Fellowship With Us

1 John 1:3 - We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:9 - God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

John 15:2,4-5 - He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful…Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Colossians 1:18 - And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

Conclusions:

• “Fellowship with us” means participation with us in our experience of hearing, seeing and teaching the incarnate Christ
• Fellowship is the spiritual union of the believer with Christ—as described in the figures of the vine and branches and the body and the head—as well as communion with the Father and with fellow believers
• God may be trusted to do what He has promised, namely, to keep believers strong to the end
• “Cuts off” is a reference to judgment
• Pruning produces fruitfulness
• In the New Testament the figure of good fruit represents the product of a godly life or virtues of character
• The believer has no fruitfulness apart from his union and fellowship with Christ
• A branch out of contact with the vine is useless
• Jesus is emphasizing that He is the vine
• A living union with Christ is absolutely necessary; without it there is nothing
• Christ is the beginning of the new creation
• Christ was the first to rise from the dead with a resurrection body
• Elsewhere Paul calls Him the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep
• Others who were raised from the dead were raised only to die again

Application:

• Do you have a spiritual union with Christ?
• Is God keeping you strong to the end?
• Is your life godly or virtuous?
• Do you have fruitfulness?
• Do you have a living union with Christ?
• Is Christ your head?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible