A L M A C I A S

ARE WE IN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD?

One of the most wonderful things that existed in the beginning between God and man was fellowship. When God first created Adam and Eve, they were created without any sin in their lives; and, therefore, fellowship between them and God existed. But after they were put in the Garden of Eden, they were told that they could eat from all of the trees in the garden except one, for if they ever ate from that particular tree, they would surely die. Now we all understand that God was here referring to spiritual death. So when they disobeyed and ate of the tree which was forbidden, they not only died spiritually but they broke the fellowship that existed between them and God. This is why it was necessary that the Lord come to this that man could have a way of being in fellowship with God again.

As we study 1 John 1:3-7, we read the following:
"That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth; But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and His Son cleanseth us from all sin."

There are several lessons that we can learn from this passage of Scripture. The apostle John showed here that having fellowship with the apostles would mean that we also have fellowship with the Father as well as with the Son. I have heard through the years of some preachers who believe that all that matters is being in the right "camp" of preachers. What I mean by being in the right "camp" of preachers is being associated with those who are the most highly-respected in the brotherhood. I do not have anything against having great respect toward those who have done much for the brotherhood in the past, but one thing we all must understand is that all of those brethren who are so highly respected for their work's sake were not inspired men. The apostle John, writing by inspiration, instructed us here in this passage that what really matters is being in fellowship with the Father, as well as with the Son. And for us to be able to be in fellowship with the Father and the Son, we must preach the message that we have received from God. We must all compare doctrinal matters with what the Word of God says. When the apostle John wrote the epistle of 1 John, he made it abundantly clear that he and the other apostles were only declaring that message that they had heard and seen. They had made no changes, no additions, no subtractions, no substitutions. So whenever we find ourselves in disagreement with any of the brethren, let us all remember that it is what God has to say in the matter that really counts. Let us remember that if we want to be in fellowship with God, we must declare only that message that God has given us and no other message.