies from fellowship in a New Testament church. List the sins that disqualify.
7. One of the privileges of fellowship is united prayer. Instructions for the prayer meeting are in 1 Timothy 2, a book of the Bible whose theme is how to “behave…in the house of God”. Find the verse where that phrase occurs.
8. We have a responsibility to elders (overseers) because they are appointed by whom (Acts 20.28)?
9. There are various spiritual gifts. Read Romans 12.3-8. Note that whatever the gift is, it has to be exercised with appropriate diligence. Are you doing it?
10. Read 1 Thessalonians 1 to see how the local church at Thessalonica discharged its responsibility to preach the gospel. Note how Paul had set the pattern when he first came to their city and how they followed his example. In turn, they were an example to others. If you have been using a Strong’s Concordance, try this exercise. Look up the following words, note the number allocated to them, and check the number at the back of the concordance to find an expanded meaning of the Greek word. Patience (v.3); Followers (v.6); Ensamples (v.7).