Who Has Fellowship With God

WHO HAS FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD?

1 John 1: 1-4

I want to show you a list here and I want to tell you what is significant about this list:

Docetists, Cerenthians, Ebionites, Denialists, Ascetics, Monastics, Essenes, Libertines, Judaizers.

These are just a few of the philosophical groups that existed at the time John wrote this letter…and even though each group had different ideas and teachings…they all claimed to have fellowship with God.

For instance, the Ascetics believed that the human spirit was totally good and this physical body was totally evil…therefore, to be in fellowship with God…to be pleasing to God…you had to deprive the body of any and all pleasures and desires.

That means you had to starve the body…couldn’t clean the body…couldn’t get married.
By depriving and punishing the body you could be pleasing to God…and thus have fellowship with God.

But the Monastics believed the only way to stay pure and right with God was to withdraw from society.

This is where we get the word “monastery” from.
Again, it had the idea behind it of depriving the physical body in order to stay pure for God.
Thus having fellowship with God.

But then the Libertines believed that the body and the spirit were completely separate and unrelated.

Therefore, you could do whatever you wanted in the flesh and never stain the spirit.
Their idea was, the physical has no bearing on the spirit…therefore, you could sin all you wanted and still go to heaven, because spiritually you are always in fellowship with God.

The Docetists, Cerenthians, Ebionites, and Denialists were different in that all, in some form or fashion denied Christ.

They said that Christ was either all man and no deity at all.
Or that he was all deity…and not man at all.
Or if he was deity, he was only an emanation of the Father and could not possibly be equal to God.
Therefore, the only way you could have fellowship with God was through some mystical ritual…or secret word…or some angel or spiritual being who gave you access to God.

The Judaizers said that Jesus was good…but he wasn’t good enough…so they wanted to combine him with a system of laws and rituals that had to be kept…and only through those could you have fellowship with God.

So, all of these groups, as different as they were, claimed to have fellowship with God…and claimed to have special insights on how to maintain that fellowship.

And all of these claims of fellowship were confusing the Christians that John was writing too.

“Maybe all of us are in fellowship with God.”
““Maybe I can sin all I want and have fellowship with God too.”
“Maybe I need someone or something else other than Christ too.”

Some of these Christians were so confused that they were tempted to do what some of these people were doing.

Now, look at this list: Baptist, Methodists, Catholic, Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon, Lutheran, Muslim, Episcopal, Church of Christ, First Christian, Assembly of God, Presbyterian, Apostolic, Jewish, 7^th Day Adventist, Greek Othodox, Baha u’ llah

Now, all of these groups today claim to have fellowship with God.

Even though they all have different teachings and ideas on what it takes to be saved.
Even though some deny Christ as being deity.
Even though some deny Christ as ever being a man.
Even though some deny Christ as the only one through which salvation has come.
Even though some still practice a religion of law keeping.
Even though some say that Jesus is not good enough.
All of these claim to have fellowship with God.

And just like when John wrote this letter, their claims of fellowship or partnership with God is causing confusion today too.

“It doesn’t matter what you believe.”
“We are all going to heaven, just different ways of getting there.”

People are so confused about what it takes to be in fellowship with God that everyone claims fellowship even if they seldom or never assemble to worship God.

So how do we know? Can you and I know whether we have fellowship with God or not?

Well, look at verse 3 again. John says: “What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.”

And now notice verse 4: “And these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.”

John’s primary purpose for writing this letter is to tell us how to have fellowship with God, with Christ, and with John and the other apostles.

Listen, men can have a horizontal fellowship all they want…they can fellowship one another all they want.

And these do.
But if there is no vertical fellowship…no fellowship with the Father and His Son…then their fellowship is spiritually worthless.

John says here that you can have fellowship with the Father, and the Son and others who are in fellowship with them…and in this letter he tells us who has that fellowship with them.

But on the negative side, he tells us who doesn’t have fellowship with God.

So, let’s go through this and look at some requirements for fellowship…and as we do, let’s each ask ourselves, “Am I in fellowship with God, His Son, and the apostles?”

Look at verse 5 and 6: “And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him, and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

You/I can claim fellowship all we want but fellowship is not simply a matter of saying we have it.

It is not simply a matter of talk…it includes your walk!

And notice this, John is not talking here about how good a man walks…he isn’t saying that man has to walk perfectly.

John is dealing with where a man walks…does he walk in the light?
Are you walking according to God’s word…and God’s will…striving to do what is right?

You/I can claim fellowship with God but if we are living a life of sin…if we are deliberately ignoring the truth of God’s word.

If we are not walking with God and striving to do what He wants…there is no fellowship.

Now, look at verse 8. “If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

Two things here.

First, people who have fellowship with God agree with what He says.

They do not deny the word of God.
They do not make Him to be a liar.

If God says we are a sinner but we say “we are not”…then we make Him a liar.

If God says there is a hell…and we say there isn’t…we make Him a liar.
If God says He can save…and we say He can’t…we make Him a liar.
If God says we must be baptized…and we say you don’t…we make Him a liar.
When God says something…and we deny it and say something else either by our words, or actions…we make Him a liar.
- And when we do…there is no fellowship.

And the second thing in this passage…anyone who denies they are a sinner…has no fellowship with God. Let me show you why.

Sin separates you from God.
In verse 9, your sins can be forgiven if we will confess that we are a sinner.
But the man who claims to have no sin is not going to confess that He is a sinner…because he claims not to have any…
No acknowledgment of sin…no need for God or forgiveness…no forgiveness…no fellowship.

Now, look at chapter 2:3. John starts with some practical matters concerning fellowship. He says: “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.”

If we are going to have fellowship with God…we must keep His commandments.

Can we choose a few we don’t want to obey?

I mean, can we just look at some of His commandments in here and say, “I don’t want to do this one…or He doesn’t mean that one…or I don’t believe this one”…can I still have fellowship with God?

Now, whenever I violate his command out of human weakness…or even out of rebellion and am sorry for that…and repent of that…and turn to Christ to forgive me and strive from then on to keep His commands…I can have fellowship.

But if I willfully and continually disobey any of the Lord’s commands can I stay in fellowship?
I cannot say, “I just refuse to do that”, because when I do guess who just got voted Lord?
I did…I just voted myself Lord.

Keeping the commands of God is necessary for keeping fellowship. In fact, look at verse 4: “The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him.”

To have fellowship with God, the Son, and the apostles…you must obey His commands.

Now, look at verse 9. “The one who says he is in the light (this is where fellowship is; 1:6) and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded him.”

Some people write and say hate-filled things about other brothers who they do not agree with…or the brother that has gone astray.

Listen, there is a brotherly way to deal with those who you do not agree with…or who have gone astray.
To have fellowship with God…you must love your brother or sister in Christ…regardless.
And anyone who does not love his brother…is not in fellowship with God.

Now, look at verse 22. “Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.”

Do you see how John refers to Christ in this verse?
He calls Him Jesus…the Christ…and the Son.
That is not accidental.
Time and time again John uses these three names to refer to Jesus.

Why? Because Jesus is His human name…that says He is man.

“Christ” means “Messiah” which means He is “God’s anointed” or “the one sent from God.”
And “Son” means He is like nature with God…He is deity.
Anyone who denies that Jesus was a man…that He is the Messiah…and that He is deity…that person is the anti-Christ.
And He has no fellowship with God.

If you want to know if someone has fellowship with God…watch what they say about Christ.

One last mark of fellowship. Look at 2 John verse 9.

“Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.”

Listen, the fellowship with God, the Son and the apostles…is not a wide open fellowship.
It does not just accept anyone with wide open arms.
They may be as nice as they can be…and as sincere in what they believe as they can be.
And they can give the appearance of being very religious and spiritual.
And they can even claim a belief in Christ.
But if they go beyond the teachings of Christ…if they go beyond what is written there is no fellowship.

You see, it is more than just claiming a faith in God and Christ that gives one fellowship with God, the Son, the apostles, and the rest who have fellowship with them.

It takes walking in the light, acknowledging that we are sinners, being in agreement with what God says, keeping the commandments of God, loving your brother, acknowledging Christ as a man, as the Messiah, and as deity, and abiding in the teachings of Jesus.

This is what it takes to have fellowship with God, the Son, and the apostles. If you/I do these things, then we can know that we have fellowship.

If we do not do these things…then there is no fellowship for us…or anyone else.

Now, how many of these have fellowship with God?

And more important than that…Do you/I have fellowship with God?
Are we walking in the light?
Are we depending on Him for the forgiveness of our sins?
Are we keeping His commands?
Do we love our brothers and sisters in Christ?
Do we believe that Jesus is truly the Messiah and the Son of God?
Are we abiding in His word?

If not, repent, and come back into fellowship. Never been…then obey His command…