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We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3.) John is holding out an offer of fellowship-with-God-and-all-creation, a perfect relationship that was lost when man was banished from the Garden of Eden. In I John, the apostle's eye-witness account offers the Word of Life to restore man's fellowship with God the Father and His Son. Through that restored relationship, people are then able to experience fellowship with one another. John's epistle speaks for all those who saw Jesus Christ, extending this invitation of fellowship to all people, stating that to do so makes "our joy complete." What does fellowship mean? What is the nature of this fellowship John describes? What inspired and empowered John to boldly extend the invitation into fellowship to all people?
Consider fellowship as the perfect end of a spectrum of relation starting with a random group of strangers and moving through associations, teams, companions, intimate friends, and finally, fellowship-with-God-and-all-creation.
On the spectrum of relation, a group of people who find themselves together coincidentally would be the farthest from fellowship. Personal relationships are few and superficial in random groups such as riders in a subway car or people watching a common television show. Even in an impersonal setting, human nature often motivates people to develop relationships, especially if they are in close proximity. This task is challenging because of the lack of familiarity, but man can, through his own effort, initiate interactions and develop relationships, moving forward on the spectrum.
Association is a relationship such as a club, union, or society where each member has a common interest, but not necessarily companionship with others. Most members of a loosely-knit association, such as fans of a professional sports team or the citizens of a country, are, by definition, strangers. But if one meets another, they have a common interest and a mutual interest to jumpstart their trip toward a more personal relationship. As two associated people continue to interact, they move along the spectrum, but people in the association as a whole remain virtual strangers. Associations tend to be exclusionary, which is the opposite of fellowship. Association is a way to relate to those who are worthy of association. Through man's own effort, he is able to move beyond the stage of association toward fellowship.
There is only a slight difference between an association and a team. A team is more focused on achieving a common goal, where an association loosely gathered around common interest. This brings the members of a team closer together, and opens up more possibilities to improve relations along the spectrum. Teams can be anything from sports teams, to political parties, to high school bands or quilting groups.
Companionship is what is present in a group of friends and absent in a group of strangers: conversation with emotion and truth, and a desire to remain together. Close friends develop an unselfish love for one another. Aristotle said: There is no friendship without return of love (Ethics, VIII, 2 (115b28)) Companions are relaxed with one another, and relations increase easily. While participants get more from their companions, they also have to give more of themselves. This state is the highest obtainable by human effort. Without God's blessing, there is no hope of getting closer to fellowship as described by John.
Intimate Friendship is a more complete companionship. In these relations, God occasionally reveals the continuing fellowship to be experienced with God the Father and His Son. Husbands and wives, mothers and their children, and very close personal friends are potential candidates for this place on the spectrum.
We strive for fellowship-with-God-and-all-creation because that is what the Garden of Eden was like. After the fall, man lost fellowship with God, and things started looking bleak for mankind. Now each person longs to return to the state of the garden. Later in the eleventh chapter of Genesis[i], mankind looses the ability to fellowship with all people when God confuses the language of man. People were not all in fellowship up to this point, but when they did gather and grew closer to the upper end of the spectrum, but without God, they tried to become like God by building a tower that would reach Heaven.
Because we all yearn for a perfect life, we strive for fellowship-with-God-and-all-creation, like that Adam and Eve experienced in the Garden of Eden. Aquinas writes in his discussion of whether charity is friendship[1]: Since there is a communication between man and God, in so far as He communicates His happiness to us, there must be some kind of friendship based on this same communication, of which it is written (I Corinthians 1:9): God is faithful: by Whom you are called unto the fellowship of His Son. The love which is based on this communication is charity. And so it is evident that charity is the friendship of man for God. Through communication between man and God, God offers the fellowship of the Garden of Eden. Isaiah's account of the animals and children in Chapter 11[ii] is a glimpse of what fellowship-with-God-and-all-creation was and will be like: The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them (v. 6.) Within fellowship, there is no fear of harm from animals considered dangerous now, outside of fellowship. The harmonious relationships described in Genesis 11:6-10 reflect the same fellowship-with-God-and-all-creation that John offers to all in his first letter.
Fellowship is only available through God the Father. All secular relationships aim towards fellowship, the perfect form of relationship. However, this is an unreachable goal for those who aim to get here without God the Father. After the fall from Eden, man lost fellowship with God, and things started looking worse for mankind. Genesis 11 describes an organized effort by the people of the "whole world [who] had one language and a common speech." The people gathered and grew closer to the upper end of the spectrum, but without God's help. They failed at their attempt to become like God by building a tower that reached to the heavens. That is why it as called Babel�because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth (Genesis 11:9.)
John compares being in fellowship as being in the light. (Probably refer to John 1:7) God is light. (John 1:5) When a person moves into a living, spiritual union with God, the path of fellowship is illuminated by a light that reveals all that is good, true and holy. This path of life is characterized by transparency and charity. The light reveals assurance of Sonship, spiritual unity, victory over the world, and eternal life.
God, being light, has nothing to do with darkness. All men in fellowship are in complete light. Light reveals all things and, conversely, darkness hides all things. Transparency is a consequence of walking in the light. There are no secrets within fellowship. This means that God does not withhold any kind of knowledge from those who partake in fellowship with Him. God already knows all, so outside fellowship there is already transparency in one direction. The more one partakes of fellowship, the more their vision clears towards themselves, others, and God. Light shines through and there are no shadows.
Fellowship offers spiritual unity with Christ, but demands transparency. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness we lie and do not live by the truth (1 John 1:6.) If one says they partake of fellowship (walking in the light,) but in fact walks in darkness, they are not on the path of fellowship. Light has no part in darkness.
John writes: My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense � Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours, but for the sins of the whole world (2:1-2.) Therefore, the statement "Light has no part in darkness." can be understood beside the idea that man is sinful and cannot, by his own will, lead a sinless life. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins (1:9) Sin (darkness) has no part in fellowship (light,) but those in fellowship still sin. The atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ removes all confessed darkness from man so that he may partake of fellowship. Without the sacrifice fellowship is impossible because light and darkness do not mix; with the sacrifice even sinners cannot bring darkness into the light, because their darkness is taken away.
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And this is what we are! (1 John 3:1) God loves man so much that those in fellowship with Him are called children of God. John explains what this means in the beginning of his Gospel: Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God�children born not of natural decent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God (1:12,13.) Those in fellowship are born of God. This is why there is no darkness allowed in fellowship. Sons of God cannot have darkness in them, because their nature is light. Man's body is born of natural decent, or of human decision. This body remains for a time, and does partake of darkness.
With Sonship comes confidence in God's undying love: And so we know and rely on the love God has for us (4:16.) As Sons of God, those in fellowship confidently rely on God's love. This means trust in the word of God. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:9-11) Those in fellowship can trust God the Father's love more than their own human father's love. God's love given to his Sons is unassailable: For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39.) As God is master of his own creation, it is absurd to entertain the idea that something he created would be able to keep man from him. God's love reaches his sons no matter what.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us�whatever we ask�we know that we have what we asked of him (1 John 5:14-15.) God allows his sons to confidently ask of him anything according to his will. Those who have fellowship-with-God-and-all-creation have no desire outside of God's will. Desires against God's will come from the darkness in a man's body. So within fellowship, a Son of God has all he needs and wants.
A spiritual union with Christ such as Jesus spoke of in John 15[iii]: Remain in me and I will remain in you (v. 4.) also is involved in fellowship. Every person in fellowship with Jesus also remains in him spiritually. Christ said he is the vine and those in fellowship with him are the branches. The gardener, God the Father, grafts each branch to the vine for bearing fruit. By this union, the branch is able to bear fruit, but the gardener removes branches that, despite their ability, still do not bear fruit. Bearing fruit is doing those things Christ desires: loving enemies, caring for orphans and widows, giving more than is asked, etc. Through the spiritual union with Christ that fellowship offers, man is able to bear fruit. This new ability is used, or a man is not in fellowship. In fellowship, Sons of God bear fruit, outside of fellowship, man is incapable of bearing fruit, except according to God's will.
Another consequence of fellowship is love for one another, which Aquinas calls charity. He quotes 1 John: He that abideth in charity abideth in God and God in him (4:1,) when he is discussing the question "Whether Mutual Indwelling is an Effect of Love?"[2] Aquinas concludes: mutual indwelling in the love of friendship can be understood in regard to reciprocal love, in so far as friends return love for love, and desire and do good things for one another.
John discusses charity in more depth: Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him (1 John 2:9-11.) Fellowship-with-God-and-all-creation includes all men, since all men are created by God. Therefore, all of the relationships in fellowship with God are reflected between all men. Those in fellowship love God above all things, and all other men as they love themselves.
Aquinas writes during his discussion of whether charity is friendship[3]: There is no friendship without return of love (Ethics, VIII, 2 (115b28). But charity extends even to one's enemies, according to Matthew 5:44: Love your enemies. Those in the fellowship are not to treat "outsiders" differently than others in fellowship. Fellowship-with-God-and-all-creation extends even to those who do not partake of fellowship, for they are created by God.
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?(1 John 3:16,17) Those in fellowship are to lay down their lives for God the Father and to serve their fellow man. This service to may extend to the point of death, but more importantly, those in fellowship are to love all men as Christ loved all men. No love should be withheld from anyone.
Aquinas writes: No charity is not friendship for the useful or delightful; for Jerome says in his letter to Paulinus which is to be found at the beginning of the Bible: �True friendship cemented by Christ, is where men are drawn together, not by household interest, not by mere bodily presence, not by crafty and cajoling flattery, but by the fear of God, and the study of the Divine Scriptures.' Man is unable to experience true friendship by his own effort, but only through fellowship with God. Those not in fellowship are missing out on the close friendship between men that fellowship offers.
In Article 2 "Whether Charity is Something Created in the Soul?" Aquinas writes: For Augustine says (De Trin. Viii,7): �He that loves his neighbor, consequently, loves love itself. Now God is love. Therefore it follows that he loves God principally.' Again he says (De Trin.xv,17): �It was said: God is charity, even as it was said: God is a Spirit' Therefore charity is not something created in the soul, but in God Himself. God is offering a part of himself, Charity, to all who partake in fellowship. His sons are expected to love all men, and this love for all men is in God. This love for all men in God is given as part of fellowship.
Fellowship enables man to love truly. True love is shown to us by Jesus on the cross. He died for all men so that man is able to have fellowship with God.
...Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:4-5.) Sons of God have overcome the world. They are no longer subject to the nasty fruit of the world: If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world�the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does�comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever (2:15-17.) In fellowship, the sons of God do not bear the fruit of the world: the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does. Without God man is only able to bear this rotten fruit, but with God, in fellowship, man is able to bear good fruit. The body is still in the world, but sons of God have the ability to overcome the desires of the body.
Fellowship both demands and makes possible a life void of sin. Because Jesus Christ was presented as an expiation for man's sin, sons of God are devoid of sin. This includes forgiveness of sin, and an enablement of God's sons to live without sin. And sons of God who are devoid of sin (two groups that are one and the same) have eternal life. See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us�even eternal life (2:24-25.) By keeping to the original teaching, man keeps in fellowship with God. Those in fellowship are promised eternal life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life (5:13.) The original teaching, what John's students have learned from the beginning, is the name of the Son of God. Jesus is the Son of God, not simply a great moral teacher. As a man forgets Jesus is the Son of God, fellowship begins to slip from his grasp. Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this [God's] testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God had given about his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life (5:10-12.) If a man keeps the original teaching, that Jesus is the Son of God, within himself, he has fellowship with God. If the original teaching is lost or forgotten, the man does not even have life.
John and the other apostles proclaimed what they had heard, seen, and touched concerning the Word of Life. Their proclamation, experienced vicariously, is fellowship. Both the experience and the account of the Word of Life, experienced with fellow men is fellowship. The expansion of fellowship is the perfection of companionship.
John's goal from the beginning is complete joy: We write this to make our joy complete (1 John 1:4.) He can find it only in fellowship with the Word of Life (1:1), through whom we have fellowship with his Father(1:3). He is writing this letter to extend fellowship throughout mankind, through the expansion of the fellowship, joy is completed. Fellowship-with-God-and-all-creation is complete joy.
To John, Jesus was no phantom, dream, or mere vision, but a real person, the embodiment of eternal life, the Word of Life. Therefore, he gave us an extremely vivid account of the Word of Life in his Gospel. He means for readers to experience his account as he experienced the logoV. Those who partake in fellowship proclaim what they have seen, and this in turn expands fellowship. Now those in fellowship are of two kinds, those who have seen, heard, touched, and those who the first group brought into fellowship. John and others committed the Word of Life to paper so that man would always have the Word which proclaims directly what the disciples heard, saw, and touched.
In addition to hearing Jesus' teachings, the disciples heard testimony that Jesus is the way to fellowship. Heard testimony is important, because it is the only testimony available to all men. The disciples can recount what they have seen and touched, but the testimony must be heard or read.
In the first chapter of John, the disciples heard John the Baptist proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God: I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God (v.34.) Being the Son of God, Jesus is able to become the atoning sacrifice for all mankind. No one but the Son of God is able to bring man back into fellowship with God. Man broke fellowship with God, therefore God is the only one who is able to put it back to its original state.
Jesus testifies about himself in John chapter 8: When Jesus spoke again to the people he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (v. 12) The light of the world shines through all who follow him, and the darkness leaves them. Walking in darkness is impossible while following the light of the world. With the light of life man is able to enter into fellowship-with-God-and-all-creation.
Seeing Jesus is a special experience. The sight of Christ asking Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?(v. 4) combined with the loss of physical sight was enough to turn Saul from killing followers of The Way, to a man who was one of the most fervent spreaders of God's fellowship (Acts Chapter 9[iv]). At the same time, there is the example of the chief priests and teachers of the law mocking Jesus on the cross, saying Let him come down and we will believe in him (Matthew 27:41) This statement caps off a Gospel full of the same people constantly demanding: give us a sign (12:28, 16:1) and when Jesus performed miracles, they plotted to kill him (26:4.)
John was present at the transfiguration of Christ presented in Matthew chapter 17[v] There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light (v. 2.) After seeing Jesus everyday, John was witness to a transformation of Jesus. Seeing Jesus this way showed John that Jesus was even more special than he imagined. John had seen all of the miracles, but at this point he got to see Jesus glorified, and hear God say This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him! (v. 5) Additionally seeing Moses and Elijah alive showed John that his God is not the God of the dead but of the living (Matthew 22:32.) If John had any doubts before Jesus' transfiguration, these sights and sounds had to demolish them.
John tells of the empty tomb in chapter 20 of his Gospel[vi] Finally the other disciple, [John] who had reached the tomb first also went inside. He saw and believed (v. 8.) Through seeing the empty tomb, he belied that Jesus really was not there. Some would later proclaim that the Messiah left Jesus before he died, but seeing that the body was not in the tomb, and later seeing a substantial Jesus caused John to fervently denounce this teaching.
John said: For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen (1 John 4:20.) Only through fellowship is any man able to love God and men. John has seen God, which makes it easier for him, therefore he relates what he saw so that all may believe and his joy may be complete.
In John chapter 13[vii], Jesus touched the disciples. After that, he [Jesus] poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him (v.5.) He showed them what love is by becoming as a servant to the disciples who called him master. In this experience the disciples touched Jesus, but in a why that was unexpected. They touched their master with their feet. By this act, Jesus taught the disciples the full extent of his love. He did not simply tell them to love others by serving them, instead he showed them. Part of fellowship with God is these types of experiences, but with the experience comes a call to action. This action is not always pleasant; because Jesus washed their feet, those in fellowship are called to serve the dirty, sinful world. They have to come down from their high places and love the unlovable. Once one obtains fellowship, action naturally flows from the experience. Action is not required to get or keep fellowship, but it is a sign of fellowship.
Thomas, one of the disciples, in the 20th chapter of John's Gospel[viii], would not believe Jesus was alive again unless he touched the wounds Jesus suffered. So the other disciples told him [Thomas], "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in the hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."(v. 25) He put much value on the seeing, touching, and vicarious experience of Jesus' resurrected body. Thomas' lack of faith stemmed from the immediacy of Christ. Jesus knew Thomas' heart and therefore proclaimed a blessing for those who will believe without either seeing or touching, but only by heard testimony.
What inspired and empowered John to boldly extend the invitation into fellowship to all people? The vicarious experience of Jesus Christ, hearing, seeing, and touching the Son of God inspired John to spend the remainder of his earthly life extending God's fellowship. He spread the fellowship by recounting what he heard, saw, and touched while he was with Jesus. By extending fellowship, John's joy is made perfect, and the quality of his experience of fellowship improves.
What is the nature of this fellowship John describes? The fellowship John is offering includes transparency between all those in fellowship, including God. Additionally all in fellowship gain the right to be called sons of God, which brings eternal life and victory over the world. Sons of God also have spiritual unity with Christ, and love for God and all creation.
What does fellowship mean? Fellowship is the perfection of human relation. All other relationships besides fellowship point to this perfect end: Fellowship-with-God-and-all-creation. Man's effort to reach fellowship is doomed without God, because God is the key ingredient to achieve fellowship.
[1] Part II of the Second Part, Question XXIII "Of Charity, Considered in Itself," Article 1
[2] Part 2 of the Second Part Question XXVIII "Of Joy", Article 2
[3] Part II of the Second Part Question XXIII "Of Charity, Considered in Itself" Article 1.
[i] Genesis 11: 1Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." 5But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." 8So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. (NIV)
[ii] Isaiah 11: 6The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. 7The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. 9They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (NIV)
[iii] John 15: 1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (NIV)
[iv] Acts 9: 3As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 5"Who are you, Lord?" "I am Jesus who you are persecuting"
[v] Matthew 17: 1After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus... 5...a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" (NIV)
[vi] John 20: 3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) (NIV)
[vii] John 13: 1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. 2The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (NIV)
[viii] John 20: 24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in the hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." 26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." 28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" 29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (NIV)