Fellowship – BT1:  Fellowship with God, not religion of works, makes all the difference

 

 

Please follow the BLOG Etiquette to stay on topic and pass the moderator’s check.  Bold, underlined text below = future links to the BLOG pages.

 

Religion is about using our natural flesh’s “might (a) and power (b)” – our body’s strength & external resources and our soul’s identity of mind, emotions, and will-power to ergo work/do (c) FOR God.  Religion is simply “doing/working” FOR God individually or collectively.  But the completely different-in-kind New Covenant Way calls us to leave religion behind – “absolutely-in-fact no longer by-the-means-of might nor in fact by-the-means-of power but-instead by-the-means-of My Spirit, says Yahweh of hosts” (d) – and instead embrace relationship WITH God so that His Spirit works or ‘does’ through us to will and to ‘do’ His good pleasure (e).  <Notes> a) dunamis: enabling ability, b) ishus: endowed strength/power, c) ergo, where we get ergonomic, d) Zechariah 4:6 – see Might and Power and Spirit-Power pages, e) Philippians 2:13.

 

Philia is a Greek adjective for “fond friendship” that we are NOT to have with the world unless we want to be a hostile enemy of God (a).  Philos is the noun for “a friend or associate of” like Abraham was with God (b).  We are to be friends with Jesus who laid His life down for His friends.  As disciples/followers, we are friends, not servants if we do what He entellomai commands (c), though He kept it simple for us since there are only 2 NT commandments. <Notes> a) James 4:4, b) James 2:23, c) John 15:13-15.

 

Koinonia (noun) and koinoneo (verb) and koinonikos (adjective) refers to “interpersonal contact, social intercourse, common sharing, joint/co-participation, partnership, communion, intimacy, community, and fellowship, even by giving to one another service, money, or goods.  The verb sunkoinoneo is koinoneo “harmoniously together with, like a symphony, or in others.”  Christians would also give “right-hand” handshakes, holy kisses, and embracing hugs (a) to show this. <Notes> a) Galatians 2:9; Acts 20:37; Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14.

 

Peter tells us God’s relationship plan for Christians:  “His divine dunamis dynamite-like enabling-power has granted to us ALL things that pertain to zoe genuine-life and/coupled godliness, dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of (c) the genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and/coupled excellence, dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of (c) which He has granted us His precious and/coupled very great promises, so that dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of (c) them you may become koinonia relational-partners of the divine nature, having already escaped the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desires” (a).

 

The Greek parallelism is obvious:  God’s own glory and/coupled excellence IS His divine dunamis dynamite-like enabling-power, and THIS grants us His precious and/coupled magnificent promises (b) that IS ALL things that pertain to zoe genuine-life and/coupled godliness and this is the channel (c) we relationally-partner with God’s nature and get free of sinful desires.  There is a chain of dia channels (c) here!  God makes it available, but our part is to have that genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge to relationally-partner with Him. <Notes> a) 2 Peter 1:3-4, b) epaggelma: voluntarily made by God, not as result of our petition, c) dia, where we get diameter.

 

God does indeed give us profound promises concerning zoe genuine-life and/coupled godliness, but not just to know ABOUT these and sit on them!  Even the “Gentiles were made fellow-heirs, members of the same Body-of-Christ and/coupled changed-sharers-together (c) [with the Jews] of The Promise (e) IN Christ Jesus dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of (a) the gospel” (d).  How does this happen?  Dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of (a) this “Promise” to become koinonia relational-partners with God’s divine nature.  But absolutely none of this will happen through our human “might and power” works or through gnosis info-knowledge ABOUT God that only puffs your head up (b).  No, it only happens dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of (a) genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of God.  <Notes> a) dia, b) 1 Corinthians 8:1, c) summetochos: changed due to sharing or being an active-partaker together with, d) Ephesians 3:6, e) of the Holy Spirit: Ephesians 1:13 – see Promised Spirit, f) John 6:31-33, 41, 50-51, 58.

 

I had a vision one time where I was in my bible-study chair and a little bit of light from a high window shown through to keep me warm.  It was all those years of bible-study for bible colleges – see Bible Info!  But the walls were dark and barren!  I was told to stand up and walk to a door in front of me, who I was told was Christ, open it, and walk outside.  When I did, I experienced zoe genuine-life in the Spirit:  The sky was incredibly blue and the vegetation was vibrantly colorful.  I was full of joy and I looked up into the sky and saw what looked like diamonds floating down, but when they landed in my hand they were little flakes of bread, the Lord Jesus (a).  When I ate I was filled with more joy!  <Notes> a) John 6:31-33, 41, 50-51, 58.

 

The old covenant is about working FOR God as servants with our own “might and power,” but the completely-different-in-kind New Covenant is about working WITH God as friends (a) as “fellow workers” or “co-workers in God’s service” (b).  In Matthew 19:26, Jesus told His disciples who were frustrated about how to obey God’s rules, particularly divorce, under the old covenant:  “para with/close-beside (d) men this is actually, ongoingly NOT powerful-enough-to-do (c), yet para with/close-beside (d) God ALL things are powerful-enough-to-do (e).”  This close proximity to God requires intimate relationship.  And that’s what the completely-different-in-kind New Covenant Way was to bring!  <Notes> a) John 15:15, b) sunergos: 1 Corinthians 3:9; 2 Corinthians 1:24, 8:23; Romans 16:3, 9, 21; 3 John 1:8; Philemon 1:1, 24, 2:25; Colossians 4:11; Philippians 4:3, c) adunatos, d) para, alongside-with or close-beside, where we get parallel, e) dunatos, the adjective of dunamis – see Spirit-power.

 

Reflections:

 

As Christians musicians don’t we want to play by the unlimited Spirit’s power instead of only from our own limited “might and power,” expressing a real friendship with God to encourage others to enter in?  Don’t we want the enabling-power of His holy presence coming out dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of our instruments, which we acquired dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of the genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of Him instead of settling just for the “work” of bible-study that only produces gnosis info-knowledge?  Instead of us “working” so hard FOR God to please God, isn’t it time we fully embrace the New Covenant Way of “working WITH or Close-Beside God” as “fellow-workers,” because we FEEL “God’s pleasure for us through Christ?” Jesus would then say:  “Everything WITH or Close-Beside God is then possible!”

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Education, Religion is work by our flesh’s Might & Power FOR God, Relationship is work WITH God by the means of the Spirit’s power, Philia Friendship with God, Koinonia fellowship, Epignosis genuine full relational knowledge of God starts everything, Epignosis relationship knowing is not bible-study gnosis information, Thru relationship to God the promised Sprit helps us share-partner with God’s Holy nature, life & godliness comes from God’s promised Spirit