The journal. (Caldwell, Ohio) 1934-1961, 1946-10-31
FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
By the late
Rev. Herbert A. Cutler

Text: - THAT which we have
seen and heard declare we unto
you, that ye may have fellowship
with us; and truly our fellowship Is
with the Father, and with his son,
Jesus Christ. Il John /; 81
1t is quite evident that John IS
speaking of his own personal eXper-
ience rather than an abstract theO-
logical principle He uses the langu-
age that denotes a very close rela-
tionship with another. What does he
mean by saying we truly have fell
Iowship with the Father and with
Jesus? Is he not saying that God
and man are related to each other
in a way other than that of the Gre
ated thing to the creator? In other
words, God and man must hold
things in common.
One has said that only beings of
like nature can have fellowship
with another. A dog may be well
treated and trusted, but parents
can have fellowship with their
children. A tree may stand, admired
by passing generations; but the
members of a family weep and
laugh together. The reason is ap..
parent; the children have some OF
their parents nature, they resemble
them in disposition as well as out
ward appearance If we can fellow
ship with God it is because we par
take of his deVine nature. The late
MIR. Moody said, 'No man has real
desire to walk with God until he
has been redeemed by the blood of
Christ, and brought into fellowship
with God. If we have turned away
from the sanctuary and have ne
elected the statutes of God, and
find our intellectual and spiritual
food outside the Bible and good lit
crature, and are seeking satisfaction
in the amusement of the world, we
are certainly not in fellowship with
God"
The worldly pleasures and amuse-
ments certainly look cheap to the
man or woman who is in fellowship
With God and Jesus Christ. No one
wants to entertain the world and its
foolery and sin who is entertaining
God the Father and Jesus Christ
the Son.
To fellowship with God must in
the very nature of the case mean
separation from the world. Gods
ways and the ways of the world
rave never conceded in all the past
ages and never will. Nothing is
more condemned in the Word than
worldliness Hear the Word, Love
not the world neither the things
that are in the world. If any man
love the world, the love of the
Father is not in him. For all that IS
in the world, the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life, is not of the Father,
but is of the world" The great COM
pany of make believe Christians
may contend that they can have
fellowship with God and flirt with
the world and have a gay life, but
the real spirit filled Christian knows
lie cannot and furthermore knows
he does not want for he has some
thing that is a thousand times better
than the richest staff the world can
tot out. The natural man has the
world in him, but the plan of sal
walton dethrones the old world, and
enthrones God.
One reason why some people re-
sort TO Ine WOTlu lOI tIlSll PiSaoNAS
is because it is the best they know
ebout To fellowship with God, we
must 60 to his terms, not try to
bring him to ours. God cannot save
the unyielded life. Many person
would like to go to heaven after
while who does not want God to
control him here.
The new birth means a complete
change of the nature. We are no
longer satisfied with social gos-
pei, we want the gospel that tells us
about salvation saved to the ut
tcrmost.
Not this: "Be not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers: what
fellowship hath righteousness with
Ilnrighteousness? And what COM
n.union hath Christ with Belial? Or
what part hath he that believeth
with an infidel? And what agree
ment hath the temple of God with
idols? 8. wherefore come ye
out from among them, and be ye
separate saith the Lord, and touch
not the unclean thing; and | will
receive you and l will be Father
to you, and ye shall be my sons and
daughters, saith the Lord AL
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