1 Corinthians 1:9 NKJV God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
You are called into the fellowship of God’s Son… God Almighty has issued a call to come into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The potential of the call falls into two phases. Phase one is the present potential. Phase two is the future potential. The ultimate potential of the call and fellowship is what God has prepared eternally for those who are called.
2 Timothy 2:12 NKJV If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.
God’s thought, intention, and will is for us to fellowship Christ in His kingdom and also in His dominion. This is the idea behind the call and in the fellowship. We have been called to share with Christ in His power, glory and throne. The call has a present and future potential. We cannot afford to miss out on anything that God has prepared for those who are in Christ Jesus.
The Father’s ultimate intention is that all who are called into the fellowship of His Son will be associated with Christ on His throne.
We shall walk with Him in white. We will be given a new name and a new home. We shall enjoy the riches of His glory, which He has prepared,(Romans 9:23).
This is related to Christ’s authority, power, and position. Since Christ has arisen and is sitting at the right hand of God, this call into fellowship has changed our focus from an earthly thing to a heavenly, (Colossians 3:1).
When we regard and respond to the Father’s call, we are brought into fellowship with His Son and all that involves.
As a result, the potential of the call brings about some dramatic changes. It affects our demeanor and character. It brings changes to our spirit, mind, and body. This affects our position and power. It impacts our present and future.
When we regard and respond to the call of the Father, we are brought into the fellowship of His Son. This means that we must go through preparation and training.
This reminds me of what happened when Elisha was called into fellowship with Elijah and ultimately with the Lord Jesus Christ. For quite a while, Elisha knew the potential of the call was there, but he did not have the possession or fullness of it. A day came when the full power of the Spirit that was upon Elijah came upon him.
This is the process of coming into Christ’s presence. Change must take place in our lives. We cannot remain the same. We hear the call of the Father and begin responding to Him.
God is preparing us for fellowship with the glorious Lord Jesus Christ. He is holy, sinless, and pure. He is full of glory, grace, and blessing.
Consider that you have been called into that fellowship.
Something must change in us so we will be enabled to fellowship with Him. He is the awesome God. He is above all and has almighty power and holiness. He is high and lifted up and His glory fills the temple.
We were not prepared to walk in the heavenly places with Christ, so God must change us. We would be out of place if we were not changed.
What does it take to be prepared?
The prophets needed to be changed.They were unprepared for holy ground or the power of His glory and presence. John fell like a dead man at the feet of the resurrected Christ. When Isaiah saw the Lord almighty, he knew he was unclean, and unworthy.
We must be changed! We are going to be made to fit in with the position, responsibility, and association of Christ.
Why must we be changed! The Lord Jesus Christ is different from us. He is totally holy, kind, loving, and pure. All power, glory, honor, and splendor belong to Him. The radiant glory of God exudes from His being.
He is totally different from what we have been. When the Father called us, we were bound in the slavery of our past sins. Since we responded, we know that He is holy and filled with great glory. We want to be like Him, but we know we are different. We know we fall short of His glory.
When we were called into the fellowship of our Lord Jesus Christ, we knew we did not belong. We knew that we needed to be changed. We must be conformed into the image of God’s Son. We must be changed.
When Elisha was called into the fellowship of Elijah, he had to go through a process of being changed. He followed Elijah until he was able to walk like Elijah walked. After Elijah was taken up in a chariot of fire, Elisha was changed by the Spirit that was upon Elijah.
Preparation must be made for the presence of God’s Son.
2 Timothy 2:4 NASB95 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.
We are called into active fellowship with God’s Son. There is more to this than just walking around in a uniform. You can look like a soldier and not be one.
When I was a child, I would put on my dad’s shoes, pants and shirt. In my mind, I looked like my dad.
This preparation gets down into the inner fiber of who we are.
The 19 year old recruit showed up for basic training and met the hardened sergeant who told him, “Son, we are going to make a soldier out of you.” The recruit weighed a whopping 120 pounds soaking wet. The sergeant stood 6 foot 2 and was hard as a rock. His goal was to make the recruit a soldier, even if he does not have on a uniform.
When the Angel of the Lord called Gideon, He said, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” (Judges 6:1). Then Gideon was told, “Go in this might of yours and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”
Gideon did not feel very strong. He said, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
Have you ever felt that you were not equipped to achieve the challenge that was before you?
Gideon received a word from the Lord that applies to believers throughout the ages. The Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites…” (Judges 6:15).
When God calls us into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, we are going to have to stand in the strength we have.
God wanted Gideon to be prepared on the inside for what he was being called to do on the outside. Gideon felt that he did not have the strength or ability to do what God was calling him to do.
This matter of preparation must be completed. We must be changed on the inside before we go out and war with principalities and powers. God has set before us the potential for victory, power, joy, peace, hope, and love.
When the Angel of the Lord called Gideon out, he was not prepared for the potential that was before him.
What does it take to be prepared?
The Israelites were an excellent example for us. The chains of their captivity had been broken and they were free. The Israelites were brought out of Egypt and were delivered over the Red Sea. They were delivered by God’s mighty hand and miracles. God brought them to the border of the Land of Promise.
They were not prepared to walk with God. They did not trust God’s faithfulness. They thought their enemies were greater than the God who brought them out of Egypt. All they could see was giants and walled cities. They did not know that God was able to give them the land.
When God called Gideon, all he could see was his weakness and the strength of the Midianites. The Lord kept telling him he was mighty and able. Gideon kept asking God to show him a sign that he could accomplish the potential that was set before him.
It took God forty years to get the children of Israel into the inheritance of God’s promise.The majority of them perished in the wilderness because they refused to go forward with God.They refused to allow themselves to be changed. So, God raised up a new generation that went into the land. It did not take forty years to do this. This is not a matter of time, but a matter of the heart.
The reason the children of Israel could not go forward was a divided heart.They did not believe that the God Who brought them out of Egypt was able to fulfill His promise.
We need to know that God is able to do what He says. He has laid before you the potential for great blessing and victory.
God is faithful, by Whom you have been called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
After Gideon put the Lord to the test, he finally said, “I will go.” The Children of Israel ultimately entered into the Land of Promise. The cry of our heart must be, “I must go on with God.”
God is looking for people who will hear His call and move on with Him. When He calls us into this fellowship, He will take us in our weakness, but He will change us in His strength. He will take you in your sin, but He will wash and cleanse you by the blood of Christ. He will put in you the heart of an invincible champion. God wants to change your heart and mind so that you become bold in the Lord. He wants to change you so that you can enjoy the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. We need to listen to the Father’s call into fellowship with His Son.
When the First letter to the Corinthians was written, they were not prepared for what God had set before them. Things were wrong on the inside that needed to be changed. They were struggling with inconsistencies inside. They had a testimony of greatness, but were not rising to their true potential.
Your strength does not come because you put on the clothes of a warrior. Strength comes when you begin realizing the true potential that God has put in you.
God is prepared to change those He calls. He will wash and cleanse. He will anoint and fill you with His Spirit. He will give you the heart of an invincible champion. He will transform you into a new creation in Christ Jesus and call you into the fellowship of His Son. He will cause you to be able to walk in victory and in strength in the Holy Spirit.
The Israelites were an excellent example for us. Positionally, God called them out of Egypt. With His strong arm, God brought them out of the land of their captivity and the bondage of their past. Outwardly, they had taken new ground with God. The chains of their captivity had been broken and they were free. The blood of the Lamb had covered them and the mighty work of God gave them an exodus out of Egypt. They were God’s delivered people. But, Egypt was not out of them. The ideas, bondage, and religion of Egypt was deeply rooted in them. They were constantly thinking of everything they did in Egypt. They lusted for the food and pleasures of their past. They forgot the troubles and oppression of their captivity.
God had to take them by the hand and bring them into change.They had to be separated from Egypt on the inside. This same conflict must be faced in all of us.
When God calls us into fellowship of His Son, He sets before us the potential for new life in Christ.
The conflict is between the natural and spiritual. God brought them out of Egypt physically, but they were spiritually tied to their bondage.
We can follow this same thing through many who are mentioned in the Bible. This was the difference in Cain and Abel. It was witnessed in Abraham and Lot. Abraham was looking for a city whose builder and maker was God, but Lot turned to Sodom. Look at the difference in King Saul and King David. David had a heart for the Lord. Israel had to decide if they were going after God or if they were going their own way.
At Mount Carmel, Elijah cried out: “If God be God, serve Him, If Baal, serve him.” It was an issue of the heart.
Throughout the Bible God kept giving the potential for a life of freedom from captivity and bondage. God called His people into life and liberty through their fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
In Deuteronomy 30, God gave Israel the choice of life and good or death and evil.
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 NKJV “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways,… and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Notice the potential that God laid before them.
They would enjoy life and not death, blessing and not cursing, and entrance into the land of God’s promise. This is a present and future potential. You need to know that God is faithful, Who has called you into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
2 Corinthians 1:20 NKJV For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
Consider the depth of the riches of wisdom and knowledge of God. He has set before you the potential of entering into all of the blessing and favor that is in Christ Jesus.
Romans 11:36 NKJV For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
