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At the beginning of his first letter to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul tells us,

God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
— 1 Corinthians 1:9

What a wonderful declaration is this! As the believers in Christ, God has called us into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord! It is not the fellowship of any person, teaching, or practice, but the unique fellowship of the Son of God.

And yet, just after saying this, Paul has to implore the saints in Corinth that there would be “no divisions” among them. He had to do this, because they had already begun to form parties around the different servants of the Lord:

Now I mean this, that each of you says, I indeed am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ.
— 1 Corinthians 1:12

So here we see that, while the fellowship of God’s Son is in itself something wonderful, when we seek to enter into this fellowship on the earth, the situation often becomes quite messy. Thus, as we see in opening chapters of 1 Corinthians, to actually have the fellowship of God’s Son requires that we as the believers in Christ experience the cross of Christ and grow in Christ.

Length: 56 minutes

To download the pamphlet we use as
the basis for this study, go to this page:
“What Is God’s Purpose for the Church?”

To view the pamphlet online,
go to the “Look Inside” page.

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RESOURCES

Pamphlet: “What Is God’s Purpose for the Church?”

Previous Episode in this Series:
#129: “The Church (1): The Fullness of Christ”
#130: “The Church (2): The Body of Christ & His Many Members”
#131: “The Church (3): God’s Family & the Fellowship of God’s Son”

Video: “How I Became a Christian”
Video: “How I Found the New Testament Fellowship”

Books
Witness Lee The New Testament: Recovery Version
J.N. Darby: “The Nature and Unity of the Church”
Witness Lee, The Life and Way for the Practice of the Church Life
Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Church Life
E.H. Broadbent, The Pilgrim Church

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BIBLE VERSES REFERENCED
IN THIS EPISODE

Ephesians 1:22-23: The Body, the fullness of Christ.
Romans 12:4-5, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13: The many members of Christ.
John 1:12-13, 3:3-8, 2 Peter 1:4: Born anew with the divine life and nature.
Ephesians 2:19, 1 Corinthians 1:9: God’s family and the fellowship of God’s Son.
Revelation 1:10-13: The golden lampstands.
1 John 1:1-3: Called into the fellowship of life.
Romans 8:9-10: Without the Spirit, we do not belong to Christ.
Romans 14:1, 15:7: Receiving the believers.
Psalm 133: The commanded blessing of life on the saints in the genuine New Testament fellowship.
Romans 8:9-10: Without the Spirit, we do not belong to Christ.
The Song of Songs 1:7-8: Seeking the Lord’s own unique flock.
Psalm 133: The commanded blessing of life on the saints in the genuine New Testament fellowship.
Ephesians 4:3, 13-14: The initial oneness of the Spirit and the developed oneness of the faith.

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Recorded…
in Chicago, Illinois on Thursday,
17 April 2025