THE CHURCH — A COMMUNITY OF SELF-GIVING BELIEVERS: THE PILLAR OF FELLOWSHIP ============================================================ Course: The Potter’s Wheel (Wheel) Lesson: 6 Scripture: Acts 2:42–47; Acts 4:32–35; Hebrews 10:24–25 Language: English URL: https://kgm-school-preview.netlify.app/lessons/en/wheel/06-the-church/ WhatsApp: WHEEL EN 06 LESSON SIX — THE CHURCH: A COMMUNITY OF SELF-GIVING BELIEVERS: THE PILLAR OF FELLOWSHIP ============================================================ BIG IDEA The local church is not only a gathering. She is a spiritual family. The first believers shared their life every day, and they held four things in common: teaching, meals, prayer, and resources. So the church must be a family before she is an audience. Fellowship is not about what we get, but about what we give. We love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). This is the pillar of Fellowship. PART 1 — SCRIPTURE READING Acts 2:42–47 • Acts 4:32–35 • Hebrews 10:24–25 Open your Bible and read slowly: Acts 2:42–47, Acts 4:32–35, and Hebrews 10:24–25. In Acts 2, the first believers devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. In Acts 4, all the believers are one in heart and mind, and there are no needy persons among them. In Hebrews 10, we are called to spur one another on toward love and good deeds, and not to give up meeting together. We have walked through three relationships: the Father and the pillar of Love, the Son and the pillar of Truth, the Holy Spirit and the pillar of Prayer. Love and Truth are what the church receives, and Prayer is the power that sustains her. Now we come to the fourth relationship: the local church, a community of believers who give themselves to one another. Here the church begins to pour out what she has received. In Lesson One we saw that loving God with all our heart is tied to the pillar of Fellowship, for a heart that loves God will also love God’s people. In Lesson Two we saw that the water to swim in speaks of the pillar of Fellowship, where no one swims alone. This lesson follows Chapter 6 of The Potter’s Wheel. KEY VERSE — ACTS 2:42 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” PART 2 — WALKING THROUGH THE LESSON A. A Community United in Christ — A Spiritual Family “All the believers were together and had everything in common” (Acts 2:44). The local church is not only a gathering. She is a spiritual family. In Lesson One we saw that Paul calls the church God’s household (1 Timothy 3:15). True fellowship is more than attending services. True fellowship includes deep relationships, shared burdens, and encouragement for one another. The early church was united, and she grew quickly. The Lord added to her number daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:47). A church that gives fellowship an important place will be strong, healthy, and full of life. B. Koinonia — Holding Something in Common The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia. This word means holding something in common. Biblical fellowship is a work of grace, and not only of human effort. Biblical fellowship is rooted in Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Fellowship has four marks. 1. Spiritual connection. We are one in Christ. A body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body. So it is with Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12). We were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body (1 Corinthians 12:13). 2. Mutual support. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). 3. Encouragement. “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). 4. Accountability. We help each other to stay on the right path. We consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24). Fellowship is not optional. Fellowship is essential for spiritual growth. Fellowship is not optional. C. The Power of Shared Life “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). The early church was devoted to fellowship. The believers did not gather on one day of the week only. They shared their life daily. Every day they continued to meet together (Acts 2:46). Acts 2:42–47 shows four things that they held in common. 1. Shared teaching. They grew together in God’s Word. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42). 2. Shared meals. They built relationships through hospitality. They broke bread in their homes and ate together (Acts 2:46). 3. Shared prayer. They strengthened one another in the Spirit. They devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 2:42). 4. Shared resources. They met each other’s needs. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need (Acts 2:45). When believers share life together, the church becomes stronger. D. The Role of Food in Fellowship Food has an important place in building relationships. All through Scripture, God used meals to bring people together, to restore relationships, and to strengthen community. Consider the place of the table in the story of redemption. By the table we mean the meals that people eat together. The first act of human disobedience was an act of eating. The woman took the fruit of the tree and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate it (Genesis 3:6). Later, a meal marked the deliverance of Israel. That meal was the Passover (Exodus 12:1–11). Jesus used a meal to establish the new covenant. He took bread, and after the supper He took the cup. He said that this cup is the new covenant in His blood (Luke 22:19–20). Jesus often ate with sinners, and in this way He taught love and restoration. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law complained that He welcomed sinners and ate with them (Luke 15:2). Jesus went to stay at the house of Zacchaeus. The people complained that He had gone to be the guest of a sinner. But Jesus said that salvation had come to that house (Luke 19:5–10). And heaven is described as a great feast. John wrote, “Then the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ And he added, ‘These are the true words of God’” (Revelation 19:9). The early church knew the power of a shared meal. “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:46–47). A church that shares meals together will grow closer in love and unity. The Table in Scripture at a Glance - In the story: The fruit of the tree · Scripture: Genesis 3:6 · What we see: The first act of human disobedience was an act of eating - In the story: The Passover · Scripture: Exodus 12:1–11 · What we see: A meal marked the deliverance of Israel - In the story: The bread and the cup · Scripture: Luke 22:19–20 · What we see: Jesus used a meal to establish the new covenant - In the story: Jesus and sinners · Scripture: Luke 15:2; Luke 19:5–10 · What we see: Jesus ate with sinners, and salvation came to the house of Zacchaeus - In the story: The wedding supper of the Lamb · Scripture: Revelation 19:9 · What we see: Heaven is described as a great feast - In the story: The homes of the first believers · Scripture: Acts 2:46 · What we see: They ate together with glad and sincere hearts E. A Family Before an Audience The first believers ate together and shared their life. This is why we say that the church must be a family before she is an audience. An audience gathers to watch. A family gathers to belong. An audience is counted. A family is known. As a family, the church is three things. 1. A family under one roof. A healthy family spends time together. In the same way, the church must seek fellowship on purpose. A family eats together, and so should the church. A family shares responsibilities, and so should the church. The members of a family care for each other, and so should the members of the church. If we gather only for sermons and never come close to one another, we miss the heart of fellowship. 2. A place of friendship. “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity” (Proverbs 17:17). The church is more than a place of worship. She is a place where deep friendships are formed. A church without friendships is a crowd, not a community. Our relationships should not be for Sunday only. During the week we meet, we pray, and we encourage each other. True fellowship happens when believers open their hearts to one another. 3. A support for spiritual growth. “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). Fellowship helps us to grow spiritually. We strengthen one another through Bible study, for learning together deepens our faith. We strengthen one another through accountability, for we encourage one another to live righteously. We strengthen one another through prayer partners, for we stand together in intercession. The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone. Iron does not sharpen iron at a distance. We need each other. The church must be a family before she is an audience. F. The Sacrificial Love of Fellowship Fellowship is a sacrificial love. This love is shown in three ways. 1. Sharing possessions. “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had” (Acts 4:32). The early church was very generous. When fellow believers were in need, the others answered by giving freely. Fellowship means caring for one another’s needs. True love is shown through action. 2. Meeting practical needs. God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them (Acts 4:33–34). We must care for others on purpose. Later the number of disciples was increasing, and some widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food (Acts 6:1). So the disciples chose seven men who were known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. This responsibility was given to them (Acts 6:3–6). The church did this so that no one would be left out. Fellowship includes practical love: help with food, with money, with encouragement, and with support. The people who are overlooked are usually quiet. A family notices who is missing from the table. 3. Making time for each other. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Love is not only a feeling. Love is something we show. A healthy church makes time for relationships. We show love by being present with each other. Fellowship is not about what we get, but about what we give. G. The Future of Fellowship — The Great Banquet One day all believers will gather at the great banquet of heaven. This is the wedding supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9). Every act of fellowship today prepares us for eternity. We feast together now, and we look forward to the final feast with Christ. Our fellowship on earth is a small picture of heaven. A thriving local church cares more about relationships than about routines. She makes belonging and love her way of life. She encourages generosity and care. Fellowship is what holds the church together. So Scripture calls us, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24–25). And the apostle John reminds us, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). H. The Lesson in One Sentence The church is a spiritual family: we hold our life in common, eat together, carry each other’s burdens, and love because God first loved us (Acts 2:42, 44, 46; Galatians 6:2; 1 John 4:19). In Lesson Seven we come to the neighbours, to self-giving beyond the church, and to the pillar of Outreach. PART 3 — KNOW THE WORD: TEACHING FOCUS #### 1. Fellowship Is a Shared Life Read the key verse again (Acts 2:42). The early church needed no program for fellowship, because fellowship was the program. Teaching, meals, prayer, and resources were held in common (Acts 2:42–47). All the believers were together and had everything in common (Acts 2:44). Make this clear from the Word: for the first believers, fellowship was not one meeting in the week. Fellowship was a daily sharing of life (Acts 2:46). #### 2. A Shared Meal Is Ministry All through Scripture, God used meals to bring people together. The first believers broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts (Acts 2:46). So let the church eat together often, in homes and in the place where she gathers. A shared meal is not a rest between times of ministry. A shared meal is ministry. #### 3. A Family Notices Who Is Missing Among the first believers there were no needy persons (Acts 4:34). Later the number of disciples was increasing, and some widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food (Acts 6:1). The people who are overlooked are usually quiet. So a church that is a family looks carefully, and she notices who is missing from the table. True love is shown through action. Jesus said that everyone will know that we are His disciples if we love one another (John 13:35). PART 4 — TRUST THE SPIRIT: TEACHING FOCUS #### 1. The Spirit Makes Us One Body Biblical fellowship is a work of grace, and not only of human effort. Paul wrote, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (1 Corinthians 12:13). We did not make ourselves one body. The Holy Spirit did this. He made us one body. Paul ends the second letter to the Corinthians with a blessing: may the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14). Paul also tells us to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3). #### 2. The Spirit Fills Us Together In Lesson Five we read how the first believers prayed together. “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:31). They were all filled. The Holy Spirit filled all who were praying in that place, and He filled them together. The next verse says that all the believers were one in heart and mind, and that they shared everything they had (Acts 4:32). Biblical fellowship is empowered by the Holy Spirit. So we do not seek fellowship by human effort alone. We ask the Father for the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that the Father in heaven gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him (Luke 11:13). #### 3. The Spirit Pours God’s Love into Our Hearts Fellowship is not about what we get, but about what we give. But we cannot give what we have not first received. We love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). And in Lesson Three we saw that God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). The Holy Spirit fills our hearts with the love of God. Out of the love He pours into our hearts, we give ourselves to one another. Word and Spirit in Lesson Six — Side by Side - Know the Word: The first believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42). · Trust the Spirit: We were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body (1 Corinthians 12:13). - Know the Word: All the believers were one in heart and mind, and they shared everything they had (Acts 4:32). · Trust the Spirit: After they prayed, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly (Acts 4:31). - Know the Word: We do not give up meeting together. We encourage one another (Hebrews 10:25). · Trust the Spirit: Paul blesses the church: may the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14). - Know the Word: We love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). · Trust the Spirit: God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). PART 5 — FORMING CHRIST IN THE BELIEVER This lesson forms Christ in us in three ways: 1. Christ is formed in us when we eat together. Jesus used a meal to establish the new covenant (Luke 22:19–20). He also ate with sinners (Luke 15:2). Sit at the table of a brother or sister, and let a brother or sister sit at yours. 2. Christ is formed in us when we carry a burden that is not our own. When we carry each other’s burdens, we fulfil the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). Fellowship is not about what we get, but about what we give. 3. Christ is formed in us when we are known. An audience is counted. A family is known. As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17). But iron does not sharpen iron at a distance. Let one brother or sister know the truth about your life. PART 6 — DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Come prepared to answer. Come prepared to listen. 1. Look at your week. Your week shows what you really believe about fellowship. Whose table did you sit at? Who sat at yours? 2. Is there a brother or sister who knows the truth about your life, and not only the short answer that you give after the service? With whom do you pray during the week? 3. The early church held four things in common: teaching, meals, prayer, and resources (Acts 2:42–47). Which of the four is strong in your church? Which of the four would you like to see grow? 4. The church must be a family before she is an audience. What would this look like in your church? How could your church eat together more often, in homes and in the place where she gathers? 5. The widows of Acts 6 were being overlooked (Acts 6:1). The people who are overlooked are usually quiet. Who is easily overlooked in your church? Who is missing from the table, and what will you do this week? PART 7 — WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT Before next class, take time with the following: - Read John 15:1–17, Acts 1:8, and Matthew 28:18–20 in preparation for Lesson Seven. - Memorize Acts 2:42 or John 13:35. - Share one meal this week with a brother or sister from your church. Eat at your home or at the home of that brother or sister. - Ask one brother or sister to be your prayer partner. Meet once this week. Tell each other the truth about your lives, and pray together. - Carry one burden that is not your own (Galatians 6:2). Think of a person in your church who is quiet and easily overlooked. Visit that person this week, and help in one practical way. CLOSING PRAYER A PRAYER TO PRAY OUT LOUD THIS WEEK Father, thank You that Your church is not only a gathering. She is Your family. You loved us first, and so we love. Teach us to hold our life in common as the first believers did: the teaching, the meals, the prayers, and the things we own. Make our church a family before she is an audience. Make us friends who love at all times, and let us sharpen one another as iron sharpens iron. Teach us to carry each other’s burdens. Open our eyes to see who is missing from the table, so that no one among us is left in need. Fill us all with Your Holy Spirit, and make us one in heart and mind. By one Spirit You have made us one body. Help us to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace, and let the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Let everyone in our town and across Tanzania know that we are disciples of Jesus, because we love one another. Keep us meeting together and encouraging one another until we sit at the wedding supper of the Lamb. In the Name of Jesus, amen. NEXT LESSON — Lesson Seven — The Neighbours. Self-Giving Beyond the Church: The Pillar of Outreach ---------- KGM School of Service — Knowing God Missions · Tumenyimana https://kgm-school-preview.netlify.app