| Phil. 2:1c |
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Lesson # Phil. 2:1c Study Material - Phil. 2:1c You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Phil. 2:1c 1 If there be therefore [oun] any [ei tis] consolation [paraklesis] in [en] Christ [Christos], if any [ei tis] comfort [paramuthion] of love [agape], if any [ei tis] fellowship [koinonia] of the Spirit [pneuma], if any [ei tis] bowels [splagchnon] and [kai] mercies [oiktirmos], KJV-Interlinear 1 If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, NASB 'If there is any fellowship in the Spirit'. The 'Spirit' refers to the Holy Spirit or rather the function of the Holy Spirit in the mechanics of providing a sphere of presence with God the Father. What in the world does that mean? We as mankind are disgusting creatures. We have sin natures and are full of corruption. That is to say, we are deteriorating as is all of creation. God is perfect and can have no relationship with something that is corrupt with sin as we are. So if there is to be any relationship of any kind with God, a means of getting us out of our state of sin, and into a state of perfection has to be found. Of course, God cannot descend into our state of sin in order to create a permanent relationship. If He did that, then He would not be God. So there are two problems in getting mankind out of his sinful state. The first problem is sin itself, and sin must be punished or erased from existence. The second problem is that sin needs to be held in check or corrected in ones life even though it has been punished and paid for by God. The first problem was taken care of at the Cross. Jesus Christ became man and went to the Cross to accept the punishment for our sins in our place. So now sin for all of humanity has been paid for, but we are still alive in these bodies of corruption and we still commit sins. We are still dirty so to speak. And in order to approach God in His palace we need to be made clean. This is where the 'fellowship of the Spirit', concept comes into play. Picture this. We have access, potentially, to God, but we have to enter into His palace in order to see Him, to commune with Him, to discuss things with Him, and so forth. If we were to go to the capitals of our respective countries, and request an audience with the President, Premier, or whatever the title of the chief executive happens to be, then would we be received into his main office if we were filthy, stinky, corrupt with vomit, and human waste? Of course not. We would not be allowed to even enter into the building. Security would stop us cold even before we got to the main door. To be received we need to be clean, washed up, smelling all nice and rosy. Then we would be allowed to go before the ruler. So it is with God. With sin in our life, we are disgustingly corrupt, filthy. Imagine the worst possible yuk all over us, and that is what sin does to our presence. God will not receive us, nor even hear us. He closes His eyes and ears to us. So God has provided a mechanism for giving us access to Him. And that mechanism is called fellowship. This is not an emotional event in our lives. Water and soap are not even used or necessary, because this is a matter of the status of the soul, not the body. Remember that spiritual events are outside the realm of our senses, therefore we cannot hear, see, smell, taste, or feel, fellowship. All the things that some religions do to 'fake' fellowship like having seizures, or gargling noises from the throat are simply that, fake and phony, meant to impress people. People who do not know any better. The mechanics of fellowship are explained in 1 John 1:9. The instruction of fellowship is detailed in the fellowship and sin offerings of the Mosaic Law. They all teach the same thing. In order to communicate with God, in order to learn spiritual truths, in order to be in Gods presence, in order to be under the protection of Gods fortress, we need to be in fellowship. And getting into fellowship is quite easy. We simply name our sins to God the Father, and that is all. Father I told a lie, I was arrogant, I was implacable, bitter, sorry for myself, hated that person, etc. Father I did this and this and that. Just name the list of sins and forget them. This is the fellowship prayer. All prayer is directed to God the Father and in the name of Jesus Christ. We do not pray to anyone else, or in the name of anyone else. This is a specific prayer for fellowship, and once we name our sins, He, God the Father, is faithful and just, and He cleanses us from all our unrighteousness, which is the sin in our life up to that point. You are now automatically in fellowship, and that is where you should live your life. Your Bible study functions properly within your soul and human spirit. God hears your prayers. You are safe within the power of God. Here is where the Holy Spirit comes into play. When you are in fellowship, God the Holy Spirit has control of your soul. When you are out of fellowship, your own sin nature is in control of your soul and that is bad for your spiritual health. You can not feel either of these controlling forces. Your faith leads you to accept this as it is commanded from God. Over time and as you grow up spiritually, you will begin to understand the differences in your life due to the differing controls over your soul. So 'If there is any fellowship in the Spirit', and there is, potentially, and it is potential, because you may not believe the concept of fellowship, and therefore you might not confess your sins, or you may confess to some priest instead of God. And that is a violation of Gods command. No priest or anyone under creation for that matter has been authorized to receive confession. No person has the power to give you fellowship with God. Only God has the right to do that. Fellowship was the same for Adam, as it is for you and me today. We recognize our deficiencies and God will acknowledge us. If we try to get to God by some other means, then God will reject us as He did Cain.
End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. 
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