A mutual participation in the blessings of God's grace. Believers are united with one another on the basis of their common reception of the benefits of salvation.
Fellowship and the community of God's people
God calls out a community of people, for fellowship with himself
Deuteronomy 7:6 See also Exodus 19:5–6; 1 Peter 2:5, 1 Peter 2:9–11
For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of the earth.
God will bless a people united in fellowship
Matthew 18:19–20; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Jeremiah 31:23–25; 1 Corinthians 11:29–34 Wrong relationships between God's people hinder the flow of his blessing.
God will restore fellowship with his scattered people
Micah 2:12 See also Isaiah 11:12–13; Jeremiah 3:18, Jeremiah 31:1, Jeremiah 50:4–5
I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will collect the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in the midst of its pasture — a noisy throng.
Sharing in God's grace
Fellowship in a common blessing
Psalm 106:4–5 See also Numbers 10:32; Joshua 22:19
Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor to Your people; visit me with Your salvation, that I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones, and rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, and give glory with Your inheritance.
Fellowship in a common salvation
Jude 1:3 See also 1 Corinthians 9:23 sharing in the blessings of the gospel; Philippians 1:7 sharing in God's grace; Titus 1:4 sharing a common faith; Hebrews 3:1 sharing a common calling; 1 Peter 5:1 sharing a common hope; 2 Peter 1:4 sharing the divine nature; 1 John 1:7 sharing in sanctification
Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints.
Fellowship in a common inheritance
Colossians 1:12 See also Romans 8:17; 1 Peter 3:7
giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
Fellowship in God's family
Hebrews 2:11 See also Malachi 2:10; Matthew 6:9 parallel Luke 11:2 the family prayer in which believers together address God as Father; Matthew 12:49–50 parallels Mark 3:34–35, Luke 8:21; Matthew 23:8–9
For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
Fellowship between Jew and Gentile
Ephesians 3:6 See also Romans 11:17, Romans 15:27; Ephesians 2:16–18
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.
Fellowship in holding a common truth
2 Thessalonians 2:15 See also Psalm 119:63; 1 Corinthians 11:2, 1 Corinthians 15:2–3; 2 Timothy 2:2, 2 Timothy 3:14; Titus 2:15
Therefore, brothers, stand firm and cling to the traditions we taught you, whether by speech or by letter.
Fellowship in union with Christ
1 Corinthians 10:16–17; Ephesians 2:19–22 See also Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:12, 1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 4:4–5; Colossians 1:15; 1 Peter 2:4–5
Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf.
Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit.
Fellowship through the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:13 See also Ezekiel 36:27–28; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:3; Philippians 2:1
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.