«　WEEK 4　DAY 1　»

　　1 John 1:2-3 (And the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us); that which we have seen and heard we report also to you that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

　　[We need to see] the intrinsic fellowship of the churches for their organic relationship. The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia, meaning “joint participation, common participation.” This is a very sweet term, but it is difficult to get the proper, accurate, adequate, and equivalent term in the English language.… [The proper meaning has been spoiled.] To some, fellowship is “socializing.” Many people…have some form of worship, but their main interest is in socializing with one another. We must drop such a degraded concept. Our understanding of “fellowship” should be according to the pure Word of God.

　　The intrinsic fellowship of the churches is the flow of the divine life among and through all the members of the organic Body of Christ (John 1:1-4). (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to Be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God,” p. 307)

　　[In 1 John 1:1-4] John is reporting to us that which he saw and heard. He had heard, seen, and even handled the Word of life [v. 1], which is the eternal life. Now he is testifying and reporting to us the eternal life [v. 2]. Then [in verse 3] John goes on to say that he reported what he had seen and heard, not that we might have “life” but that we might have “fellowship.”… At this point John uses another word to replace the word life. The apostles saw and heard life, and they reported life, but it was for a strong purpose. John was saying, “We report to you life with the strong purpose that you may have fellowship with us.”…”Our fellowship,” the apostles’ fellowship, is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. They report the Son as life to us that we may share this fellowship with them. Then in verse 4, John says, “These things we write that our joy may be made full.” The apostles would be happy to see that the believers would have what they have. What they have is fellowship with the Father and the Son.

　　There are three major points we need to see when we study the significance of fellowship in the first four verses of 1 John 1. First, fellowship is something of the divine life. Second, this fellowship is the apostles’ fellowship. Third, the apostles expected to see that the believers would share in this fellowship. When we say that this fellowship is something of life, we mean that it is the flow of the divine life. It is the issue of the eternal life and is actually the flow of the eternal life within all the believers who have received and possess the divine life.

　　The divine life flows. At the conclusion of the Bible the last chapter of Revelation gives us quite a meaningful picture. There is the throne of God and of the Lamb (22:1). Out of this throne proceeds a current, a flow, which is the flow of the water of life, and this flow is a river.

　　It may help us to understand this fellowship, this flow of the divine life, if we consider the circulation of blood in our human body. There is only one circulation of blood in our body, and it reaches every member of our body. No member of our physical body is independently autonomous of the other members. All the members of the body participate in the one blood circulation. There are many members but only one flow of blood. The intrinsic element of the human body is its blood. This circulation of blood in our human body is a picture of the intrinsic fellowship in the Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to Be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God,” pp. 308-309)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to Be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God,” ch. 4