Fellowship in the Gospel
Paul had a special relationship with the Church in Philippi. It began when he was called in a vision from the Lord. Luke wrote, “…we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.” (Acts 16:10).
They arrived at Philippi, the foremost city of Macedonia. On the Sabbath day, they went to the riverside where they had learned of a gathering of people for prayer. Apparently, this was a prayer group of women. A prominent woman by the name of Lydia was in that group. She listened to the preaching of Paul and became a Christian.
Paul and Silas continued their preaching in the city. They encountered a young girl who was demon-possessed and men were using this awful situation as a means to make money, charging people to hear their fortunes told by her. When Paul healed her, the people arrested them for disturbing the peace and threw them into prison.
While in prison, Paul and Silas passed the time by singing and praying. One night an earthquake rocked the prison loosening the bonds of the prisoners. The head jailer saw that all the bonds were loose and he was going to kill himself. Paul, however, stopped him assuring him that all the prisoners were still there.
He was so grateful for this that he took Paul and Silas to his home, washed their wounds from their flogging, and gave them food. Paul preached the gospel and the jailer with his family became Christians.
These events solidified the relationship between Paul and the Philippian church in a way that apparently no other church shared with Paul. He told them, “Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only.” (Philippians 4:15). No wonder he opened his letter to them with these words, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now…” (Philippians 1:4-5).
This fellowship was “in the gospel.” Christian fellowship must be defined by the word of God and not by our own concepts. All Christian fellowship is rooted in the words of Scripture. Christian fellowship is not possible between people who do not share a common faith.
This fellowship was “of the Spirit” (Philippians 2:1). Christian fellowship is not just about the external facts of the Bible. It also about the internal acceptance and relationship with those facts.
This fellowship was “of His (Jesus’) sufferings” (Philippians 3:10). Christian fellowship is possible because Jesus suffered for us. He bore the sins of each one of us creating a commonality among us.
This fellowship is “in giving and receiving” (Philippians 4:15). Christian fellowship produces a dependency and a participation in the lives of each other because we are all saved by the blood of Jesus.
— Mike Johnson
