Title: The Fellowship of Saints
(Lecture 5) 2 John 1:12-13 The fellowship of the saints
<text>
I have many things to write to you, but I do not want to write them with paper and ink, but rather go to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be full; the children of your chosen sister greet you (2 John 1:12-13).
<sermon>
The communion of saints and the communion of the people of the world are essentially different. In other words, the fellowship of saints is not just about meeting people and building friendships as the worldly fellowship shows. The reason that the fellowship of the saints is essentially different from the fellowship of the world is because there is ‘truth’ in the fellowship of the saints.
The truth always directs the believer to Christ. Let them put their hope in Christ alone, and let them know that it is really good to believe in Christ in life, so that they focus all on His kingdom and His righteousness. However, what is not the truth seems to refer to Christ, but in fact, it only makes us look at what we see in the name of Christ. That is why the apostle teaches us not to lose the unity of the church by protecting ourselves from the antichrist.
The collapse of the unity of the church does not mean only the occurrence of strife and contention. The important thing is to change each other's thoughts and interests. At the cross of Christ, our thoughts and interests do not meet, but when we are on different paths, unity must have already been destroyed. Therefore, the work of the church for the unity of the church is to testify only to Christ from the beginning to the end.
In the last two verses, the apostle speaks more practically in the life of the church how believers can have a deeper communion and fellowship with truth and love. Verses 12-13, “I have many things to write to you, but I do not want to write them with paper and ink, but rather go to you and speak to you face to face, so that your joy may be full; the children of your chosen sister greet you.” ends the letter with
The important thing in the fellowship of believers is gathering together. Hebrews 10:25 says, “Do not forsake meeting together, as is the habit of some, but encourage them, and let us do it all the more as we see the day drawing near.” It is the habit of some to abolish gatherings, meaning that believers see each other as meaningless. They come to the conclusion that it does not matter whether they gather or not, because the truth is not in them. If you think like this, you should know that even if you participate in a meeting and become physically together, there will be no fellowship of believers.
The world's gatherings find joy in eating and playing together, but the joy in believers' gatherings is the truth. If you know the truth, you will appreciate the gatherings of brothers who know the truth, and it will be because of the truth that you will be filled with joy. The church must yearn for these gatherings endlessly. And for this purpose, it should be a gathering where people can see and gather the truth by always paying attention to the truth and preaching it.
Even if there are people who do not know the truth, there is no problem. That is, it does not impede the communion of believers. Why? Because if there is someone who does not know the truth, as someone who knows the truth, he will have much to say to him. Isn't it the joy of sharing the truth with those who do not know the truth? However, if it becomes an expression of ‘I will not talk to you because you do not know the truth’, you should know that in the end, you will say that you know the truth and go on a path that destroys unity.
What the church should seek is the truth. There can be no other objection to this. The problem is to put something else on the truth while saying it matters. Truth does not allow anything other than truth to be added. This is because it can only be the Antichrist who disguised the truth. If the truth is my everything, what else are you trying to put on it? If the truth is everything, isn't it natural to look and wish only for the truth? But if you are speaking the truth, speaking of blessings in the world, success, and church revival, what are you really interested in?
The truth means the true way that leads us to salvation. That is, the cross of Jesus Christ. It is the sound of joy for sinners that the grace of Jesus Christ's shed blood leads us, the children of perdition, to eternal life. So the truth is what keeps us in a fullness of joy. What else do we have to say about this good news? What, besides the truth, can bring you to a fullness of joy?
As a believer who knows the truth, both gratitude and joy must be corrected. There must be joy and gratitude that the things of the world are missing. That is why the pride of the world cannot intervene in the meeting of believers. This fellowship will be seen as the grace, love, and mercy of God are renewed in our hearts day by day. Therefore, we should look at the cross from the seat of sin and remain in joy and thanksgiving through the grace of the Lord. This will allow us to have the fellowship of believers.