If you will open your Bible with
me to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. I want to speak to us today on
having fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Having fellowship
with the Lord Jesus Christ. We're going to read the first
nine verses, and my text will be verse nine, and the title
of the message is The Fellowship of Jesus Christ. Let's begin in verse one. Paul
called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God.
And Sosthenes, our brother, unto the church of God which is at
Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be
saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus
Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. Grace be unto you and
peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I
thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which is
given you by Jesus Christ that in everything you are enriched
by him in all utterance and in all knowledge even as the testimony
of Christ was confirmed in you so that you come behind in no
gift waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. who shall
also confirm you unto the end that you may be blameless in
the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful by whom you were
called unto the fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. My text is verse nine, and I
want to point out three truths in this text. The first truth
is simply God is faithful. God is faithful. This is a very
comforting truth to the children of God. A very comforting truth
that God is faithful to save all who call upon his name. At the same time, we know that
it may be a very unsettling truth to the wicked because not only
is he faithful to save his people, but he is faithful to punish
with eternal separation in hell all of those who refuse to bow
to his son. In Psalm chapter nine and verse
17, the psalmist said, the wicked shall be turned into hell, and
all nations, that is all peoples, that forget God. How many people forget God? How many people do we deal with
every day who never think about God? He's not in all their thoughts. You may be here this morning
and God is not in your thoughts. You don't think about God. You know there is a God. All
men know that. God has not left himself without
witness. All men know there is a God,
but so many are not thoughtful of God. They forget God. But
God is faithful. And we see this all through the
word of God. You could begin in the book of
Genesis and look after illustration after illustration of how God
is faithful. when he promised to Noah after
the flood that seed time and harvest would continue, cold
and heat would continue. How many years have passed? How
many millenniums have passed since God gave that promise?
And yet every year we have the four seasons of the year, don't
we? And have. God is faithful. He's faithful
to his word. He's faithful to his promises.
He's faithful to his people. He cannot deny himself. When
we forget God and we're not mindful of him, he still is faithful. So that's the first thing we
see in this verse of scripture. God is faithful. The second truth
is there is an effectual call. who by whom you were called. God is faithful by whom, that
is by God, you were called. The apostle Paul preached the
gospel here in the city of Corinth. We read about it at the beginning
of the service in Acts chapter 18. He's the man who God used
to bring the gospel to that city. It was a large city. It was a
wicked city. And compared to most places,
Paul remained in that city a long time. He was there approximately
two years preaching the word of God. He preached the gospel. He preached the gospel in Corinth.
If you look down to verse 17, he said, For Christ sent me not
to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with the wisdom of
words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
Paul was not trying to impress men with his learning. Although
he was a greatly educated man from all that we know, many men
have considered him to have one of the greatest minds of the
Western world. But he wasn't there to impress
people. He was there for one reason.
He was convinced that Jesus Christ is Lord, and there's one way
of salvation, and that only in Christ may men and women have
their sins forgiven and be right with God. He was convinced of
that, and he was there to preach, as he said, Christ sent me not
to baptize. Isn't baptism important? Yes,
it is, but not in comparison with the gospel. A person can
be saved and not baptized, but he cannot be saved and never
believe the gospel. You must believe the gospel.
He preached the cross, the gospel. If you look on further down in
chapter one to verse 23, We find out what it is to preach
Christ, to preach the gospel. But we preach Christ crucified. That was his message in chapter
2 and verse 2. He said, for I determined not
to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. When we think about the cross,
preaching the cross, we're not talking about that wooden instrument
of crucifixion, you could have that and you could talk about
that, how it was put together, how it was constructed, what
kind of wood it was made out of and all of that and know all
about it and believe all of that and go to hell. The preaching
of the cross is preaching Christ crucified. That's what he meant
when he said Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the
gospel. But we preach Christ crucified. When you think about Christ dying
upon the cross, certain questions should come into your mind. Why
make such an issue? Why make this the issue, Paul? Christ dying upon a cross. Number one, ask this question,
who died on that cross? Who is he saying died on that
cross? Many men died on the cross. Many men were crucified. That's one way the Romans punished
the worst of criminals. Many men died on crosses. Why
preach the cross? Why preach the crucifixion of
Christ? Number one, who died on the,
who is he? What makes his death upon the
cross special? Who is he? And number two, why? Why did he die on the cross?
Why was it necessary that he die on the cross? If he is who
you say he is, the son of God in the flesh, why is it necessary
that he die on the cross? And number three, what did he
accomplish? What did he accomplish by his
death on the cross? Those are questions that men
should ask when we talk about preaching the gospel, preaching
the cross. There is an effectual call, if
you notice he said, but we preach Christ crucified, this is verse
23. Unto the Jews a stumbling block,
a stumbling block that they had been taught, the Jews had been
taught that the Messiah would come in wealth and pomp and prestige,
and he would be somebody, recognized by somebody. That's the reason
Isaiah 53 begins, Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the
arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him
as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground. The family
of David was compared there like a tree that's been sawed off
at the root or at the ground level, you know, and there's
just a sprout that comes up. The family that had been wealthy,
ruling over Israel was now reduced to, man was a carpenter, and
he came riding upon the foal of an ass. To the Jews, it was a stumbling
block. That can't be our Messiah. We
can't believe in Him. We can't trust in Him, someone
that died a felon's death. To the Jews, the preaching of
the cross is a stumbling block, and to the Greeks, it's foolishness.
That's the craziest story I ever heard. That one man could die
for the sins of many. One man could satisfy God for
many. That's foolishness. That's foolishness. But notice, but unto them which
are called, both Jews and Greeks. You see the difference? Them
that are called. Men heard the voice of Paul. How shall they hear without a
preacher? Men must hear the gospel by the voice of some man. But
if it's just the voice, what power is in the voice of a man? You are hearing my voice this
morning. What power is in my voice? What
power was in the voice of Ezekiel? when God told him to prophesy,
prophesy. Who are you preaching to? A valley
full of dried bones. Is there any power in the voice
of a man to cause those bones to come together? Of course not. And the same is true about preaching
the gospel. God uses men, thank God. Cornelius, we have a prime example
in Acts chapter 10, don't we? He was a man that God sent an
angel to, to send for Peter, a man. An angel can't preach
the gospel, see? That's the point. No, you send
over there and get Peter, he'll come and he'll tell you what
you need to do. He'll preach the gospel. God
uses men. This brings glory to God, doesn't
it? That we have this treasure in
an earthen vessel, in a clay pot, the gospel. Men do. Men
that God puts into the ministry. We have this wonderful, wonderful
treasure, the gospel of Jesus Christ. We're weak. Paul confesses that in chapter
two. He said, I was with you in weakness
and in fear and in much trembling. People like to think about men,
you know, as being great orators and great speakers. And some men are, no question
about it. And we love to hear a man who
can speak well. But listen, without the power
of God, Without the voice of God, no one is going to be saved. No one is going to hear and believe. There is an effectual call. But the truth and the third truth
that I want to speak to us about for the rest of my time in this
verse is that believers are called unto the fellowship of his son,
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Those three things, look at them
again in verse nine. God is faithful, number one.
Number two, there is an effectual call by whom you were called. Number three, called unto the
fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Those who hear the gospel and
believe the gospel are saved and are called unto the fellowship
of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Do you notice when we read these
first nine verses, the Apostle Paul never tires. He never tires
of confessing the Lordship of Jesus Christ. You know, those
were the first words he spoke to the Lord. Who art thou, Lord? He didn't say, who art thou,
Jesus? Who art thou, Lord? I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. And I noticed in reading these
nine verses how many times he said over and over. Notice in
verse two, under the church of God which is at Corinth to them
that are sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be saints with
all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ
our Lord. Verse three, grace be unto you
and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse seven, so that you come
behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Verse eight, who shall also confirm
you unto the end that you may be blameless in the day of our
Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, verse nine,
by whom you were called unto the fellowship of his son, Jesus
Christ, our Lord. You say, you make too much of
an issue out of that preacher. No, I don't. He's the Lord. And there was a day in this country
when preachers stood in pulpits of all kinds of different denominations
and proclaimed the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And this so-called
Jesus that is being preached in most places today doesn't
even resemble The Lord Jesus Christ just has a name. Weak, effeminate, waiting on
man. Is that the Lord Jesus Christ? Not hardly, not hardly. You call me Lord and Savior,
he told his disciples, and you say, well, so I am. Now notice in this text here
unto the fellowship of Jesus Christ, of His Son, Jesus Christ
our Lord. Notice it is the incarnate Christ. You say, what does that word
mean, incarnate? It means He was made flesh. It
means the eternal Son of God came into this world as a man.
There was a union of the two natures, God and man, in the
one person. And that's who we are called
unto fellowship with. The incarnate son, that is God's
only begotten son, Jesus, that's his humanity, his name that was
given him at his birth. Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
Savior. Christ, that's his office, he's
anointed as the one mediator between God and man. Our Lord,
he's God. We have fellowship. We've been
called unto fellowship with him. Now this Greek word that is here
translated fellowship, it's used 20 times in the New Testament
text. And 10 of those 20 times, it
is translated fellowship. But in a few places, it is translated
communion. As in the text, what communion
hath light with darkness. W.E. Vines' Greek word studies
gives these meanings for this Greek word. Fellowship, communion,
and sharing in common. And Thayer's Greek lexicon gives
the meaning as fellowship, association, community, communion, and joint
participation. The word fellowship, jokingly,
I believe, has been defined as two fellows in the same ship.
But that's a good definition, really. It really is. Two fellows
in the same ship. Two who share things in common. Now I want to mention to us this
morning five things. If you are a believer, if you're
a child of God, that you have been called into fellowship with
the Lord Jesus Christ. There's five things, I'm sure
there may be more, but these are five that that I want to
mention. First of all, we fellowship or
share with the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father's love. Let that sink in. You, you, if
you're one of his children today, you fellowship or share with
the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father's love. In his prayer,
recorded in John 17, the Lord Jesus said this to his father,
that the world may know that thou hast sent me, now listen,
and hast loved them, talking about his disciples, and hast
loved them as thou hast loved me. That's amazing, isn't it? as thou hast loved them, his
disciples, every child of God, as thou hast loved me. What do we know from the word
of God about the Father's love of Christ into which we've been
called to fellowship? Well, we know that that love
is eternal. Never has been a time when he
did not love Christ. In Proverbs 8, we read about
the wisdom, which is another name for Christ. He says, I was
set up from everlasting from the beginning or ever the earth
was. Now, listen to me. Christ has had
a subsistence. from old eternity. Now he didn't
have a body and a soul until he was born of the Virgin Mary
in the town of Bethlehem. But he was set up, set up from
everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. That speaks
of him being set up as a mediator from everlasting. And the father
loved him then and it was a love of complacency because he goes
on in that passage to say, I was daily his delight. You remember
when he came into this world and God spoke, this is my beloved
son in whom I am well pleased. We share, you share, if you're
one of his children today, you share fellowship in God's eternal
love. of complacency. Jeremiah 31 in
verse 3 says, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love,
therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. Let me ask
you this question. Could God love Christ any more
than he does? Think about it. Could he? Could
God love Christ any more than He loves Him? Could God's love
for Christ be increased even just a little? Of course not. Of course not. Could He love those who trust
in Christ any more than He does? In other words, could He love
you any more than He does? No. He couldn't love you anymore.
And he loves you. We've been called into fellowship
to share with the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father's love.
You say, well, how much does he love us? He loved us so much
that he spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all.
That's how much he loved us. There's not a parent in this
building who would give your child for someone else. And think about the fact that
when Christ died for us, he didn't die for the righteous, he died
for the ungodly. God's love we share. We fellowship with the Lord Jesus
Christ and the Father's love. Second, we fellowship or share
with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Father's eternal election. In Ephesians 1, verses 3 and
4, Paul said, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him, that
is, in Christ, before the foundation of the world. Christ is God's first elect, and all others are chosen in
him, and blessed in him with all spiritual blessings. even
before the foundation of the world. The hemrider wrote, before
the earth or seas were made, Jesus was chosen as our head. The father's first elect, in
him the church was chosen too, and he engaged to bring them
through, nor will he them neglect. we fellowship or share with the
Lord Jesus Christ and the Father's eternal election. Number three,
we fellowship or share with the Lord Jesus Christ and the righteousness
of God. What righteousness do we have? None that God will accept. Not
of our own, but we fellowship or share with the Lord Jesus
Christ and His righteousness. Turn with me, if you will, to
Isaiah 46. In Isaiah chapter 46 and verses
12 and 13, God speaks, hearken, hearken
unto me. You ever thought about that first
chapter of Proverbs? Before I read on, let me flip
back there. Proverbs chapter one. Verse 20 says, Wisdom crieth
without, she uttereth her voice in the street. She crieth in
the chief places of concourse. In the opening of the gates in
the city, she uttereth her words saying, how long, you simple
ones, will you love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their
scorning and fools hate knowledge. Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit
unto you. I will make known my words unto
you. Because I have called and you
refused, I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded. But you have said it not, all
my counsel, and would none of my reproof. I also will laugh
at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolation
and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, distress and anguish
cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not
answer. They shall seek me early, but
they shall not find me, for that they hated knowledge and did
not choose the fear of the Lord. They were not of my counsel.
They despised all my reproof. Here in our text, here in this
passage in Isaiah, Isaiah 46, God speaks, hearken, listen,
you stout hearted. Well, I'll be there in a minute. Harken unto me, you stout-hearted,
that are far from righteousness. That's man's natural condition,
isn't it? He's stout-hearted. I don't need
anybody. I don't need a savior. I can
take care of myself. I'm not afraid of death. I'm not afraid to die. I'm not,
I'll tell you what I'm gonna tell God. Stout-hearted fools. Far from righteousness, have
none of our own. We've got plenty of self-righteousness,
but no righteousness that God will accept. I bring near my
righteousness. God said, I bring near my righteousness,
it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry,
and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel, my glory. God, if you notice here, he calls
this righteousness my righteousness. And I've listed four reasons
that I believe that God calls this righteousness, His righteousness. It is called the righteousness
of God because God sent His Son, the Son of God, to work out this
righteousness by His perfect obedience. That's what I mean
when we talk about righteousness. We're talking about perfect obedience,
obeying God's law, every tittle, every dot, Everything obeyed
perfectly in God's sight. My righteousness, God calls it.
He sent his son to work out this righteousness. Number two, it
is called the righteousness of God because God approved it.
Approved of it, I should say. He approved of it. This is my
beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And God calls it his
righteousness because God accepted it and raised him from the dead
for our justification. And number four, it is called
the righteousness of God because God imputes it. He charges this
righteousness, this perfect righteousness onto all who believe. We fellowship,
we share with Christ in this perfect righteousness. The Lord
Jesus Christ is no more righteous than you or I when we are clothed
in his righteousness. In the book of Revelation, the
righteousness of the church, which is the Lamb's bride, is
compared to fine linen. And she was granted that she
should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine
linen is the righteousness of saints. We share in that righteousness. You ever see one of these big
spotlights? When I was a kid, I remember, I was fascinated. They bring these big old spotlights
out. They were, I don't know how big
they were, but they'd shine them up into the sky, you know, and
you can see those lights. And I want to tell you something.
God's spotlight. Shining upon every child of God,
cannot see nor find one spot. Clothed in His righteousness,
we are as righteous as He is. Isn't that wonderful? The fellowship with Christ in
His righteousness. Number four. We fellowship or
share with the Lord Jesus Christ in eternal life. In Colossians
chapter three, the apostle said, well, you're dead. Writing to
believers, you're dead. You died with Christ. You were
crucified with him. And your life, your life is hid
with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory. We share, we fellowship with
the Lord Jesus Christ in eternal life. He told his disciples in
John 14, yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more,
but you see me, now listen, because I live, you shall live also. We share with Him, fellowship
with Him in eternal life. Because He lives, we live. For a child of God who's been
given eternal life to somehow lose that life, Christ would
have to lose that life because He is our life. Union with Him. And the last thing, we will. And I've said we do these first
four things. We do fellowship or share with
Him in God's love, in God's eternal election, in God's righteousness,
and in eternal life. But now I'm going to say we will. those of us here in this building
that know Christ. We will fellowship or share with
the Lord Jesus Christ in the Father's house, in the Father's
house. Remember those precious words
he told his disciples? They were downtrodden. They were discouraged, no doubt,
because he had just told them, one of you is going to betray
me. One of you is going to deny me. Peter, you're going to deny
me three times. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. In my father's house are many
dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you,
and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you unto myself. Now listen, that where I am,
there you may be also. We will, God willing, we will
fellowship or share with the Lord Jesus Christ in his Father's
house, our Father's house. We share the same Father, don't
we? We fellowship with Christ in
sharing the same Father. We fellowship and share with
Christ in having the same God. I send unto my God and your God,
unto my Father and your Father, he told his disciples. What a fellowship, what a fellowship
we have, those of us who know him today as our Lord and Savior.