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grace and favor and love and devotion to H is serv an t Paul. There is so much in th a t word “my.” David said it, (2 Sa. 2 2 :7 ). “ In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried to my God, and he did hear my voice out of the tempest, and my cry did en ter into His ears.” Daniel said, “My God h a th sent H is angel, and h ath sh u t th e lion ’s mouths.” Jesus said it: “ I ascend unto my F ath e r, and your F a th e r; unto my God and your God.” P au l does no t say “ your God” for he did no t know ju st how th e Philippians knew Him, b u t out of His own blessed experience he could say “my God, the one I know, and have proven.” God give us all such experiences w ith H im self th a t we can say unreservedly to our fellow saints as we fellowship w ith them in sorrow, in ' pain, in dis tress, in poverty, in sickness, am idst th e deepest need, “My God shall sup ply your every need.”— T. C. H. The word “ fellowship” here means communion, and W ebster defines com munion as “ a body of C hristians having one common faith and discipline.” This means th a t th e re is a HEART OF fellowship w ith all THE LESSON t r u e believers, a n d T. C. H orton t r u e believers a r e those who are united and bound together in th e belief of th e fundam ental doctrines of th e Bible. An evangelical Christian could n o t have communion w ith a U nitarian, o r any one else who denied th e virgin b irth , and atonem ent of our Lord. There are non-essentials which do no t hinder communion, b u t th e re are essentials which make it impossible to fellowship w ith others. We can do many kinds of service as citizens, w ith many kinds of people, b u t when it comes to th e ques tion of fellowship w ith unbelievers, th e S cripture is very definite. (Eph. 5 :11 )
“And have no fellowship w ith th e un fru itfu l works of darkness, b u t ra th e r reprove them .” Also (1 John 1 :3 ) “And our fellowship is w ith th e F ath e r, and w ith His Son, Jesus Christ.” This fellowship is based upon our Christian life. When we have accepted Christ as Saviour, and confessed Him as Lord, we have given to us th e Holy Spirit who im p arts to us th e life of Christ. We are “ bone of H is bone; flesh of H is flesh.” Every tru e believer in Christ Jesus h as th e same life, the same hope, th e same destiny. We are blood-bought relatives. In th e blood of Christ th e re is a bond which unites us to Him th a t is stronger, deeper, holier, tru e r th a n any ea rth ly bond of fam ily relationship. We are one w ith Him, and complete in Him. P au l magnified th e fellowship of be lievers in his le tte r to th e Philippians. He th an k s God upon every remem brance of th e Philippians, (Phil. 1 :3 -5 ), and exhorts them to un ity in th e Spirit, (Ph il. 2 :1 -5 ) and to fellowship in C h rist’s suffering, being made conform able to His death, and in the fourth chapter, he rejoices in th e fellowship he had w ith th e Philippians through th e ir care for him— th e ir generous min istry to him— a sacrifice which was well-pleasing to God. This is th e age of organization. There are societies w ithou t number, adapted to all kinds and conditions of men, and all are designed to m inister to some phase of rea l or supposed need, b u t th e re is one association which js incomparable— th e “Church of God” as P au l calls it in Romans. Any portion of th is society, be it small or large, can g ath er a t any time, a t any place, under any conditions; where two or th ree are g athered together, th e re is He— the C reator, th e Saviour, th e Lord, th e King of kings, th e Founder, th e Promoter, th e Life-Giver! H is presence makes it a glorious gathering. Two believing h ea rts can have fellowship when gath ered to Him. He w alks w ith them by
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