Last Saturday I heard a very good word at a Bible Study my friends here in the Willamette Valley attend . It was a discussion about the difference between the words relationship and fellowship . It really pushed me into searching the scriptures ....I have had a lot of really nice photo opportunities this week , but this was the Highlight of the week for me . I Love how God can use any church , any person , any place to minister and teach us !!!!
Isaiah 42:5
This is what God the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches
them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives
breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
Every one of us on Planet earth has a relationship with God . Everyone
. He is our creator , We are here because He formed us , He gave life to our
Ancestors . God is the First cause of creation . IN Him ( all of us ) move and
have our being . In Him all things are held together . This " relationship
with God " will not change , even if we have denied Him , even if we are
unfaithful to Him , even if we do not know Him . This is human kinds first
relationship to God . He is our creator ...
Ephesians 2: 1-5
As for you, you were dead
in your transgressions and sins, in which you
used to live
when you followed the ways of this world
and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air,
the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
3 All of us
also lived among them at one time,
gratifying the cravings of our flesh and
following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving
of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us,
God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even
when we were dead in transgressions—it
is by grace you have been saved
is there a possibility that we confuse the word Relationship with
Fellowship ? And is there a possibility that this confusion seeps into our
biblical understanding and Theology ?
We have no Choice , when it comes to our " relationship " with God . He is
our Father . And because of our estranged position with Him we are unable to
have fellowship with Him ...Unless ....He reaches out to us ....and invites us
to have fellowship with Him ..His invitation begins with a change of heart .
Our change of heart and He Changes our hearts ..He changes our nature so that we
recognize Him as our Father .
Salvation is God's Sovereign choice . And once He chooses ...He makes a
very bold claim . He says We are saved to the Uttermost . we are saved " once
and for all" . We have a new relationship with God He is our creator ,and our
redeemer .
And here is where it gets interesting.
1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we
have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us
from all sin.
The basics :
God is our Father / Creator
Nothing will change that
wether or not we acknowledge or accept that fact it is true .
We have a relationship with God .
But are we in Fellowship with God ?
His relationship with us is unconditional ....Our fellowship with Him is
conditional .
Our actions do not change our relationship , but "our" actions do affect
our Fellowship
It is our actions that affect our Fellowship with God . not the actions of
others .
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