The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 13.11-14 and Acts 2.42-47)

As we head towards Pentecost, we’re starting a new series today on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit always brings new things. He brings new spiritual life, new vitality, new desires, new ways of looking at things, new songs, new creativity in worship. The Holy Spirit renews the church.

The best two quotes I have ever heard on the Holy Spirit are from the comedian Milton Jones and the pioneer missionary Simon Guillebaud. Jones says, “The Holy Spirit is a real person you can invite in to your home. But watch out - he will go over to the fridge, pull it from the wall and say 'What's all this mess under here?' But at least he helps clear up.” That’s brilliant; the Holy Spirit shows us our sin but he also draws us to Jesus where we can get it sorted out.

And Guillebaud says, “The biblical images to describe the work of the Holy Spirit; fire, mighty rushing wind, flood etc. are exactly the sorts of things we pay good money to insure ourselves against.” That’s true. The Holy Spirit is a bit wild. Jesus said, he’s like the wind; impetuous and unpredictable. Things can get a bit messy.

The Holy Spirit is not a domesticated pet. You know it says on some medicine bottles, "Shake well before use." That is what the Holy Spirit does with us. He often has to give us a good shake before we can be used by God.

This morning, the 9am people had a talk on the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. That means that as long as we hold fast to him, the Holy Spirit fills us with love, joy, peace and so on. You can listen to that talk on the website if you want to. But we’re going to think about the fellowship of the Holy Spirit today.

People sometimes imagine that there are supernatural Holy Spirit phenomena; gifts, miracles, signs and wonders; and there are natural things like fellowship, but let me tell you, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is a supernatural anointing.

The fellowship of the Holy Spirit is not just friendship, though the church is a place for friends. It’s more than companionship or comradeship or partnership, or relationship.

I remember once I was at a training day when I worked for Sainsbury’s and I was chatting with some people in a crowded lobby at coffee break. I put my drink down on a ledge as I was talking and when I picked it up again, it felt a bit lighter than I had remembered when I last put it down. I thought little of it but when I picked it up a minute later my cup was completely empty, with lipstick on the rim, and it dawned on me that several of us had been unwittingly drinking out of the same cup.

Maybe we can say that having a cup of tea with someone is friendship, but sharing the same cup is fellowship. I wonder how many of us would think nothing of sharing the same supersize coffee cup after the service with everyone else on our table!

As some of you know, “fellowship” is the English translation of the New Testament Greek word koinonia. I happen to be a fluent French speaker and I know that some words are straightforward to translate. Others aren’t. The French expression “n’importe quoi” is impossible to translate exactly in English because it has a range of meanings. The English word “privacy” has no precise equivalent in French either – you need half a sentence to convey in French the meaning of that one English word.

Well, there is no single English word that adequately expresses the range or depth of the Greek word koinonia. It is related to a word meaning “mutual” but it carries the sense of a deep, joint participation in something with someone else. It has the feeling of profound community, of extravagant sharing, of genuine affection and even unashamed intimacy.

The word koinonia was the one they used to describe the condition of Siamese twins, where two individuals share the same bloodstream and even some vital organs. In fact, so dependent are conjoined twins on each other, it can be very dangerous (and is often fatal) to separate them surgically.

Sharing the fellowship of the Holy Spirit together is a profound thing. When they wrote the New Testament down they had to pick a word to describe what they saw in the Christian community. There were other words for sharing, community, friendship etc but the only one that adequately depicted what was happening was the one used for Siamese twins.

In fact, I can’t think of one instance in the New Testament where the word “fellowship” is used to just describe fun times and hanging out. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot about friendship and joy in the Bible - and the early church was full of both - but that’s not even the beginning of what the fellowship of the Holy Spirit means.

Let me quickly give you three quick examples of how the word koinonia is used in the New Testament.

1. In 2 Corinthians 8, desperately poor and needy Christians in Macedonia beg to be able to sacrificially give financial aid to famine-stricken believers in Judea. It says they pleaded for the “privilege of koinonia in service to the Lord's people.”

Giving above and beyond what you know you can afford because you love brothers and sisters in Christ whom you have never even met requires amazing faith. So if you ask me what the fellowship of the Holy Spirit looks like, I will reply that it can look like recklessly irresponsible generosity.

2. When Paul wrote from his prison cell, chained to a wall, to the Christians in Philippi, he said, “I always pray with joy because of your koinonia in the gospel (Philippians 1.4-5). In the same letter he talks of one of them who risked his life for him.

What does the fellowship of the Holy Spirit look like at times of ill-treatment and oppression? It shows no embarrassment to associate with a man who has been arrested for civil disorder and remanded in custody. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit means that public disgrace for Christ is a badge of honour.

3. And then when Paul, in the cause of the gospel, gets shipwrecked spends 3 nights in the open sea, is deprived of sleep, gets bitten by snakes, beaten with rods, pelted with stones and flogged with cords he talks about the privilege, the privilege, of sharing in "the koinonia of Christ’s sufferings." (Philippians 3:10).

No wonder pagan onlookers said of the first Christians, “Look, how they love one another and how they are ready to die for each other.”

See what I mean about koinonia – one Greek word translated four different ways there; sharing, partnership, participation and fellowship.

We often close our services or prayer meetings with the words of the Grace. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, evermore.”

As we saw this morning it’s taken from the end of 2 Corinthians where it also says, “be of one mind, live in peace, and greet one another with a holy kiss.”

Look around you this morning. Would you say you are of one mind with everyone else here? How is it even possible to be of one mind? We’re so different to one another. Our experience of life is diverse. Our family backgrounds are all unique. Our genetic makeup is not the same.

Does being of one mind mean we all have to vote for the same political party, support the same football team and enjoy the same food? No, but it does mean that we go all-out to agree with each other on the essentials. I want to say a bit more about this because it’s important.

Some people talk about beliefs that are written in pencil. We may have a view about drinking alcohol, eating meat, getting tattoos, what we wear in church – things like that. It is OK to come to different conclusions about these things because either the Bible says nothing about them or it can be interpreted in several different ways. These are lifestyle issues and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit means we choose to bear with one another and we live with differences.

Then there are beliefs that are written in ink. These are beliefs that different churches handle in different ways because they understand things in a different way. Do we baptize babies of believing parents or only adults? Is Holy Communion sacramental or just symbolic? Do we have bishops or elders and can women be either? Must we be pacifists or can we support armed combat in some circumstances?

Again, we can have different convictions on these questions. We may have to decide that a certain kind of church is not for me over questions like these. But we have no liberty to say that someone else is not a Christian because they think differently than we do on these kinds of beliefs.

But then there are beliefs that are written in blood. These are core beliefs that define whether you are a Christian or not. Understanding that there is one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit is not-negotiable. Jesus coming to earth as a man, being born of a virgin, dying on a cross for our sins, and rising again from the dead are essential, not optional. Salvation by grace alone, and never by our achievements, is not up for discussion.

We can all be Christians and share the fellowship of the Holy Spirit even when we have different ideas on the pencil and ink stuff. But we exclude ourselves from the fellowship of the Holy Spirit if we reject those things that are written in blood. These are what make a Christian a Christian and that’s the basic entry requirement for the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

I love going on holiday and find another church somewhere. I never understand people who avoid looking for a church when away from home. We have found all sorts of churches on our travels. Sometimes it isn’t even in a language we can speak, but there are two words that all Christians say in every language. “Alleluia” and “Amen.” So you can praise God and you know when it’s the end!

But there’s a body language, there’s an understanding, there’s the hallmark of joy and love in a gathering of Christians. And, like a mobile phone picking up a Wi-Fi signal, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit starts when the Holy Spirit in me says hello the Holy Spirit in you, or anyone else, and it’s home, it’s family.

In Acts 2, there’s a short word sketch of a church. It is, in fact, the oldest ever description of any church. It’s a church that, in one day, went from having 120 members to having 3,120 members. That means that, overnight, each member of the original crowd had to care for and nurture 25 people each.

You can’t do that without a lot of hard work. You’ve got to welcome people in, pray with people, patiently instruct them in what it means to be a Christian, gently correct them when they make mistakes, organise them into small groups so they can grow in faith, visit those who are sick or discouraged or housebound, support those thrown out by their families. Psalm 86 says “God puts the lonely in families.” Isn’t that a beautiful thing?

No wonder in v42 it says “They devoted themselves.” Take a look at that word.

I spoke about “zeal for your house” last Sunday. This is the same deal. This is talking about unearthly levels of dedication and commitment. “Devotion” is a word that speaks of great care and attentiveness to detail, it speaks of consecration to a task, it speaks of real affection for others and their welfare; it speaks of great faith.

Where there is low devotion, you can guarantee one thing; that there is weak faith behind it.

You drive around our great cities and somewhere you will see an old church boarded up with “closed” signs outside. Did the congregations that used to fill those buildings “devote themselves” to building up the church and reaching out in mission, do you think? Did they step out in amazing faith and press in to the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit? Did they have hard-working, visionary, Spirit-filled leadership? Is that why the church closed down?

What happened? Somewhere along the line, you can be sure that the people lost their devotion. The church, over time, became apathetic and lethargic. Low levels of expectation, and passion, and commitment mean serving the poor gets neglected. Sharing faith dries up.  

And, here’s the tragic thing; what do you think the communities who lived around those great church buildings thought when the church locked its doors for the last time? Did they conclude that God must not exist? Or that the gospel has no power? Or that the Bible is no longer true? Or that the chances of them encountering God are zero?

But in Acts 2 “they devoted themselves to… [amongst other things] fellowship.” When all the members of a church are filled with the Holy Spirit, when they’re awed by the majesty and greatness of God, when they make him the highest priority in life, when they’re devoted to one another in love, when they’re committed to reaching out with the message of amazing grace… when unloved people find acceptance, when sick people find healing, when cranky people start to blossom, then a church grows.

Because who wouldn’t want to be part of a community like that? That’s what the first church was like. That’s what the last church will be like because Jesus is coming back for a perfect bride.

On the screen you can see a line; it’s a continuum of devotion. This is not a confusing diagram. On the left is low devotion. On the right is high devotion. X marks the spot. Where would you put yourself today? Would you say you are at low devotion, or mid-devotion, or high devotion? I’ll tell you something for free – I never found joy back there in low devotion.

Are you attracted, above all else, to living a cushy life and coasting towards a pleasant retirement? Do you hide behind ever-increasing levels of busyness at work to avoid higher devotion to the Lord? Life’s pains and strains - are you moaning and grumbling or are you counting it all joy for the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ? Are you a lover of money? Honestly, how high a priority in your life is advancing the gospel, lifting Jesus high, building up God’s people…?

You might ask, “Well, how can I grow in devotion?” And there are two things I want to leave you with by way of an answer.

Firstly, as a community grows closer to God, it grows closer to each other. Look at the diagram on the screen. 

The fellowship of the Holy Spirit is two-dimensional. As we grow in the vertical aspect, closer to God, we grow in the horizontal aspect, closer to one another.

See? That’s why it says in 1 John 5, “Here’s how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.” You can’t grow in friendship with God without growing in fellowship with one another.

The second way to grow in devotion is to die to everything that hinders it. Jesus said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

Sometimes other things, other distractions, other ambitions, need to die for the greater vision of the increase of God’s kingdom. Does anything need to die today?

Let’s pray…


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 24 April 2016