THE K I NG ’S BUS I NES S
656
JULY 27, 1919 C H R IS T IA N F E L L OW SH IP
Golden Text- “ If we w alk In th e ligh t, as he is in th e light, we have fellowship ^ one w ith another, and th e blood of Jesu s Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 Jno. 1:7. ,
LESSON TEXT (Read Ac. 2:42, 46, 47; Phil. 4:10-20.)
Phil. 4:10-20.
ginning of th e gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communi cated w ith me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. (16) l o r even in Thessaloncia ye sent once and again unto my necessity. (17) N ot be cause I desire a g ift; bu t I desire fru it th a t m ay abound to your account. (18) B ut I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of E paphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sw eet smell, a sacrifice ac ceptable, w ell-pleasing to God. (13) B ut my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by C hrist Jesus. (20) Now unto God and our F a th e r be glory for ever and ever. Amen. h as been so little of it in our own lives, and to seek for renewed grace and love, th a t in spite of th e conditions which environ us, we may be able to joy and rejoice in th e communion of saints, and more h ea rtfe lt devotion to our blessed Lord. The S cripture given us in Philippians gives us some suggestion of th e prac tical workings of th e sp irit of fellow ship years afterw ard in a Gentile church, and of P au l’s testim ony and exhortation to th e sain ts there. Read th e th ird , fo u rth and fifth verses of the first chapter and see how P au l glories in th e ir fellowship in th e Gospel. (2 ) The Consideration of Fellowship. They cared for Paul. They m inis tered to his necessities. P au l had had o ther experiences very different. In 2 Tim. 4:9, 10, 16, he says “All forsook me.” H ere they th o u g h t of h im ; re membered hini w ith loving gifts. P aul was th e g reatest of all th e saints in the New Testam ent Church, b u t he was de pendent, as was th e Lord H imself, upon hum an fellowship. Our Lord needed th e com fort of P eter, Jam es and John,
(10) B ut I rejoiced in th e Lord greatly, th a t now a t th e la st your care of me h a th flourished again, whereiri ye were also careful, bu t ye lacked opportunity. (11) Not th a t I speak in respect of w ant: for I have learned, in w hatsoever sta te I am, therew ith to be content. (12) I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every w here and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. ( 13 ) I can do all things through C hrist which strength- eneth me. (14) N otw ithstanding ye have well done, th a t ye did communi cate w ith my affliction. (15) Now ye Philippians know also, th a t in th e D e- Outline-— (1) The Consideration of Fellowship (2 ) The Contentm ent of Fellowship (3 ) The Courage of Fellowship (4 ) The Consolation of Fellowship The them e of th e lesson for today is Christian Fellowship. The picture of th e early church which we looked a t In our lesson on Ju ly 6— “The Church, Its Life and W ork” is LESSON introduced as a back- EXPOSITION ground for th is lesson. We do n o t tire of the wonderful scene. I t is an inspiration. I t reveals th e possibilities of people who are a t one w ith God and with- each o ther. I t is th e only picture of the k ind th a t we have in th e Bible, b u t we know th a t in spite of th e old n a tu re so m an ifest in us all, th a t th e h isto ry of th e church is fra g ra n t w ith many in stances of like character, and th a t the unselfishness of h eart, and devotion of life, which is a fru it of th e new life, h as h ad its exemplification in th e lives of very many o f God’s dear people. We no doubt all need to sorrow th a t there Christian Fellowship
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