“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken,” (Ecclesiastes 4:9 to 12 NKJV).

   “Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight…” (Leviticus 26:8 NKJV).

   The above quotations tell us the benefits we derive from brother with brother fellowship. In Psalm 133, we see the pouring down of the oil and the falling of the dew. This signifies the release of the Holy Spirit and the heavenly blessings whenever we fellowship with one another. Then in Ecclesiastes, we have also see three other benefits. One, the lifting up from a fall, which means, we receive correction for our mistakes when we have fellowship. Two, to keep us warm; that is, fellowship preserves our zeal in our walk with the Lord. And three, the ability to withstand opposition and not be quickly broken; also refers to the strength we gain from our fellowship to overcome our shortcomings. Finally, Leviticus 26:8 shows that we prevail over the enemy when we have fellowship with one another.  We must endeavour to fellowship with the brothers every day.

OTHER MATTERS ABOUT FELLOWSHIP

   Even as we have already discussed a lot about fellowship, I still see the need to further reason with you about the three fundamental principles of fellowship. These are as follow:

1. RECEIVING ALL BELIEVERS IRRESPECTIVE OF THEIR OPINIONS

   “Offer an open hand of fellowship to welcome every true believer, even though their faith may be weak and immature. And refuse to engage in debates with them concerning nothing more than opinions. For example, one believer has no problem with eating all kinds of food, but another with weaker faith will eat only vegetables,” (Romans 14:1 to 2 TPT).

   “You will bring God glory when you accept and welcome one another as partners, just as the Anointed One has fully accepted you and received you as his partner,” (Romans 15:7 TPT).

   The above verses clearly indicate that we should freely accept and have fellowship with every true believer irrespective of the opinion he holds. We are not permitted to reject any true believer who have different views on certain matters. We are also cautioned not to dispute with them about their different opinions but to rather accept them just as Christ has fully accepted us. Rejecting a person because of the opinion he holds means distancing ourselves from him, which will eventually form a wall of division between us and him. Division, as  indicated in the Book of Galatians, is a serious sin before the Lord. Why should our opinions separate us from a brother who also partook in the death and the resurrection of Christ Jesus as we? Or why should we be divided from a brother who is a member of the body of Christ as we are, who also have the same hope and is a partaker of the same inheritance as ourselves? To this end, Apostle Paul writes, “He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observes the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and give God thanks,” (Romans 14:6 NKJV). This means that he who has one opinion and is fully convinced of it and another brother who also has a different opinion and is convinced of it are both accepted by the Lord! To most people, this is unpleasant. However, it is the true word of God. We must not divide because of opinions.

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