The Priority of Fellowship in the Early Church
In Acts 2:42, we see the early church described as a devoted church. In one verse, four key elements are mentioned regarding the church’s worship. They were devoted to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship – κοινωνία, the Lord’s Supper, and prayer. It’s vitally important that we see the level of priority placed upon fellowship by the early church.
The first time we see the Greek term κοινωνία (translated fellowship in Acts 2:42) used in the New Testament is in Acts 2 as Luke describes the early church immediately after the 3,000 people were born again and baptized as followers of Christ. This word means, “close association involving mutual interests and sharing, association, communion, fellowship, close relationship, marked by intimacy.” True Christian fellowship transcends “hello” in the hallway or a slap on the back on Sunday.
The early church spent time together in worship, in the temple meeting people, over meals in their homes, and out in the community through evangelistic efforts. They prioritized Christian fellowship highly. They were living in hostile times where threats were common and death was promised for the sake of the gospel. They valued the close fellowship of their Christian community in ways that we often don’t see in the church today. They didn’t avoid one another. They didn’t minimize true fellowship. They exemplified Christian care and their intimate community was possible through their bond in Jesus Christ.
The Need for Vibrant Relationships
If you read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, you see that Christian is constantly in need of a true friend to journey with him. When he was in the dungeon of Doubting Castle, Hopeful was there by his side. If you read Tolkien, you will see him reference the Fellowship all through his writings. C.S. Lewis also put a spotlight on the importance of fellowship all throughout The Chronicles of Narnia. Most importantly, if you read the Bible, you will see from beginning to end, the people of God are pictured as a togetherpeople.
God has designed us with the need for intimate relationships. It’s a very common thing to see people referencing their “work family” or their “ball team family” on social media. The point they’re driving home is that they’ve worked diligently to build an intimate group of people who are committed to one another and have a common bond that unites them. Sadly, it’s becoming a normal thing to see many Christians speak that way about their circle of friends outside of the church while their understanding of church has been reduced to a building and a seat to occupy on Sunday. Why are so many people willing to forsake the fellowship of the church?
God has designed us with the need for intimate relationships. It’s a very common thing to see people referencing their “work family” or their “ball team family” on social media. The point they’re driving home is that they’ve worked diligently to build an intimate group of people who are committed to one another and have a common bond that unites them. Sadly, it’s becoming a normal thing to see many Christians speak that way about their circle of friends outside of the church while their understanding of church has been reduced to a building and a seat to occupy on Sunday. Why are so many people willing to forsake the fellowship of the church?
