The True Ground of Fellowship
Fellowship in the Church is not a gathering of beggars, each hoping to siphon strength from another. The biblical vision is far higher: fellowship is the meeting of those who are already full—those who have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ, who lack nothing, and who come together to partake of Christ Himself. This is not theory; it is the only ground God recognizes. If you approach fellowship as a needy orphan or a spiritual pauper, you have missed the very starting point. Scripture is clear: “You are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Col 2:10). You are seated with Christ in the heavenlies (Eph 2:6), a member of God’s household (Eph 2:19), reconciled and brought near by the blood (Eph 2:13), a co-heir with Christ (Rom 8:17). This is not a future hope; it is your present position.
The mind of Christ, which Paul commands us to adopt, does not begin with self-abasement. It begins with the recognition of position. Christ, knowing He was equal with God, was free to take the form of a servant. Likewise, only those who know they are sons—enthroned, secure, and rich—can serve in true humility. This is not a humility that grovels, but one that flows from fullness.
Fellowship: Partaking of Christ, Not Each Other
The Old Testament priesthood gives us the pattern: man brings nothing of himself to God. The offering required was always what God Himself provided—a type of Christ. The priest’s role was not to present his own merit, but to bring forward what God had already supplied. God accepts only Christ, and fellowship is the mutual appreciation and partaking of Him. The priests ate a portion of the offering, just as God received His portion. Fellowship, then, is not a social exchange or a therapy session; it is the shared enjoyment of Christ as our portion.
God does not regard your flesh—every inch of it was covered by priestly garments. He is not interested in your self-examination or your attempts to improve your condition in Adam. He has provided Christ, and He calls you to fix your attention on Him. This is liberating: you are not called to bring your own righteousness, but to partake of the One whom God has already accepted.
If you miss this, you lose everything. Fellowship collapses into mutual neediness, the flesh becomes the focus, and Christ is sidelined. The Church becomes a support group for the spiritually impoverished, rather than the banquet hall of the sons of God. The glory of our position is lost, and with it, the witness of the Church as God’s masterpiece.
The Boast of the Rich
This is why Paul, far from being ashamed of his inheritance, boasts in it. The riches of Christ are not a private treasure to be hidden; they are the very substance of our fellowship and our testimony. The world may sneer, and religious flesh may be provoked to jealousy, but the Gospel is an open invitation to the feast: “Come, for all things are now ready” (Luke 14:17). If you are in Christ, you are not a dog under the table, but a son at the table, feasting on the fatted calf. To downplay this is not humility—it is unbelief.
We received this position as a free gift. There is no merit in it, and it is open to all who believe. But to refuse to boast in Christ’s riches is to rob the Gospel of its power and its appeal. The Church that loses sight of her inheritance becomes Laodicean—lukewarm, blind to her true wealth, and powerless to invite others to the feast.
The Pattern of Christ’s Humility
Paul’s exhortation to “let this mind be in you” (Phil 2:5) is not a call to self-generated humility. Christ, being in the form of God, did not cling to His rights, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant. He descended to the lowest place—not because He was unsure of His status, but precisely because He was secure in it. His humiliation was voluntary, and His exaltation was God’s response.
We, too, are called to serve from the throne. Our humiliation in this age is temporary; our enthronement is eternal. To serve others is not to deny our position, but to express it. Only those who know they are kings can afford to be servants. If you reverse this—if you try to walk before you sit, to serve before you know your sonship—you will inevitably fall into striving, self-effort, and the endless treadmill of religious performance. This is not the Gospel.
Working Out What God Has Worked In
When Paul says, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12), he is not commanding you to secure your eternal destiny by your own effort. The context is clear: “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Phil 2:13). This is not self-effort, but the outworking of Christ’s life by the Spirit. The “salvation” in view is not deliverance from hell, but deliverance from fleshly striving, murmuring, and unbelief. It is the practical manifestation of Christ in your situation—His joy, His unity, His blamelessness shining forth through you.
The alternative is clear and disastrous. If you misunderstand this exhortation as a call to self-effort, you will fall into the same trap as Israel in the wilderness: murmuring, complaining, and missing the enjoyment of the good land. You will walk as a “mere man,” offended and powerless, rather than as a son shining as a light in the world. The Church loses her testimony, her unity, and her joy.
The Goal: Maturity and the Manifestation of Christ
Paul’s ministry was never content with mere conversion. His aim was to present every believer full-grown in Christ, shining as luminaries, holding forth the word of life. The New Testament ministry is not a program of self-improvement, but the unveiling of the riches of Christ’s inheritance in the saints. When you see what is yours, you are transformed. You move from Lodebar to the King’s table, from shame to sonship, from striving to rest.
If you accept the error of works-based striving, you lose all of this. Justification is undermined, inheritance is obscured, and sonship is reduced to a mere legal fiction. The Church becomes a factory for fleshly effort, rather than the household of faith. The Gospel is emptied of its power, and the glory of God in the Church is veiled.
The Only Way Forward
To “work out your salvation” is to live as who you truly are: a son, a co-heir, a member of God’s household, supplied with the Spirit, and feasting on Christ. The fear and trembling is not fear of God’s rejection, but a sober recognition that to walk in the flesh, to murmur and complain, is to spoil your witness and rob yourself and others of the enjoyment of Christ.
This is not a secondary issue. To miss this is to miss the very heart of the New Testament. The Church does not advance by fleshly striving, but by the Spirit’s supply, by the revelation of Christ, and by the mutual enjoyment of all that God has freely given us in Him. Anything less is a denial of our inheritance and a forfeiture of our calling.
Let this mind be in you: know your position, boast in Christ, and serve from fullness. This is the only fellowship God recognizes, and it is the only fellowship that manifests His glory.
