Kingdom Relationships Produce Fellowship
by Pastor Raymond Cullen
Principle #1-Fellowship
Kingdom Relationships consists of four foundational principles: fellowship, friendship, discipleship and stewardship.
Koinonia is Greek for fellowship. It also means association, community, communion, joint participation, intercourse. These are goals society attempts to obtain without working to build proper relationships. Many feel if you are a fellow and you board the ship, then you have fellowship. Of course, it’s not that simple! But that is where it all begins. You have to be related, then learn how to relate. Acts 2:38, 41-42 reads, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers.” Here, we have the instructions on how to begin our kingdom relationship. It starts with repentance, meaning, to change the way we feel and think about sin, then being baptized or submerged into Jesus, who God has anointed to forgive our sins. This is where He becomes our Lord or Master, when we become submitted under His leadership by His Word. Then, we must receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who gives us power over sin. Again, the steps to a true kingdom relationship are described in Acts 2:38, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” So, Peter tells us to repent or turn to God. Next, submit to Jesus so our sins can be forgiven and finally, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who will teach us how to live.
The next step that comes out of a kingdom relationship shows the direct result of obedience to the Word of God, along with submission to spiritual authority while prayerfully serving and sharing with one another. Verse 42 tells us, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” This is the description of how the church of Jesus Christ was birthed and how I believe we are to flow until He returns. And isn’t it strange how His church is related, yet has a hard time relating with one another? The Bible is loaded with instructions on how to build and maintain healthy relationships of every type, yet His church or His body does not appear to be aware. Could it be because we’ve gotten away from actually obeying the Word? If we come together for worship services, yet fail to relate with brotherly love, according to the Bible, we are not engaging in true fellowship. In fact, according to the Apostle Paul, we’re like sounding brass and tinkling symbols. That means we’re just making noise… loud noise.
As you can plainly see, fellowship is of the utmost importance when it comes to kingdom relationships. We have much work to do in this area, but I’ll leave you with these words of encouragement from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Matthew 16: 18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” We have to ask ourselves if we are HIS church, and then, measure our response based on the Word of God. Are we or are we not?
Edited by Tiffany Buckner