For a believer to be in fellowship with God, they must be willing to walk and fellowship in love with their fellow men. โDear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in usโ (1 John 4:11-12). One of the most crucial pillars of fellowship is love.
The epistle of 1 John exposes this integral component, on which the Christian faith is built. Love covers a significant amount of ground when fellowship is talked about. It all started with God who first loved us; โWhoever does not love does not know God, because God is loveโ (1 John 4:8).
After responding to the call to salvation, the believer can then begin to realise the gravity of the love of the Father. The apostles were with Him, they touched Him and fellowshipped with Jesus and now the believer is expected to do the same, as His Spirit lives in them, therefore, they are bearers of the light and the baton has been passed unto the believer.
Yarbrough, (2008:208) commented on the nature of God and wrote โTo love, then, in both words and deed is to know more clearly that the source of oneโs identity and life as a believer is the truthโฆJesusโ. The life a believer lives must be in accordance with the truth, the commands of God in Christ Jesus. The believerโs Identity is in living for Jesus and if the believer decides to live for Him, he therefore has to accept the command of love and fellowship with God and man. This also confirms believers are โchildren of Godโ and not the โchildren of the devilโ. โThis is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not Godโs child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sisterโ (1 John 3:10).
Also, another theological perspective about the writing of John on the love nature of God was recorded by Virgil Meyer (1985:25);
โJohn points out many truths to the Christian to whom he is writing. We have found that he has taught them many things about God. That God isย Light, He isย Spirit, He isย eternal, He isย Father. But perhaps the clearest picture he gives of God isย that God is love. Keep in mind that this isย the disciple who called himself, โthe one whom Jesus loves.โ and who wrote the account of Jesusโ life on earth in the fourth gospel, the gospel of Johnโ.
The description of the love of God could be seen in the way it was put in John 3:16; โFor God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal lifeโ. This kind of love has never got a match. But this is the life the Son has commanded that we should have as we submit to His Lordship. Without this kind of love, we cannot have an unhindered fellowship with God and man. This must bring a reflection of the act of the Good Samaritan. The love must also be extended to our neighbours as the Good Samaritan did with the Jew who was attacked by bandits. We must love everyone and fellowship with the brethren in the Lord.
Though there is a boundary that must be set. This is with regards to loving everyone and fellowshipping with those who are of the Christian fold. Jesus also gave instructions to His disciples when they were sent out to set some sort of boundaries as they preach the gospel. Matthew 10:12-14; โAs you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home deserves, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feetโ.
According to D.A Carson (1999:261), the love nature of God can be revealed thus;
โOne of the most striking passages is Hosea 11. Of course, the entire prophecy of Hosea is an astonishing portrayal of the love of God. Almighty God isย likened to a betrayed and cuckolded husband. But the intensity of Godโs passion for the covenant nation comes to a climax in chapter 11. โWhen Israel was a child,โ God declares, โI loved him, and out of Egypt I called my sonโ.
The fellowship spirit can only be effective in an environment where the love of God is active. John specifically spelled this out in his epistle and how it affects our relationship with God and other fellow believers. Human beings are only created for fellowship and God craves this fellowship with us.
Excerpts from Theme of Fellowship: The Epistles of Jon: by Rev. Dr. Ayodele Afuye
