The midland journal., 1946-06-21
STRENGTHENING BONDS
OF FELLOWSHIP

LESSON rExT-Luke 22:l4-2O; John II,
6-8, 20, 21.
MEMORY sELEcIIoN-A new com.
mandment give unto you, That ye love one
another; as have loved you, that We also
love one another.-John 1894
Fellowship is word which
comes to its full meaning only in
the relationship between the Lord
and believers, which also brings
them into just such a relationship
with one another.
The Lord seeks his people and
gives himself in friendship to them,
even to the full devotion of death.
Shall we do less for one another?
Our lesson presents four ways in
which Christ fellowshiped with his
disciples.
1. The Fellowship Of the Passover
(Luke 22:14-18).
1t was late on Thursday, of what
we call Holy Week, that Jesus and
his disciples came to the upper room
where Peter and John had already
made preparation for the observ-
ance of the Passover (Luke 22:8).
This feast had (since that great
and awful night of Israel's redemp-
ton out of Egypt's bondage) pointed
forward to the Christ and to his
cross as the fulfllment of the type
of redemption by the shedding of
blood.
Our Lord looked forward with in
tense desire to the Passover which
he now observed with his disciples,
for it was the last celebration of
that feast recognized by God. ALI
that it hal foreshadowed of deliver
ance and hope was fulfilled in him
who now sat at the table. He had
moved forward with resolute pur-
pose to this day when his mission
on earth was to be accomplished,
and he was to become the Chris
tian's Passover lamb Il Cor. 5:7).
. The Passover was solemn feast
Of remembrance of Gods deliver
ance from the bondage of Egypt,
but it was now to be replaced by
a new feast of remembrance of eter-
nal significance. They went on into
III. The Fellowship of the Lords
Table (Luke 22:19, 20).
Taking the unleavened bread and
the unferlnented wine of the Pass
over which had just been observed,
Jesus established the Christian feast
of remembrance, which we call
communion, or the Lords table.
His words are significant, "For
as often as ye eat this bread, and
drink this cup, ye do show the
Lords death till he come" Il Cor.
1925. At the Lords table his fol-
lowers find spiritual strength in re-
calling his death for them, but they
also find joy as they remember that
he is to come again. They thus testi-
fly to the world that they believe
and cherish these truths.
Our Lord also spoke of the cup as
"my blood of the new testament"
The word Testament" means COW
enant. The Lords table, therefore,
speaks Of our allegiance to him,
of our loyalty to our Lord, and Of
our devotion to his service. That is
why the Christian church speaks Of
communion as sacrament, word
from the Latin sacramentum,
meaning oath, and essentially an
oath of allegiance.
iii. The Fellowship of Gods
Word (John 1863.
John gives us blessed account
of the fellowship of Jesus and his
disciples in the upper room, and
then takes us into what is indeed
"the Holy of Holes" of Scripture,
our Lords microscopy prayer.
Here "the High Priest of our pro-
fession" (Heb. 3:1) brings us into
the very presence of God.
|. At the very beginning Of his petit
tions for them and for us (see ".
20) he speaks of the word which
the Father had given him and which
he had given to them.
This little company of men had
been given to Christ, drawn out of
the evil world and set apart for
Gods work. But note that the thing
which distinguished them in the
eyes of the Lord was that they had
''kept" the word of God, even as
they had received the living word,
Christ, as the one whom the Father
had sent.
That kind of fellowship with the
LORD makes a man strong and USE
full. Life and testimony both ring
true because they exalt Christ.
Nv. The Fellowship Of Prayer
(John 1920, 21.
Christ prayed for his disciples,
not only those Immediately pres
ent, but all who should through the
ages since that day believe in Christ
because of their witness.
That puts each one of us, who is
true disciple, right into the center
of the greatest prayer fellowship of
all time. He, the eternal and omnipo-
tent one, prays for us. Why then
should we be weak and faltering in
our testimony or have failures in our
life? Can it be that we have failed
to count on his prayer and have
tried to walk in our own strength?