As Was His Custom: Fellowship Part 1

Family and friends gathered around a table, taken from above.

What comes to mind when you hear the word fellowship? If you grew up in the church as I did, you may envision a potluck dinner after service in the church’s fellowship hall, or perhaps a small group cookout. Fellowship may also spur on ideas of gathering, of togetherness, or simply being with friends and family, within or outside of the church. Fellowship as a whole is a great concept. Who doesn’t want to belong, to be a part of, to have fellow friends and family with whom we share life’s experiences?

In examination of the life of Jesus, He, too, enjoyed the blessings of fellowship. Yet the fellowship He walked in and emulated for us is far more profound than what one may experience simply at a church get-together or gathering with friends. While it certainly can include such experiences, there is so much more. In fact, the fellowship seen in and through the life of Jesus is central to His mission, life-altering, and available to each one of us who chooses to receive it.

Jesus’ Custom of Fellowship

Throughout the life of Jesus, we see Him time after time engaging in fellowship with everyday people from various backgrounds and ways of life in a common practice of presence. In these moments of fellowship, He often gathered around a table and ate with His companions, which culturally spoke to a union not well understood to us in our day. Yet Guzik, in his commentary, sheds more light:

“In the thinking of that part of the ancient world, to eat at the same table with someone indicated friendship and fellowship with that person. Since you ate of one bread, that made you one body, because you both shared of the same food at the same table.”[1]

We see Jesus and His custom of fellowship:

• At the Wedding at Cana (John 2)

• Sitting with Tax Collectors and Sinners (Matthew 9)

• Dining with a Pharisee / Anointed with Alabaster Flask (Luke 7)

• When he fed the Five Thousand (Matthew 14/Mark 6/Luke 9/John 6)

• When he fed the Four Thousand (Matthew 15/Mark 8)

• In the home of Mary & Martha (Luke 10)

• Dining with a Pharisee (Luke 11)

• Dining with a Pharisee / Healed a man on the way (Luke 14)

• Dining with Zaccheus, a tax collector (Luke 19)

• Dining in Bethany/Mary anointed him with perfume (John 12 / Matthew 26 / Mark 14)

• Partaking in the Last Supper with His Disciples (Matthew 26 / Mark 14 / Luke 22 / John 13)

• Sitting at the Table with two Disciples after his Resurrection (Luke 24)

• Appearing Again to his Disciples and Eating in their Presence (Luke 24)

•  Appearing to His Disciples by the Sea of Galilee and feeding them breakfast (John 21)

 Even in Jesus’ revealing of Himself to His disciples after His resurrection, He made Himself known to them (opened their eyes to His identity) through the “breaking of bread” (Luke 24:25). This common act of fellowship carried significance to Jesus in his relationships with those with whom He shared His life and ministry.

So what significance does this custom of Jesus have, and why is it so profound?

The word “fellowship” in the New Testament comes from the Greek word koinonia (κοινωνία). Strong’s defines koinonia as “the share which one has in anything or participation.” The word is representative of an opportunity to participate, and share in a relationship with each other and, as we will see in the life of Jesus, with the Father as well. The word itself carries the concept of investment.  

When we see Jesus associating with sinners like us and walking in fellowship with common people during His earthly ministry, we get a glimpse of the message He came to deliver, which is best understood when we look at Jesus’ own fellowship with the Father.

Jesus (Yeshua) and His Fellowship with the Father

The fellowship, or koinonia we see in the life of Jesus starts with His fellowship with Father God, which is originally seen and expressed at the beginning of our whole story:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:1-3

Jesus, the Word of God, was with God and in fellowship with God at the beginning of time. God the Father, in full unity with the Son and the Spirit, said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26a). Mankind was created from the fellowship of and in the likeness of God as three Persons in full union with one another – the fullness of God.

 From the beginning of time, Jesus has been in fellowship with His Father. Fellowship in the Trinity is central to who God is, and the model of Jesus’ fellowship with the Father and the Spirit is the foundation for which we practice fellowship in our own lives, both with each other and with Him.

The experience Adam and Eve enjoyed with God in the Garden (“walking with God in the cool of the day”) as experienced until the fall is a profound expression of what God seeks and offers to us through Christ. It is THE message Jesus came to deliver. We can be fully restored to a relationship with God through the gift Jesus came to offer: His life, death, and resurrection for the forgiveness of our sins. What Jesus came to offer us is the restoration of unadulterated FELLOWSHIP with God, partaking of His fullness.

 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.” 1 John 1:1-4

I love what Guzik writes of this truth:

“The idea of fellowship is one of the most important ideas in this letter of John’s. It is the ancient Greek word koinonia, which speaks of a sharing, a communion, a common bond and common life. It speaks of a living, breathing, sharing, loving relationship with another person.”[2]

When we truly stop to think about what God the Father has offered to us through His Son, Jesus, it is hard to comprehend. So much so that we often miss the brevity of this truth and inadvertently take it for granted. But let this truth stop us in our tracks today. The God of the Universe and Creator of all things so desired to fellowship (participate in life) with us that He sent His son Jesus to rescue us, and He continues to relentlessly pursue our hearts that we might be ONE with Him. 

There’s so much more to the story and the gift of fellowship in God’s redemptive plan, and we’ll share more with you in a special “Part 2” of this article tomorrow. For today, however, my challenge to you is this: Spend time with God, with renewed thanksgiving for the gift He has given us in Christ. Ask Him to open your eyes anew to the wonder of His love and pursuit of our hearts. Marvel in His goodness to us.

I can’t wait to share with you Part 2 of this article, where we talk about why this matters and how we can follow Jesus in this way.

Click Here for “As Was His Custom: Fellowship Part 2” for why fellowship matters as believers!

[1] Guzik, D. (6/2022). Study Guide for 1 Corinthians 10 by David Guzik. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/1-corinthians/1-corinthians-10.cfm

[2] Guzik, D. (6/2022). Study Guide for 1 John 1 by David Guzik. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/1-john/1-john-1.cfm