Philippians 1:3 “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, 5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; 6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
In spite of all his tribulations and the very troublesome thorn in his flesh (II Corinthians 12:7), the Apostle Paul was blessed to focus upon and rejoice in his pleasant memories of “fellowship” among the Children of God. He pours out the love of his Pastoral Heart to the Church at Philippi, telling them that he thanked “God” for his memories of them and that in every one of his prayers he prayed for them. He prayed for their “fellowship in the gospel”. It is informative that the same word that is translated “fellowship” is also translated, in other places, “communion”. To be “fellows” is to be the dearest friends and companions who are always nearby to take part as Brethren. To “commune” is to have and exercise a common purpose and common method and common belief. In this case, the “fellowship in the gospel” refers to those who have a common purpose: to worship and serve our Lord Jesus Christ and to clearly declare His blessed “gospel”. The common method is to do it with simplicity and sincerity as He Commanded us in His Holy Word. The common belief is that we are Children of God, and our Eternal Home in Heaven was granted and is secure by His grace and by His grace alone. I am writing this note on Monday morning, yesterday’s “fellowship in the gospel” is still vividly fresh on my mind; one the most precious scenes on this earth is the Children of God lovingly greeting and embracing one another, and then after the preaching services are over, hear them joyfully discussing things they have just heard. There was once an elderly preacher, confined to his bed, who often asked me to tell him again and again of just such meetings. Just hearing of the sweet hours of “fellowship” was most pleasing and comforting to him! We make these precious memories by going to and participating in worship services in the House of God!