Old Saint to New Saint Fellowship

Hey ya'll...what's da Word?

"That which was from the beginning, which we have HEARD, which we have SEEN, with our eyes, which we have LOOKED upon and our hands have HANDLED concerning the WORD OF LIFE...the life was manifested, and we have SEEN and BEAR WITNESS, and DECLARE to you that eternal life which was WITH the Father and was MANIFESTED to us...that which we have SEEN and HEARD we DECLARE to you...that you also may have FELLOWSHIP with us; and truly our FELLOWSHIP is with the Father and with His Son JESUS CHRIST."
(I John 1:1-3)

FELLOWSHIP: partnership, participation, intercourse, benefaction, communicate, communion, distribution.

Having something in common...with those "old saints" of days gone by...seems like an impossibility. Sure we have the ability to read about the history of the events...but to actually have a partnership...a participation...to communicate and have a common communion with them seems so distant...so far away. After all...they had first hand experience with Jesus.

They...those in the past...have heard, seen, looked upon, handled, and bore witness this thing called eternal life...BUT they wanted the readers of the letter...the epistle...the book...to have KOINONIA with them. Not only to have fellowship with them...but also to have fellowship with (1) the Father (2) the Son...Jesus the Christ.


John...also wrote a gospel of discourse...called The Gospel According to John. In that Gospel...he opens up with...

"In the beginning was the WORD (Jesus)...and the WORD (Jesus) was with God (the Father)...and the WORD (Jesus) was God. He (Jesus) was in the beginning with God (the Father). All things were made through Him (Jesus) and with Him (Jesus) nothing was made that was made. In Him (Jesus) was life and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:1-5)

"And the WORD (Jesus) became flesh (human) and dwelt among us, and we beheld His (Jesus) glory as of the only BEGOTTEN (Son) of the Father (God), full of grace and truth.


The link...the connecting point... the thing that makes us have communion and something in common with the "old saints"...to us "new saints" is THE WORD OF GOD. This connection is two fold...(1) the Word in the form of Jesus...via His D.B.R., the Death, Burial, and Resurrection which includes the cross and shed blood....and (2) the Written Word of God...that is more than just a book on paper...but it is a LIVING WORD.

"For the WORD OF GOD...is LIVING and POWERFUL, and SHARPER than any tow-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit (human) and of joints and marrow, and is a DISCERNER of the THOUGHTS and INTENTS of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)

For us to have FELLOWSHIP with one another...and with the Father...and with Jesus...we must have a relationship with THE WORD. That relationship starts out with our EARS...(physical and spiritual ears)...as FAITH comes...by HEARING...and HEARING by the WORD OF GOD. (Romans 10:17) Oh that we would have the ears of that picture of the dog.

Another connection that we have...is THROUGH the "old saint's" WORDS. "I (Jesus) do not pray for these ("old saints" alone...BUT ALSO...those who will BELIEVE IN ME...THROUGH THEIR WORD." (John 17:20) Jesus gave explicit orders to the eleven... and gave marching orders to (1) Go (2) make disciples of all the nations (3) baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit (4) teach them (the made disciples) ALL THINGS that I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:16-20)

Our KOINONIA...with "old saints"...with the Father...with the Son...and with one another in the local church (gathering of saints)...and the church (gathering of saints) around the world will be through THE WORD...JESUS...by the substance of things hoped for...the evidence of things not revealed to the senses. (Hebrews 11:1)

As a RUMINATOR...someone who chews on the cud of the WORD OF GOD...I said all of that to say this...
Begin to moo and chew on NOT just a historical doctrine...but the LIVING WORD OF GOD.

"For the WORD OF GOD that God SPEAKS is alive and full of power-- making it active, operative, energizing and effective; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit and of joints and marrow [that is, of the deepest parts of our nature] exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purpose of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12 The Amplified Bible)


AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR..THE RUMINATOR SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS. If you are in the area...and would like to join the herd to moo and chew on THE WORD OF GOD... I would like to invite you to join us at:

Smyrna Assembly
14119 Old Nashville Highway
Smyrna TN 37167
(615) 459-3421
www.SmyrnaAssembly.org

The herd gathers at 9:00 A.M. as we begin to have KOINONIA over food, fun, fellowship, and breaking of the bread of the Word of God.

Love and Koinonia Kisses
Rodney "Mooin' and Chewin' On Da Word of God" Boyd