As of the year 2020, Christianity had 2.5 billion self declared adherents, however surveys indicate that less than 30% attended church regularly. Prior to Covid, surveys indicated 21% of declared Christians in Canada attended church regularly. The trend towards lower attendance has been seen now for several decades and it’s become clear Western society today puts a much lower priority on church attendance than it once did, and this has only been magnified through the Covid 19 pandemic. The most important factor for true Christians to consider is what God says. The Bible reveals that God originally instructed His people to fellowship together regularly on His Sabbaths. The word of God is living (Hebrews 4:12) and applies to all generations and must be our guide in all matters of life. What does God say about fellowship? And why does God want His people to fellowship together?
As we will see there are very tangible benefits that come from Christian fellowship. Accounts from the earliest days of the Christian Church show God’s people gathering together for worship. Soon after the crucifixion of Christ, His followers were gathered together on the Day of Pentecost: “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1). Notice they were not only gathered together, they were also of the same mind (“one accord”). Luke records Paul’s visit to Philippi: “And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there” (Acts 16:13).
The Fourth Commandment, to remember His Sabbath day and keep it holy (Exodus 20:8-11), is a key to a right and close relationship with God. By keeping His Sabbath, we are reminded every week that He is our Creator and the source of all good things. The Sabbath day is also a foretaste of His coming Kingdom, when all of humankind will at last have the opportunity to learn His way of life and experience a personal relationship with Him. The Sabbath day is a rest from our normal work, a commanded assembly, a time to meet with others of like mind and to learn more about God's way of life through His ministry. God commanded ancient Israel to keep the Sabbath not only by not working, but also by gathering together. This is shown in Leviticus 23:3: “Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.” The word “convocation” in Hebrew (miqra) means “convocation, sacred assembly … for religious gathering on Sabbath and certain sacred days, Exodus 12:16” (Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon). Implicit in the meaning of “convocation” is the gathering together and fellowshipping of God’s people on His Sabbaths and Holy Days.
A Holy convocations and true Christian fellowship are intricately linked. Probably the most famous words about Christian fellowship are in the book of Hebrews. Christians are commanded “to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:24-25). In order to better understand the value of fellowship, it is worth taking a closer look at the issues addressed in the context of this very statement.
Hebrews chapter 10 begins by talking about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and how His sacrifice made possible the forgiveness of sin. Animal sacrifice, offered by the priests of Israel, couldn’t truly forgive sin and give us reconciliation to God. In view of that sacrifice, we are told in verses 19-22 that we have a new High Priest and, because of Him, we can enter “the Holiest” (we can literally appear before the presence of God) with our sins washed clean. The apostle Paul then goes on to address our collective duty as Christians, and how we (together) should conduct ourselves and how being together will bring about much needed benefits.
Christians are urged to hold fast “without wavering” to the message and the hope brought by Jesus Christ. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). In the context, we see this is a task best accomplished by working together and fellowshipping together! In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul talks at some length about the role of the ministry and of other believers in finishing this work begun in Christians by Jesus Christ: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ … that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting” (Ephesians 4:11-14).
In addition to these needs supplied by the ministry, believers joined tightly together derive great spiritual benefit from each other that is difficult to receive any other way. “From whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:16).
These benefits described in Ephesians are to be derived from fellow believers—Christians “joined and knit together” in fellowship! The group, working together, can be protected from wandering away from biblical truth and can grow together spiritually. Hebrews 10 next describes what the nature of that fellowship should be. The nature of our interaction with one another plays an integral part in making fellowship valuable. “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). Positive, uplifting interaction drives spiritual benefits!
The apostle Paul urged the Church members at Corinth to be unified and to consider each other as fellow members of one unified body; “That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually” (1 Corinthians 12:25-27). Paul listed them first as the collective Body of Christ, and second as the individual members making up that Body. Christian fellowship should produce cohesiveness and mutual support.
There is an example from the same letter to the Corinthians that shows what not to do when assembling together; “Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it” (1 Corinthians 11:17-18). The simple act of congregating together doesn’t achieve the goal of Christian fellowship. How Christians treat each other when meeting together is crucial. Following the path laid out for us by Christ should set the tone for how we treat one another; “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). There is so much going on now in our society that can create an environment where we separate or create classes within the congregation. This is not good in God’s sight; we are all brothers and sisters, and we should not allow anything to diminish our love and support for one another.
Hebrews 10:25 is a command for Christians to assemble: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” So much is occurring, and I do see the day approaching. I also see how desperately our adversary will work to prevent us from achieving our destiny. The Greek word used for “assembling” in this verse is episunagogue, defined in Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary as “assembling, gathering.” Episunagogue as a noun is used only one other time in the New Testament. The other is in 2 Thessalonians 2:1: “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you. …” (This word used as a verb is used in Matthew 22:37; 24:31; Mark 1:33; 13:27; Luke 12:1; 13:34, in all which places it is rendered “gathered together.”)
A related word, episunago, is used to describe the gathering together of believers at the return of Christ in Matthew 24:31: “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
The phrase “gather together” is translated from the Greek word episunago. And, in fact, when the author of Hebrews uses the word episunagogue in Hebrews 10:25, he admonishes Christians to continue to assemble together, always being mindful that the return of Christ (“the Day”) is approaching! Wedges are being driven between peoples in our society like we have never seen in our history; and we would be naïve to think Satan is not using even this pandemic to affect us in God’s church. He wants us separated and he is very effective at manipulating human reasoning. The command, then, here is, to meet together for the worship of God, and it is enjoined on Christians as an important duty to do it. It is also implied, that there is blame or fault where this is “neglected.”
(consider 2 Thessalonians 2:1) Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary on the Whole Bible has the following observation on the use of the Greek word episunagogue in Hebrews 10:25: “The assembling or gathering of ourselves for Christian communion in private and public, is an earnest of our being gathered together to Him at His appearing” (revised edition, p. 1429). Wow! Does this ever make a compelling reason to assemble together in true Christian fellowship!
Paul understood and I likewise understand, for some, it is difficult or perhaps even impossible to assemble together physically at Sabbath services, there shut ins and I am not writing this as if they should or must. Care must be exercised, however we must not loose sight of why fellowship is critical and what God has commanded in regard to it, as I have no doubt Satan desires to exploit current sentiments. I would add in those situations where one is not able to gather together, the rest of the body must ensure we are doing our part to find ways to fellowship with them!
In Psalm 133:1, King David described what it is like when people of like mind achieve unity: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” In the next verse, David compares this unity to the special anointing oil used by the high priest in the tabernacle of Israel. In the Old Testament, oil was used in the anointing of priests and kings (1 Samuel 10:1). In the New Testament, anointing with oil became a symbol of the Holy Spirit and the mind of God (Acts 10:38; 1 Corinthians 1:21-22).
Unity is also compared to the “dew of Hermon” (Psalm 133:3). Mount Hermon is a high peak between the border of Israel and Lebanon. It is a significant source of water for the area. Some of the water is provided through snowmelt, but daily morning dew is the best source of water from late spring until fall. Water is another symbol of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39). The Holy Spirit—the very essence of God—can unify believers and make true Christian fellowship possible. This is summed up in 1 John 1:3: “That you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”
In Luke 12:13-21 Christ gives a parable of the Rich Fool; we can all unconsciously begin to think in this manner. What I find of interest, and I believe so important to us now as we live in perilous times (2 Timothy 3), is that Christ then moves to a section on “do not worry” in verses 22 to 32. This is a natural progression from His earlier parable and in this section, He reminds us; “But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:31-32). Christ then then concludes with; “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v 34). God is always looking at our heart and it is up to each of us to apply His Spirit in our lives and make uplifting Christian fellowship possible! “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows (Matthew 10:28-30). God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). We must, like Paul, perceive the danger of reversionism caused by the failure of many to assemble themselves together at the place of assembly which is the local congregation. Therefore, do not forsake “the assembling of ourselves together … and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”