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When the apostle Paul tells us that God has called us into “the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,” he is not writing his letter to the Ephesians. That is where we might have placed such a word since that letter describes to us God’s eternal purpose and the heavenly calling and standing of the church. Rather, he makes this wonderful declaration when he is speaking to the messy church in Corinth! (1 Cor. 1:9).

No doubt, this is the wisdom of God, to show us that the fellowship of His Son, while it is heavenly in nature, must be worked out practically in what is often a very messy church life here on the earth.

In particular, we could say that what we see in the opening chapters of 1 Corinthians, where we find this statement, is Paul’s dealing with the matter of divisions in the church. At a deeper level, however, Paul is actually dealing with our fleshly tendency to exalt ourselves by boasting in something other than Christ(1:29, 31, 3:21), which will always result in jealousy, strife, and divisions.

Length: 31 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?”
Look Inside: “What Is God’s Purpose for the Church?”

Note: “The Bible in One Verse”
Video: “How I Found the New Testament Fellowship.”
Listen to the Previous Episodes in this Series:
Podcast Series: “What Is the Church?”

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 Corinthians 1:29, 31, 3:21: Fleshly, self-exalting boasting.
2 Corinthians 1:14, 3:2, 5:20, Philippians 1:7, Acts 20:37-38: Boasting in the apostle, with whom we have a connection in our heart.
Acts 20:36-38: The believers weeping over Paul.

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Recorded…
in Chicago, Illinois on Thursday, 23 April 2025