The Fellowship of Love
I. The Revelation of the Fellowship
- A. Consisting of the unique love-relationship between the Father and
the Son - John 13:1, 3,
- 20, 33, 36; 1:1, 18; 15:9-10; 17:5, 24, 26
- B. Consisting of the Son's love for His own - John 13:1b
- 1. The meaning of His own
- a) Belonging to Him as a gift from the Father - John 10:27-29,
3-4, 16;
6:37-39
- b) Shepherded and redeemed by Him in the eternal covenant - Heb.
13:20-21
- c) Loved by Him to the uttermost - John 13:1b; Jer. 31:3
- C. Consisting of the Son's commission to dispense the unique love-relationship
of the Father and the Son to His believers - John 13:3; 17:20ff
- 1. Through incarnation - John 1:1-4, 10-18
- 2. Through crucifixion - John 7:37-39; 12:24
- 3. Through resurrection - John 14:16-21; 20:22
- 4. Through ascension - Acts 2:33; Rom. 5:5
- 5. Through His indwelling - Gal. 4:6
- D. Consisting of the fellowship with the Father and the Son in the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit - 1 John 1:3; 1 Cor. 1:9; 2 Cor. 13:14
- E. Consisting of the divine love-fellowship embodied in the saints
- John 13:34-35;
1 John 1:7-2:2
II. Maintaining the Fellowship
- A. By mutual foot-washing signifying serving one another with Life
- John 13:3-17
- 1. Supplying others - John 13:3-5; 2 Cor. 4:8-12
- 2. Being supplied by others - John 13:6-9; Phil. 1:18-21; Gal. 3:5
- 3. Being organically related in a life-love fellowship - John 13:8;
1 Cor. 12:27;
Eph. 4:16
- 4. Being clean, but still needing continuous life-supply - John
13:10; Eph. 5:25-27
- 5. The real love to one another is to supply each other with the
water of life
- - John 13:12-17, 34-35
- B. The genuine fellowship exposes the false ones - John 13:2, 10-11,
18-21, 26-30;
1 John 1:5-10
- C. The genuine fellowship releases the truth - John 13:31-32
- D. The genuine fellowship manifests the real ones - John 13:20-25
- E. The genuine fellowship encourages the failing ones - John 13:36-14:1