{"id":854,"date":"2009-08-18T04:01:37","date_gmt":"2009-08-18T04:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/intimate-fellowship-encompasses-four-common-ideas-of-the-christian-life.html"},"modified":"2009-08-18T04:01:37","modified_gmt":"2009-08-18T04:01:37","slug":"intimate-fellowship-encompasses-four-common-ideas-of-the-christian-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/intimate-fellowship-encompasses-four-common-ideas-of-the-christian-life.html","title":{"rendered":"Intimate Fellowship Encompasses Four Common Ideas of the Christian Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 10 of series: What is the Christian Life?
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nSo far in this series, I have been exploring the idea that the Christian life is, essentially, intimate fellowship with God and God\u2019s people<\/em>. I have based my discussion primarily on the first letter of John in the New Testament, where he uses the Greek word koinonia<\/em> to describe the Christian life. This word, often translated as \u201cfellowship,\u201d points to a deep, committed relationship. Hence my translation \u201cintimate fellowship.\u201d
\nToday and tomorrow I want to show how the notion of intimate fellowship encompasses four common ideas of the Christian life.
\nIf you were to poll a bunch of Christians, asking them \u201cWhat is the Christian life?\u201d you\u2019d get a variety of answers. Among these you would commonly hear something like:<\/p>\n

1. The Christian life is being in heaven after death.
\n2. The Christian life is feeling joy and peace in the Lord.
\n3. The Christian life is believing the right things about God and Jesus.
\n4. The Christian life is doing what God commands in his Word.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Each of these ideas is true to an extent. But each idea fails to encompass the diversity and depth of the Christian life. Intimate fellowship, however, is an elastic enough concept to embrace these four common ideas, allowing their partial truths to find completeness in a larger whole. Let me explain.
\n1. The Christian Life as Heaven?<\/strong>
\nThe Christian life does include being in heaven after death. Those who think of the Christian life in this way correctly identify a core hope of our faith, but put too much emphasis upon post-mortem existence, overlooking the present reality of Christian living. When we think of the Christian life as intimate fellowship with God and God’s people, however, we understand that this fellowship begins the moment we believe in Jesus. It starts now and extends forever. Our koinonia<\/em> continues beyond death, though we don’t have to wait until we die to experience it.
\nPutting emphasis upon intimate fellowship also clarifies the biblical sense of heaven. We often speak of heaven as a place, but most importantly it is the \u201cplace\u201d where God dwells. To be “in heaven” is to be “with God.” The New Testament speaks of our future, not primarily in terms of some mysterious spiritual geography, but in terms of relationship. Our everlasting future will be “with the Lord” or “with Christ” (1 Thess 4:17; Phil 1:23). For this reason, Scripture can even speak of heaven as a present reality, since we already live with Christ (Eph 2:6). Yet we yearn for a more complete experience of heaven, not because it\u2019s such a great place to live, but because it is the dwelling place of such a great God. In time, heaven will come to earth as God will dwell here among us (see Revelation 21, for example. Photo: Not heaven, but close. A tributary of the Gallatin River in Montana.)
\n2. The Christian Life as Joy and Peace in the Lord?<\/strong>
\nSurely the Christian life includes feeling joy and peace in the Lord. Although, taken alone, this notion puts too much weight upon certain positive emotions, such feelings often proceed from fellowship with Christ. Jesus makes this clear when he says that abiding in him \u2013 another way of talking about koinonia<\/em> \u2013 will lead to overflowing joy (John 15:11). Moreover, when in times of worry we share in fellowship with God through prayer, then we “will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard [our] hearts and minds as [we] live in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7). Joy and peace will be the sweet fruit of growing intimacy with God.
\nAt the same time, we must never reduce the Christian life to positive feelings. For one thing, no Christians are immune from unhappy feelings such as grief or fear. For another, positive feelings are a common by-product of relationship with God, but not the relationship itself. The Christian life is rather like a marriage, in that marriage often includes warm feelings of love, but is not to be identified with those feelings.
\nThese days, you\u2019ll often hear people talk about worship in terms of their personal feelings. If they felt something tangible, such as joy or peace, in a worship service, then they really worshiped. If the feelings were absent, then so was real worship. But this confuses worship with feelings that often come as we worship. In fact, worship is not feeling something, but rather offering praise, thanks, adoration, confession, and ultimately ourselves to God. Genuine worship often includes genuine emotions, but emotions are not worship. Worship is an action, something we choose to do in order to honor the Lord.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 10 of series: What is the Christian Life? Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series So far in this series, I have been exploring the idea that the Christian life is, essentially, intimate fellowship with God and God\u2019s people. I have based my discussion primarily on the first letter of John in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-life"],"yoast_head":"\nIntimate Fellowship Encompasses Four Common Ideas of the Christian Life - Mark D. 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Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}