The relationship with God, disrupted by sin yet established through Jesus Christ, which provides the only proper basis for true human fellowship. God's desire for fellowship with humanity is made known through his calling of a people to be his own and to reflect his holiness and love.
God's fellowship with his people is shown by his presence
God's presence with Israel
Leviticus 26:12 See also Exodus 33:14; Isaiah 63:9; Haggai 1:13
I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people.
God's presence in the tabernacle
Exodus 25:8 See also Exodus 29:45–46, Exodus 40:34–36; Leviticus 26:11; Deuteronomy 12:11
And they are to make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them.
God's presence in the temple
1 Kings 6:12–13 See also 1 Kings 8:29 parallel 2 Chronicles 6:20; 2 Chronicles 7:1–2; Isaiah 6:1
“As for this temple you are building, if you walk in My statutes, carry out My ordinances, and keep all My commandments by walking in them, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father David. And I will dwell among the Israelites and will not abandon My people Israel.”
God's presence in the new Jerusalem
Zechariah 2:10–13 See also Ezekiel 37:26–28, Ezekiel 43:4–7, Ezekiel 48:35; Revelation 21:3
“Shout for joy and be glad, O Daughter of Zion, for I am coming to dwell among you,” declares the LORD. “On that day many nations will join themselves to the LORD, and they will become My people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you. And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His portion in the Holy Land, and He will once again choose Jerusalem. Be silent before the LORD, all people, for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.”
The church's fellowship with God
Fellowship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
John 14:23 See also John 14:7, John 14:16–17 fellowship with the Spirit
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
Fellowship is made possible through Jesus Christ
Ephesians 2:18–19 See also Romans 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:18–19; Colossians 1:20–22; Hebrews 10:19–22
For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household,
Fellowship with Jesus Christ
1 Corinthians 1:9 See also Matthew 28:20 Jesus Christ's presence with his disciples; John 15:4–5 abiding in Christ; Romans 6:4–5 united with Christ in his death and resurrection; 1 Corinthians 10:15–16 communion with Christ at the Lord's Supper; Philippians 3:10 sharing in Christ's sufferings
God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
Fellowship with God is inseparable from fellowship with one another
1 John 1:3 See also Matthew 18:20; Mark 9:37; John 17:21; 2 Corinthians 13:11
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
The demands of fellowship with God
Holiness
Leviticus 20:26; 2 Corinthians 6:14–18 See also Exodus 34:12–14; Ezra 6:21; 1 Corinthians 5:11; Ephesians 5:8–11; James 4:4
You are to be holy to Me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own.
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
Obedience to God's will
1 John 3:24 See also Isaiah 57:15; Matthew 12:49–50 parallels Mark 3:34–35, Luke 8:21; John 14:21
Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us.
Sin separates people from fellowship with God
Isaiah 59:2; 1 John 1:5–6 See also Genesis 3:8; Ezekiel 39:23
But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.
And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
Examples of fellowship with God
Genesis 5:22 Enoch; Genesis 6:9 Noah; 2 Chronicles 20:7 Abraham; Exodus 33:11; Numbers 12:3; Joshua 1:9 Joshua; Malachi 2:6 Levi
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.