Ephesians 3:9

And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery,
which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God,
who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Fellowship is a word that is sweet to the ears of almost everyone, especially believers. They have a basis for it that spans this present life and the one that is coming. For the sake of review, what is this basis? We will entitle this:

1. The Premises of Fellowship:

It must be built upon the good foundation of the following: (a) the Bible is the written Word of God, His revelation to us; (b) the Lord Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God, Deity. Faith in these essentials will provide a certain measure of fellowship for all believers regardless of their denominational differences.

Anyone who denies the unique Person and work of the Son of God is a deceiver and an antichrist (2 John 1:7). We are to avoid all spiritual fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness (Eph. 5:11; 2 Cor. 6:14).

2. The Problems or Conditions of Fellowship:

The lines of communication must be kept open for unbroken fellowship. God's Word is the hub of the wheel of fellowship with The Almighty. Too often, neglect, indifference, or wilful sin enters into the lives of believers, and fellowship is impaired or broken. A saying goes like this: God's Word will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from God's Word. On the subject of fellowship, we are told this in 1 John 1:7, But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.

But what does a believer do for fellowship when separated or isolated from others of like mind? This is a common problem for those who practice right division. We believe the Lord has more than sufficient grace available for those who are willing to stand alone in a case like this. Someone once said there is plenty of elbow room the closer we get to the Lord. If we learn this secret, there is a fellowship the vast majority of Christians know nothing of. Too much that is called Christian fellowship is really visiting and talking in church. Talking about our wonderful Lord and His Word is greatly neglected today.

True fellowship contributes to spiritual growth and the knowledge of God as Christians share experiences in the right division of His Word. They are also encouraged and inspired to live better and more fruitful lives for His glory. So fellowship in, around, and through His Word.

John 8:36

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Freedom is a subject much in the news today, but few know of the true freedom which is in Christ.

A much-used Bible reference on this is John 8:32, And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. This is used many times as a salvation theme, but actually, it was spoken to very religious (but lost) Jews. Even borrowed out of its context, this verse has a wonderful message for everyone today. In John 8:36 of the same Chapter, our Lord refers to Himself as The Son: If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. The Truth and the Son are interchangeable, so Christ is Truth personified. This is The Truth that men everywhere need to know.

Freedom in Christ from the standpoint of salvation can be considered in three ways:

1. Freedom from the Penalty of Sin. The only thing that stands between God and man is man's sin. When we let Him, God takes care of this perfectly and completely; in Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Eph 1:7).

2. Freedom from the Power of Sin. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace Romans 6:14. This is God's promise if we yield service and obedience to righteousness (Romans 6:16). It is not uncommon to hear of believers enjoying victory over the old man of sin, but the shackles of religion and tradition which Christendom has propagated for centuries still bind the overwhelming majority to this day. God does not free believers from these chains until they fully believe and obey His Word rightly divided.

Pride of race kept the Jews mentioned in John 8 in the power of sin. They gave mental assent to what He said until He claimed to be equal to God and the only One Who could save them from sin. Then, the very ones who believed were ready to kill Him. The power of sin should make us tremble and cause us to cling harder to our Saviour.

3. Freedom from the Presence of Sin. This will take place with The Resurrections. The bodies we have in Resurrection will not sin, even if exposed to it, and will be fit for a perfect environment. This should make us shout with joy! Bless God!

Galatians 3:3

Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

This error was on the part of Gentile believers, not Jewish saints, and it is a common error today. They acknowledged that they had begun their Christian life in the spirit or the new nature. But somehow, they got the idea that they must keep their salvation by their own works, which, of course, would be by the flesh or old nature.

Since these Gentile believers went to the Synagogues every Sabbath and had direct contact with Judaism and all its rituals and ceremonies, it was a temptation for them to adopt these things, too. But there was only one way to do this. They first had to be circumcised. These Gentile believers knew very well that the Passover and other feasts and ceremonies of the Jews could not be observed by the uncircumcised. That is not widely known today.

So it would be a simple matter to be circumcised, and then one could partake of the services, read in the Synagogue, and have a part in the Jewish social life. All this appealed to the flesh.

They are told in Gal. 3:7 that they are the children of Abraham by faith and, by faith, can partake of the promise. This is The Gospel of The Grace of God. It was good news that they could have all the blessings of the promise without keeping any part of the law. They were to walk by Grace, not by the law. They were to live by faith, not by works.

They were reminded that even the Jews had been told in Hab. 2:4 that "the just live by faith." The law cannot give life; therefore, there is no justification by the deeds of the law. As in Gal. 3:9, so again in Gal. 3:14, he reminds the Gentile believers that the blessings of Abraham come to Gentiles through faith, not by works of the law.

Then, down in Gal. 3:19, Paul tells these folks why Israel had the law. It was something that was added to the promise because of the transgression. He hastens to add that the law did not deprive Israel of anything in the promise.

In Gal. 4:22-31, Paul gives them a little allegory to bring home to them the truth he is trying to teach. It is well to think it over, even today.

In Gal. 5:1-6 he tells them to stand fast in the liberty they have. Once, they were in bondage to sin, and now they want to be in bondage to the law. He tells them not to get entangled with bondage. If they were to be circumcised, then they would be obliged to keep the whole law. They would not be at liberty to observe that which they liked, as do the legalists today. He makes it plain that any who has taken up this Galatian error and thinks to be justified by the work of the flesh has fallen from grace, that is, turned his back on The Gospel of The Grace of God.

Then, further on, he tells them about the works of the flesh and the fruits of the spirit (new nature) Gal. 5:16-25. This is plain, unvarnished Truth. He tells how these two natures are at enmity with each other. He then sums up his argument by telling those Gentile believers who have the new nature or spirit to walk by it and reckon the old nature crucified dead. Has this Truth been changed for these days?

Exodus 32:24

And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off.
So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.

The making of the Golden Calf by rebellious and backslidden Israel is a familiar story to Bible readers (Exodus 32:4). Grave consequences followed from the hand of the Lord when Moses returned from the Mount and witnessed their idolatry and sin.

All of this is ancient history, of course, but one wonders if it isn't possible for subtle anti-types to seep into the thinking and practice of believers today without them realizing it.

It seems one of the most obvious golden calves is the fierce loyalty many believers have for their church and denomination. Loyalty to Christ and His Word is forced into a back seat, and all Scripture is made to fit into the theological framework of the denomination.

However strange as it may sound to some, everyone worships an image of some kind. Even the Christian must form a mental image of The Lord in order for Him to be the object of worship. The acceptance of this image to God will depend on how true it is. The Truth of God's Word should be the only source of building material for this mental and spiritual image. In John 4:23, the Lord says, ...the true worshiper shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.

Anything that hinders or causes us to deviate from this ideal can very well become a golden calf to us.

But forming a true and acceptable image of Christ also involves a selection of Truth! In 2 Cor. 5:16, we read, ...yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. Pictures of Christ, which are the creation of an artist's imagination, do not glorify The Lord, no matter how beautiful, strong, or manly the image may appear. First of all, they use as their pattern Christ after the flesh. Secondly, they do not point us to a Glorified Lord seated at God's Right Hand.

No image that man may devise can compare to what God wants us to see in Christ. For example, we read in Col. 1:15 that Christ ...is the image of the invisible God. Heb. 1:3 says further He is the brightness of His (God's) glory, and the express image of His Person. Only the Holy Spirit's enablement can give us understanding from The Word in teaching us Who and what He is.