Meaning of Salvation
1 Peter 1:8-9
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 John 5: 11-13
11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
Last week, we spoke about how having Jesus Christ means having eternal life. If Jesus is the ends to the means of salvation, we no longer need him once we achieve salvation. However, that is not the case. He is the purpose, having koinonia, or having fellowship with Christ. That is our salvation.
How can we have koinonia with Jesus? Think about how you have fellowship with your friends – you spend time together by eating a meal, watching a movie, having coffee, etc. How can we have this same fellowship with Jesus? We often think it is QT, reading the Bible, reflection, pray, and you’re done. This is not the fellowship that the Bible refers to. While they may help you have koinonia with Jesus, that cannot replace the fellowship you have. Without the fellowship with Jesus, attending house church, doing QT, all of those are responsibilities or chores. If we don’t see joy or happiness in Christianity, we become a hypocrite when sharing the gospel with non believers.
How can we have true koinonia?
1 John 1:5-6 – we cannot have true koinonia with Jesus if we walk in darkness. We need to walk in the light.
1 John 2:3 – having fellowship means we keep his commands
1 John 2:5-6 – we walk in the same way, in the same direction as Jesus.
1 John 2:15-16 – we don’t love the things in the world
Koinonia in the Bible means we are in fellowship, we are a partnership, we are in the same family.
Fellowship is distinct from prayer, devotion to teachings, and participating in worship. Early Christian’s fellowship means sharing everything together.
In the western culture, “everything is mine”
The Bible says we should share everything we have.
Koinonia with Jesus is walking with Jesus. When he stops I stop, when he walks, I walk. Going in the same direction.
You have salvation, but do you have the genuine fellowship or koinonia with Jesus? What is the point to have salvation if you don’t have koinonia with Jesus?
What does walking with Jesus mean?
1 John 3:23-24 – you need to love one another
When we have Jesus, it is a natural result to love one another.
How can we love one another, our brothers and sisters? What is love? It is sacrifice, affection and so many other things that it’s hard to define.
1 John 3:15 – everyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
1 John 4:20 – he who does not love his brother cannot love god.
So how can we love one another? By not hating your brothers and sisters.
To hate someone means you love someone less, and you cannot give them a second chance.
Imagine God as our father who sees his children hating each other.
If Moses had given up his relationship and just allowed god to lead him to the promise land, that is not the point. Moses responded by saying, no I want to be here with you. I prefer your fellowship. Moses didn’t end up going to the promise land, but rather, walked together with God his whole life. He didn’t enter into the land, but walked with God. That is our salvation.
To be saved
=To have Jesus
=To have koinonia with Jesus
=To walk with Jesus
=To love one another
= not to hate brothers
Reflection question:
What is one commitment you can make in order to have koinonia with Jesus?
