This surely must be one of the most amazing statements for a sinner, saved by grace, to read. To be brought into fellowship with those who comprise the family of God is a marvel at which angels must wonder. Then to read that this fellowship embraces God Himself, the Father, and His beloved Son staggers the mind.
God was not known as a Father to the Old Testament saints, except in a very limited way. Israel neither knew Him, addressed Him, nor honored Him as a Father. To the patriarchs He was known as El Shaddai, the Mighty God, when He sought to cherish in their hearts a sense of dependence on an Almighty Helper.
When He was forming a nation out of a band of refugee slaves escaping from Egypt, He revealed Himself by a new name “Jehovah”–The Eternal God who reveals Himself in time. And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty…but by My name Jehovah was I not known to them (Ex. 6:3).
Even when they were carried away captive, the Lord did not forsake His people, but revealed Himself by another great Name, “Jehovah Sabaoth,” the Lord of hosts. When He was teaching them that He was Sovereign over the hosts of heaven and of earth, and He was the One who would at last be the scourge and slaughter of their enemies.
A New Revelation
It wasn’t until that lonely Stranger walked the long miles into the Vale of Shechem and sat wearily at the well, that the Son of God brought this most wonderful revelation that God wanted to be known as a Father, a Father seeking children; children who would be worshippers. One might think how much more appropriate it would have been to bring this revelation to five thousand on the hillsides of Galilee, but here the Lord, in great grace, brought those words to one sinful woman, who was looking for something to slake her burning thirst. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him (Jn. 4:23).
God had spoken down through the ages to humankind in various ways, but at last in the fullness of the times, in His Son, He revealed Himself as a Father.
However, as soon as we are introduced to the idea of having fellowship with the Father, we are faced with three great problems to this fellowship, and the Son presents these:
* The Father is invisible to the natural eye: Not that any man hath seen the Father (Jn. 6:46).
* The Father is inscrutable to the natural mind: Neither knoweth any man the Father (Mt. 11:27).
* The Father is unapproachable by natural means: No man cometh unto the Father (Jn. 14:6).
How, then, is it possible to have fellowship with One whom we cannot naturally see, apprehend, nor approach? This miracle of love and grace is made possible and presently enjoyable through the Person and ministry of the Son.
He is seen by His manifestation in the Son: He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father (Jn. 14:9). He is known by the revelation of the Son, for…the Son will reveal Him (Mt. 11:27). And He is approached through the mediation of the Son: cometh unto the Father…by Me (Jn. 14:6).
The Prerequisites of this Fellowship
While the relationship of the children with the Father is indissoluble–assured by the Word of God, secured by the blood of Christ, and sealed by the work of the Spirit–fellowship with the Father has certain prerequisites. It goes without saying that the first is life. As beautiful and marvellous as was Adam’s clay form, fresh from the hand of the Creator, there could be no fellowship until it was imbued with the breath of God to become a living soul. So there can be no fellowship with the Father now without the gift of eternal life. God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life (1 Jn. 5:11-12). This life introduces us into the relationship, but John goes on to tell us that fellowship requires more.
The next prerequisite is light. In the things of God there are different radiations of light. There is revelation; that is light shed spiritually. There is illumination; that is light shed intellectually. There is holiness; that is light shed morally. There is righteousness; that is light shed practically and there is glory; that is light shed visibly.
The wonder of that fellowship of the children with each other and with the Father demands that they “walk in the light.” This means first, coming to the light: But he that doeth truth cometh to the light (Jn. 3:21a). If there is going to be fellowship with the Father, and a “doing” of the truth–not just a speaking of the truth–there must be a willingness to let the light shine into every nook and cranny of the life. We might fear to do this, knowing the wickedness of our own hearts and what might be lurking in some closet of corruption there, until we remember that it is the Father who has made full provision for our forgiveness and cleansing, that every obstacle and hindrance to fellowship might be removed.
It will mean coming under the light …that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God (Jn. 3:21b). This is not to expose our sins to all and sundry. God has no pleasure in that. Indeed, when we uncover our sins to the Father and confess them, it is His joyous prerogative to remove them from His sight and His memory. The Father wants to help His children distinguish what is of God in their lives and what is not. This heavenly discernment enlivens our fellowship with the Father.
It means continuing in the light, “walk in the light” (1 Jn. 1:7), that is, making steady progress in the things of God. The steps may be small, and slow, and faltering at times, but there ought to be a going on with God in the life, little by little. It may not be noticeable from day to day, but as we look back along the path we have taken, we can see in retrospect, …all the way which the Lord thy God led thee (Deut. 8:2).
Conformity of Nature Essential for Fellowship
Fellowship of the children with the Father will involve not only life and light, but also a family likeness. Conformity of nature is essential for fellowship. Adam looked for a suitable help among the animals, but there was not found an help meet for him (Gen. 2:20). Why not? What was he looking for? Someone with the same nature as he. Then the Lord made the woman and brought her to Adam. His response was, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. Literally he said, “At last!” Here was one of his own nature. Now fellowship on every level was possible–spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and physically.
The measure in which the Father’s children conform to the nature of His dear Son will determine the sweetness and the intimacy of their fellowship with the Father Himself. So in love for the children, the Father works in them to conform them to the likeness and the image of His Son. There is first a judicial likeness; they are called the sons of God (1 Jn. 3:1). That took place in the past. But there is an experiential likeness; Beloved, now are we the sons of God… (3:2). This is a fact of the present moment. Ultimately there will be a perfected likeness; But we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is (3:2).
But day by day the vicissitudes of life, without exception–the things God causes, and the things God permits–are being worked together to conform us to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:28-29). The more the children are conformed to the Son, the richer and deeper will be their fellowship one with the other and with the Father.
The Ascriptions of the Father
The more we discover of the character of the Father, the more we learn the implications of fellowship with Him. Certain great ascriptions are attributed to the Father that enlarge our understanding of Him and what it means for His children to walk with Him in happy fellowship.
The Father of Mercies: Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3). The word translated “mercies” is really “compassion.” Immediately we are reminded that we are the daily recipients of His compassion. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness (Lam. 3:22-23). The moment we open our eyes to a new day, we can immediately give thanks to the Father for the fresh load of compassions He has already delivered to us. Someone said to an elder brother, patting him on the shoulder, “Have a good day!” The old saint replied, “Brother, if I open my eyes in the morning, that’s already a good day!” An appreciation of this daily freight of His compassions will impel His children into His presence with thankfulness, beginning the day in fellowship with the Father of Mercies.
A recognition of His compassions–His “mercies”–will lead His children to acknowledge their obligation to be ready and available for the Father to use in His service. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1). The word “present” is not simply making a present or an offering of ourselves in a moment of grand dedication to God. Gabriel uses this word when speaking to Zacharias about the birth of his son John, the forerunner of the Messiah. “I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God…” (Lk. 1:19). How long had that great angel stood in the presence of God waiting to bring the name of the forerunner of the Messiah–an age? A thousand ages? It mattered not. Gabriel’s place was to “stand” by, to be available for the slightest command from the throne. Ability was not the qualifier; it was availability. So also with Mary and John at the cross; they were “standing by”–available for any request from those parched lips. “Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by, whom He loved…” (Jn. 19:26).
Fellowship with the Father of mercies, then, involves an appreciation in His presence for all His tender compassions, and a loving response to all those mercies by standing by, obedient and ready to carry out His will.
The Father of Lights: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Jas. 1:17). To have fellowship with this Father of Lights is going to teach us some significant aspects of giving. The unchanging beneficence of the Father is seen by the use of two words, “variation” (RV) and “shadow.” “Variation” is parallage from which we get the English parallax. That has to do with an object relative to the viewer’s position. With the Father of Lights there is no “parallax.”
It matters not how the Father views His creature, there is no change in His generosity towards them. “I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mt. 5:44-45).
The other word is “shadow,” actually “overshadow,” caused by the variation of the light. The eclipse of the sun is when it is “overshadowed” by the changing position of things. They may change, but the Father is immutable–He changes not. “No changes in this lower world can cast a shadow on the unchanging Fount of light…God is incapable of change and incapable of being changed by the action of others” (Mayor).
The lesson the children can learn is that fellowship with the Father of Lights would mean that the attitude of others towards them should not change their position of generosity towards them.
While we rejoice in the statement that our fellowship is with the Father, the more we learn of Him the more we are brought to see the practical implications of that holy fellowship from day to day.