Wednesday

Related Verses
2 Cor. 13:14
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Phil. 2:1
1 If there is therefore any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of spirit, if any tenderheartedness and compassions,

1 Cor. 10:16
16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the fellowship of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the fellowship of the body of Christ?

1 Cor. 16:18
18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Acknowledge therefore such ones.

Rom. 13:8-10
8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves the other has fulfilled the law.
9 For, “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
10 Love does not work evil to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Gal. 5:13-15
13 For you were called for freedom, brothers; only do not turn this freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another.

Related Reading
The Spirit is not merely involved, wrapped up, or mingled with the fellowship. The Spirit Himself is the fellowship because the fellowship is the flow, the current, of the Spirit. This is like saying that the current of electricity is just the electricity itself. The current of electricity is electricity in motion. When the electricity stops, the current of electricity also stops. In the same way the fellowship of the Holy Spirit mentioned in 2 Corinthians 13:14 is the Spirit moving. The grace of Christ is Christ Himself enjoyed by us, the love of God is God Himself tasted by us, and the fellowship of the Spirit is the Spirit Himself moving within us. The divine fellowship is the Holy Spirit Himself. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 1, “The Triune God to Be Life to the Tripartite Man,” pp. 359-360) 

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We need to enter into the horizontal aspect of the divine fellowship by the human spirit (Phil. 2:1; Rev. 1:10). If we are going to have real fellowship horizontally with one another, we need to exercise our spirit. If we exercise our spirit, we will never talk in a worldly manner or speak negatively about the saints or the churches…Such discussions spread gossip and death among the saints. This kind of contact between the saints is not the fellowship of spirit…In Philippians 2:1-2…Paul seems to be saying, “Brothers, if you have any fellowship with me in spirit, your fellowship will be my encouragement and consolation. Then you will make my joy full.” 

The horizontal and vertical aspects of the divine fellowship are very closely related. We can see this from our experience. Sometimes we may talk about other saints under the pretense of having fellowship about their situation, but our conversation is actually gossip. Afterward, we often cannot pray because our praying spirit is quenched by our gossip. But when we fellowship in a genuine way by exercising our spirit, we are eager to pray and contact the Lord. This shows how close the relationship is between the vertical and horizontal aspects of fellowship…If two brothers exercise their spirit to have genuine, proper, horizontal fellowship, they will eventually be ushered into a very honest and sincere intercession. When they pray together, the two aspects of the divine fellowship are interwoven…This interwoven fellowship is the real fellowship. 

This interweaving is the mingling of God with man. All the meetings should be an interwoven fellowship with both the vertical and horizontal aspects. Our married life should also be an interwoven fellowship. The husband and the wife should be interwoven not only with each other but also with the Lord. The real Christian marriage should be the divine fellowship. Our coordination and work together should also be the divine fellowship. 

We must realize that when fellowship disappears, God also disappears. God comes as the fellowship. Today our meetings, our married life, the coordination among the co-workers, and the fellowship among the local churches are abnormal because we are short of this fellowship. Today there is not enough fellowship among the local churches, and the churches are not absolutely one in the fellowship. 

The divine fellowship is everything in the Christian life. The apostle Paul lived in this fellowship. When we live in the divine fellowship, our Christian life becomes very living, active, and full of impact. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 1, “The Triune God to Be Life to the Tripartite Man,” pp. 361-365) 

Further Reading: CWWL, 1964, vol. 2, “A General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church, Part 3—Hebrews through Jude,” ch. 31