Hymns 737
Scripture Reading:
1 John 1:2-3 (And the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us); That which we have seen and heard we report also to you that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
THE SOURCE OF THE FELLOWSHIP OF LIFE
Where does the fellowship of life come from? What is its cause? And from what is it derived? 1 John 1:2-3 says: “We (the Apostles)…show unto you (the believers) the eternal life…that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” These verses show that the Apostles preached unto us “the eternal life” so that we may have “fellowship.” (The Knowledge of Life, p. 55)
THE RESPONSIBILITY TOWARD THE FELLOWSHIP OF LIFE
If we want to continue in the fellowship of the Lord’s life, we must abide in the Lord, according to the teaching of the anointing. We must obey the teaching of the anointing. In the previous chapter, we saw that the teaching of the anointing is the operation of the Holy Spirit in us. We must obey the Holy Spirit’s operation in us and abide in the Lord according to this operation. In this way we can live in the fellowship of the Lord’s life without interruption. As soon as we disobey the operation of the Holy Spirit, however, our fellowship with the Lord will be broken.
If we live in the fellowship of the Lord’s life, we are indeed in the light of life. This light of life causes us to see our sins. Once we see our sins, that is, once we are conscious of them in the fellowship of the light of life, we must confess our sins to God. If we are willing to confess our sins to God, we will be forgiven and cleansed by God. We will then be brought more deeply into the fellowship of the Lord’s life. If we do not confess our sins, they will remain with us and cause our fellowship with the Lord to be broken.
THE RESULTS OF THE FELLOWSHIP OF LIFE
Receiving God’s Light
And this is the message which we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)
Gaining the Cleansing of the Blood
When in the fellowship of life we are enlightened by the Lord’s light of life to see our sins and confess them to God, the blood of the Lord cleanness us from our sins.
Gaining the Lord’s Abiding
When we abide in the Lord, we have the Lord’s abiding in us. When the Lord abides in us, He becomes our life, power, joy, peace, and all the riches of His life in our practical experience.
Bearing Much Fruit to Glorify God
As the branch abides in the vine with no barrier between itself and the vine and thus receives the supply of rich sap bears much fruit, so also we who abide in the Lord and fellowship with the Lord receive the supply of the Lord’s life and bear much fruit. (Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, vol. 2, ch. 22)
Further Reading: The Knowledge of Life, msg. 6; Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, vol. 2, ch. 22; CWWL, 1963, vol. 1, “Miscellaneous Messages,” ch. 6; Life Lessons, lsn. 31
