Christians and fellowship
CHAPTER 27: Of The Communion Of The Saints
(Part One)
When many of us see or hear the word “communion,” we might immediately think of the Lord’s Supper. This chapter of the Confession is not about the Lord’s Supper, but about the communion, or fellowship, of God’s people with each other.
Biblically, all believers are saints. Sainthood is not what the Roman Catholic church has invented as a way of honoring (and even worshiping) "good people” who have gone before us. No, the Bible calls all who are saved, saints (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2). The word saint is related to the word sanctified, which is related to the word holy. Saints are God’s holy ones. This holiness is not something that comes from us. It comes from God as His gift to His people. And in this life, the designation of saint (holy one) is based on His declaration of imputed holiness. Though we are to grow in holiness, until we are glorified, not a one of us is “holy as He is holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16)
The communion of the saints is the reality that we who are born again, and have been declared to be holy by God’s grace, are therefore united to each other as we are united to Christ. Jesus is our Head, and we are members of His body. As members of His body, we have fellowship with Him in His graces, His sufferings, His death, His resurrection, and His glory. And as we all share that fellowship with Him, we share in it with each other. We are, therefore, bound to conduct ourselves in a manner that seeks the good of our fellow saints, just as earnestly as we are bound to conduct ourselves in a manner that seeks to honor Jesus Himself.
(Part Two)
Believers, called saints in the Bible, are bound to maintain holy fellowship with God’s people. Those who isolate themselves from the body of Christ commit grievous error (Proverbs 18:1), not only against the Body of Christ, but against Him who is our Head.
The fellowship we are to maintain is more than gathering in a building once each week (if that). Our fellowship, or communion, is to be marked by serving each other, seeking to build one another up in the faith, seeking to meet one another’s needs, both physical and spiritual.
While believers are to serve all men, we are called to give special emphasis to serving the household of faith (Galatians 6:10). And our concern is not merely to be extended to those we know who live nearby, but to the entire household of faith as we hear of needs around the world. Truly when one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; and if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it (1 Corinthians 12:26).
May we who live in the relative ease and prosperity of the West, love, pray, and give to aid fellow saints around the world. The problems other believers encounter are our problems, too.
e:\Documents\1-Bible Study\1689\BLOG by Chapters\Chapters 27-30.doc