Now is the eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3
What are the essentials of having fellowship with God?
For Koinonia with God the first basic essential is salvation and eternal life. There is no human list or steps to make this happen. It is all God. Koinonia with God is an experience of His presence. God is at work around us all the time. He is pursuing a relationship with each of us. He is inviting us to be part of his plan. Not everything is on God’s shoulders when it comes to our relationship with him. We have a part to do also. We must act on faith in Him. We must make major adjustments to Him. We must obey Him. When we do these we will experience God intimately. We have to continue to be faithful, obedient people to God or our relationship can be broken.
There are four essentials to the Koinonia relationship with God. We must love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, submit to God’s sovereign rule, experience God in a real ad personal way, and trust completely in God. Let’s take a moment and talk about these.
In Matthew 22:37-38, ‘Jesus replied: “Love the Lord our God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment.’” This is the greatest commandment. When we fully love God, we will obey God. When we fully love God, we will love our brothers and sisters. When we fully love God, we will be able to love our enemies. The threat to our relationship with God is if we lose our first love to God.
What are some things that can cause us to lose our first love?
Let’s turn to 1 John 2:15-16
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world.”
Loving money and other things in this world can hurt our fellowship with God. Our sinful cravings and lust can hinder our relationship with God. Anything that comes before God, can hinder our relationship with God. This is where our relationship with others can also be hindered. When we are not in Koinonia with God, it is harder to love others.
Let’s look at submitting to God’s sovereign rule. When we choose to follow Jesus, God becomes our new master. He demands absolute obedience. Jesus is the head of the church and he demands submission and obedience to Him. Complete submission to His lordship is necessary for the right relationship with him. We cannot become a person who is law to himself or does what is right in his own eyes. This breaks the Koinonia with God. It also ripples into the church. We cannot follow anyone but Christ, but work together on God’s plan. When our Koinonia breaks down, our fellowship with others breaks also.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I pray that each of us will keep you first in our lives. I pray that we will memorize and live the verse of Matthew 22:37-38. I pray that we will submit our lives to you, that we will obey you because we love you.
In Jesus Name Amen
