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. 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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Bible Verses for this Episode
See Episode #133: “The Fellowship of God’s Son and Spiritual Persons vs Fleshy Boasting”
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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” Podcast Series: “Spirit and Soul and Body”
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
=========== Recorded… in Chicago, Illinois on Thursday, 23 April 2025
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