DS 013

Fellowship's Purpose

Philippians 1:3-11; 4:14-20

Fellowship is a word we often don't really know what to do with. We talk about fellowship. We gather in sacred spaces we call fellowship halls. We have meals in those same halls and call them fellowship meals. We know from church growth studies that those gatherings are very important to the growth of a church. We understand that we need to foster events that build community. When we look at what the Bible tells us about fellowship, however, our halls, meals, spaces, and gatherings, however, suddenly look very inadequate.

Perhaps here in Philippians is one of those texts that give us the most well-rounded grasp on what fellowship truly should mean. As important as meals, companionship, and getting to know one another are, fellowship seems to indicate something much deeper when we begin looking at what Paul writes to this dear church in Philippi.

The fellowship of the Philippian church was a fellowship borne out of partnership. Instead of gathering for food, playing games, socializing, or holding talent shows, they were focused on participating with Paul in his ministry and the promotion of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was this partnership, accepting that they were on a joint venture to fulfill the mission of God that gave them their sense of togetherness, purpose, and sharing in fellowship.

Paul writes his letter to the Philippian church from prison. We don't know exactly where he was imprisoned at that time. Imprisonment was an all too common occurrence in Paul's life. As a result, he was not always able to work and earn his living. He wrote to the church in part to thank them for a financial gift they had sent. This was not the first time Paul had received financial assistance from them. This was, however, the only church who had entered into a financially supporting role in Paul's ministry.

He had a purpose, a mission, a calling to fulfill, and this church entered into fellowship with him in that task. They assumed a financial responsibility to support Paul's endeavors. They assumed the responsibility to send others to support him with their own efforts to work alongside him. They fulfilled aspects of his calling in their own geographic setting. They strove to expand on what Paul did and could do with their efforts, prayers, financial gifts, and making his mission their own endeavor.

When Paul was hurt, they hurt with him. When he was suffering hunger and cold, they took initiatives to come to his aid and alleviate his physical needs. When he taught and preached, they walked alongside him to extend the reach of his words.

Their fellowship was much more than food and entertainment activities. It was the investment of their lives, linking the totality of who they were with the purposes of the gospel laid before them in Paul's life and ministry. They accepted Paul's identity and mission and adopted it as their own.

We might prefer to call this a partnership, but it is what Paul understood as fellowship in the gospel. They were co-workers. They were on a joint mission. They saw no distinction between Paul's efforts and needs and their own. What Paul did and experienced was their own doing and experience, not simply through a vicarious existence, but in the giving and participating with him in the totality of his missionary enterprise.

When Paul had come to Philippi, Lydia had invited him into her home. She had allowed and compelled him to use her household as the basis for his ministry and outreach. The rest of the church similarly joined her in making Paul a central part of their lives. They accepted his teaching, but they also gave their lives as investments into the mission to which God had called him.

While Paul was in prison, he shared the story of that incarceration. He also shared how God was using that experience to further the cause of his mission and purpose. He brought the church into the intimacy of his ministry, giving them access to what it means to serve Christ Jesus with a whole heart and life. They were already participating in fellowship with him in this service, yet not only was that fellowship about finances and actions, it was also about sharing experiences with one another in regard to the central purpose of that mission.

Whereas God was directing Paul's life and ministry, the church and Paul shared so very many elements of that mission with one another. Their application of Paul's mission in Philippi was being discussed elsewhere. Their connection with Paul in sending aid was known in other places. Their example in owning a spiritual debt to Paul's ministry among them brought them in closer connection to joining their lives fully with Paul.

There is another aspect of this fellowship that may not be quickly apparent to us. That is that Paul was also preparing this beloved church for the very real possibility of his death in Rome. While it was not a forgone conclusion, it was a very real possibility that Paul raised in this letter. His concern was that such a reality not hinder the church's continued fellowship and ownership of the mission to which his life in Christ had been given. He wrote to encourage them to continue in the same fellowship they had taken upon themselves in becoming extensions of the purpose set before him.

The relationship between Paul and the Philippian church was so much more than what we so lightly consider fellowship or even partnership. It was the joining of lives in a common purpose. No, it was not a perfect union. There were still issues on which Paul had to call them down. There were still concerns over blaming Epaphroditus for getting sick en route to assist Paul and deliver a financial gift. There was still a power struggle between two leaders in the church. Yet beyond these issues, there was something that called them to a greater degree of unity than Paul experienced with any of the other churches in which he ministered.

They gave themselves to the mission of Christ, instead of following after personal pursuits and petty agendas for power. They assumed that the mission Paul had carried out in their presence was a mission they needed to assume as their own responsibility. They allowed that purpose to give them a reason for being that took them beyond themselves. They allowed God to work in them far beyond their personal ambitions.

While they did not cease to be individuals, they were joined together in more ways than what we would expect around a table of food. They did not simply invite and include Paul in their homes, but allowed him into their lives. They did not just pour money into Paul's ministry. They gave themselves to that ministry and purpose. The money simply followed the prior commitment to accept and assume the mission placed before them.

This is what fellowship in the gospel really means. It is a partnership. It is hitching our lives to a greater purpose than our individual ambitions and dreams. It is becoming one in making our lives reflect the priorities of the mission God has set before us.

True fellowship requires and compels us to do so much more than share a meal, sit at a table together, and talk with one another for a specified time. It depends on giving our lives to a higher priority, God's mission set before us in Christ Jesus.

In Christ Jesus, we are partners to carry out something far beyond our individual abilities. We are given to a mission that requires giving our all to one another. In so doing, we join hearts, hands, and minds to become the incarnate reality of the gospel for all people.

—Pr. Christopher B. Harbin

© Copyright 2017 Christopher B. Harbin.