2 days ago

What Is the Church? (5): The Fellowship of God’s Son & Spiritual Persons vs. Fleshly Boasting

When the apostle Paul tells us that God has called us into “the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,” he is not writing his letter to the Ephesians. That is where we might have placed such a word, since that letter describes God’s eternal purpose and the heavenly calling and standing of the church. Rather, he makes this wonderful declaration when he is speaking to the messy church in Corinth! (1 Cor. 1:9).
No doubt, this is the wisdom of God, to show us that the fellowship of His Son, while it is indeed heavenly in nature, must be worked out practically in what is often a very messy church life here on the earth.
In particular, we could say that what we see in the opening chapters of 1 Corinthians, where we find this statement, is Paul’s dealing with the matter of divisions in the church. At a deeper level, however, Paul is actually dealing with our fleshly tendency to exalt ourselves by boasting in something other than Christ (1:29, 31, 3:21), which will always result in jealousy, strife, and divisions.
But also, we see in these chapters in a positive way that to be in the New Testament fellowship of God’s Son practically, we must be those who are dealt with by the Lord and His cross to become, not simply those who have the Spirit of God, but those who are genuinely spiritual persons. In fact, no other portion of the New Testament shows us so clearly what it really means to be a spiritual person.
To download the pamphlet we use as the basis for this study, go to this page:
“What Is God’s Purpose for the Church?”

To view the pamphlet online,
go to the “Look Inside” page.

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Bible Verses for this Episode

See Episode #133: “The Fellowship of God’s Son and Spiritual Persons vs Fleshy Boasting”

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RESOURCES
Pamphlet: “What Is God’s Purpose for the Church?”
Look Inside: “What Is God’s Purpose for the Church?”

Note: “The Bible in One Verse”
Video: “How I Found the New Testament Fellowship”
Podcast Series: “Spirit and Soul and Body”

Previous Episodes in this Series:
Podcast Series: “What Is the Church?”

Books
Witness Lee, The New Testament: Recovery Version
J.N. Darby, “The Nature and Unity of the Church”
Witness Lee, The Life and Way for the Practice of the Church Life
Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Church Life
E.H. Broadbent, The Pilgrim Church