Biblical Fellowship: Vertically Empowered by the Holy Spirit (2)
The Church and Biblical Fellowship • Sermon • Submitted
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Biblical fellowship is the Christ centered, Spirit empowered, affectionate, humble, and selfless sharing of our lives with one another. Paul declares our faithful God “called us into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor 1:9). The single element that connects every believer is Jesus Christ – nothing else. Additionally, as we will look at further today, our relationship in Christ leads to a fellowship with the Holy Spirit and a fellowship with others empowered by the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 13:13; Phil 1:2). These two vertical realities (fellowship with Christ and fellowship with the Spirit), manifest themselves vertically in fellowship with other believers. Luke reveals in Acts 2:42 that the early church committed itself to four foundational elements: the apostles teachings, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers. As revealed in 2:44-45 and 4:32, we realize their fellowship consisted a sharing of their lives with one another – a sharing of their time, energy, abilities, and finances with one another. Finally, Paul further describes in Philippians 2:1-4 the manner in which the church practiced fellowship. They affectionately, selflessly, and humbly shared their lives together. Those elements combined equate to biblical fellowship.
We have yet to look at one of these elements. Paul reveals in both 2 Corinthians 13:13 and Philippians 2:1 that the Holy Spirit empowers biblical fellowship.
2 Corinthians 13:14
2 Corinthians 13:14
[Brief note about 13:13/13:14][1]
In his benediction to his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul unfolds the supernatural power behind biblical fellowship. By means of a unique closing, Paul reveals biblical fellowship to be empowered by the Holy Spirit and rooted in the grace of Christ. Paul writes, in the epistle’s conclusion, “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship (koinonia) of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor 13:14).
Koinonia of the Spirit. Paul intends to communicate either a fellowship empowered by the Holy Spirit (subjective genitive) or a participation with the Holy Spirit (objective genitive).[2] Garland believes injustice is done “to the richness of Paul’s thought” if the decision remains an either/or and suggests “plenary genitive which incorporates both ideas.”[3] Ralph Martin concludes, “maybe the answer lies in viewing Paul as meaning in the third clause both the fellowship created by the Holy Spirit and the fellowship with the Holy Spirit.”[4] Regardless the interpretive conclusion, Kruse acknowledges, “Both ideas are true and are found elsewhere in Paul’s letters…Christians can share ‘objectively’ in the Spirit only if the Holy Spirit himself as subject makes that participation possible.”[5]
Christians experience both forms of fellowship – with the Spirit and with one another because of the Spirit. (1) We experience fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Christ promised this fellowship with the Spirit in John 16. Paul informs the Roman Christians that “the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirits” (Rom 8:16). Paul as well tells the Corinthian believers that Spirit indwells them (1 Cor 3:16). (2) But, we also experience fellowship with others due to the Spirit’s empowerment. Paul speaks of unity produced through the Spirit in his letter to the Ephesians (4:3), and again he writes of how the Spirit produces joy as believers receive the word amid affliction (1 Thess 1:6).
Both God’s love and Spirit’s fellowship due grace in Christ. Due to the grace received through Christ, believers experience both God’s love and fellowship with the Spirit and fellowship with others empowered by the Spirit. [6] Paul encourages the Romans that nothing can separate them “from the love of God” that comes through Jesus Christ (Rom 8:39), and God displayed his greatest manifestation of love “in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8).
Philippians 2:1
Philippians 2:1
Paul employs a similar trinitarian formula in the body of his letter to the Philippians as he did in the conclusion of 2 Corinthians, although with slight variance. Paul intends to emphasize unity among believers as he writes, “complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (Phil 2:2). However, for unity to be produced, Paul first outlines four conditional clauses, each consisting of “if there is any.”[7] While if often implies a level of uncertainty, these clauses should be read with certainty. Since these things should be true – make my joy complete. Paul first reminds these believers what they share in common. Since you share encouragement in Christ, and since you share comfort from God’s love, and since you share the fellowship of the Spirit, and since you share affection and sympathy – be united, don’t be selfish, be humble, and look out for each other.
Paul begins the four conditional clauses with “if any encouragement in Christ.”[8] In this first phrase, Paul grounds the “fellowship of the Spirit” in the grace already experienced by believers through their connection with Christ. In the second phrase, Paul emphasizes “any comfort from love.” BDAG translates the verse as “if there is any solace afforded by love.”[9] Paul’s choice, however, to exclude a referent offers some confusion.[10] Setting aside a discussion about the absence of “God” from the phrase, Paul seems to connect God’s grace to the grace and encouragement experienced in Christ, leading once again to the fellowship in the Spirit. For the third conditional clause, Paul writes, “if any fellowship (koinonia) of the Spirit.” Gordon Fee succinctly summarizes, “the Spirit is the empowering agent of all that God is currently doing among them.”[11] Through the Spirit believers come to know God. Through the Spirit believers are united in Christ. And, through the Spirit believers are united to one another.
Without this work of the Spirit, we may be able to manufacture some type of fellowship but it won’t be biblical fellowship.
Caution & Encouragement
Caution & Encouragement
Caution: Do not attempt to manufacture biblical fellowship outside the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Because we know that horizontal fellowship is important, churches often try to manufacture fellowship instead of it flowing from their connection with Christ and the working of the Spirit. This occurs whenever we sense a weakness in relationships, so we look for connection points and commonalities other than simply resting in our commonality in Christ. Christ is more than sufficient. You do not need any other commonality. Commonalities, other than Christ, may be present and enjoyable but are unnecessary and sometimes even distracting. Vertical koinonia results in horizontal koinonia, not the reverse. Biblical fellowship will only involve those who have experienced God’s love through the grace experienced in Christ which is empowered and continued by the Holy Spirit.
Encouragement: Pursue fellowship with the Spirit for enhanced fellowship with other believers (Eph 4:3). Even though biblical fellowship occurs as the Holy Spirit empowers it, Christians must also pursue ongoing fellowship with the Spirit to produce healthy horizontal fellowship with others. We must be sensitive to his conviction and prodding. We must come in prayer and commune with him. We must desire the Spirit’s illumination through time in his Word.
Talking about the subjective work of the Holy Spirit can be challenging, but let’s give it a go. Attempt to recall a time in which you were aware of a brother or sister in need and you felt prompted to help. That is likely the work of the Spirit – specifically when that prompting is not motivated by shame of some kind. People in your church are in need. You have proper motivation, and sense the Spirit’s prompting to sacrifice yourself for another. As you submit to the Spirit’s work, you experience the empowering work of the Spirit and enact the horizontal manifestation of biblical fellowship. You share your life with a brother or sister in Christ empowered by the Spirit. That’s biblical fellowship.
Now consider what happens when you don’t submit to the Spirit’s leading.
Footnotes
Footnotes
[1] Bruce Metzger acknowledges the text of 2 Corinthians 13:14 “is decisively supported.” Different Greek manuscripts and translations do, however, offer different numbering to the verses. For example, USB4 includes the text (of verse fourteen) but numbers it as thirteen, whereas USB5 numbers the text as fourteen. Similarly, other translations and manuscripts place the text in verse thirteen (NA27, SBLGNT, Westcott and Hort), whereas others number the text as verse fourteen (Byzantine Textform, Cambridge Greek New Testament, Scrivener). Even though disparity exists with numbering, no controversy exists as to its presence in Paul’s conclusion.
Bruce Manning Metzger and United Bible Societies, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament: A Companion Volume to the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament, 4th Revised Edition (London, New York: United Bible Societies, 1994), 519.
[2] Commentators offer a lot of discussion on this topic. I referenced the following commentators and came to understand that the phrases are most likely subjective (empowered by the Spirit), but it is very possible that Paul intended both meanings. If he didn’t in this text, he does discuss both aspects in other writings.
David E. Garland, 2 Corinthians, vol. 29, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1999), 556. Ralph P Martin, 2 Corinthians, vol. 40 of Word Biblical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 698. Paul Barnett, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1997), 618.
[3] Garland, 2 Corinthians, 29:556.
[4] Martin, 2 Corinthians, vol. 40, 694.
[5] Colin G. Kruse, 2 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. Eckhard J. Schnabel, Second Edition, vol. 8, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2015), 287.
[6] “The verse does not describe relationships within the Trinity but the chronological order (so to speak) of the believer’s experience of God: we come to Christ and so encounter God and then receive his Spirit.” Murray J. Harris, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Milton Keynes, UK: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.; Paternoster Press, 2005), 938.
[7] Some modern versions do not include “if there is any” after each clause (ESV, NET; however KJV, NAS, NLT do include some form of ei tis) – even though the Greek does include the ei tis wording in front of each of the four sets of two substantives.
[8] Most commentators translate paraklesis as “encouragement” instead of “exhortation” [Ralph P. Martin, Philippians, vol. 11, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1987), 97–98; Gordon D. Fee, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995), 179–80; Richard R. Melick, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, vol. 32, The New American Commentary (Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1991), 93; Panikulam, “Koinōnia” in the New Testament, 74–75.] Lexicons do offer both terms as potential nuances. [Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 766; Friberg, Friberg, and Miller, Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 296.
[9] Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 769.
[10] Fee, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, 180–81. “If our observations on the possible Trinitarian substructure of the passage are correct, then Paul is referring to the experience of God’s love, lavished on the Philippians—and him—in Christ and “shed abroad in their hearts” by the Spirit (Rom 5:5). Two things make one think so: that this clause falls between the mention of Christ and the Spirit, and with the same language (in the case of the Father and the Spirit), as in 2 Cor 13:13 (14); and that “love,” in keeping with Paul’s OT roots, is most often expressed as from God, whose “love” for his people is the ultimate predicate of everything that God has done on their behalf. It is that “same kind of love” to which he will appeal in the apodosis that follows.”
[11] Gordon D. Fee, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995), 182.