Discipleship is a matter of coming to Jesus in order to follow after Him. Here we add another dimension to our theme of discipleship. It is also a matter of being spiritually with Jesus in a life of rich and meaningful fellowship.
The New Testament informs us that after a night of prayer, Jesus chose 12 men from among those who were following after Him in order that they might become His disciples: “Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him” (Mark 3:14). Our focus this week is on the importance of the little phrase “with Him.”
Those original followers of Christ began a life of keeping company with Him. They lived in His presence. Their hearts sought unity with His heart. They enjoyed divine fellowship with the Son of God. To become a Christian is to be called into a life of fellowship with Christ.
Fellowship
That is exactly what John discovered and then sought to offer to others as He testified in writing, “That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). Again, we find the significance of fellowship with Christ in the phrase “with His Son.”
While those original disciples were with Jesus bodily as well as spiritually, we have the privilege of being with Him spiritually as we learn how to walk in the Spirit consistently and obediently.
One important result of being with Jesus through the presence of the Holy Spirit indwelling our lives is the power to overcome our natural or sinful inclinations.
Galatians 5:16 puts it like this, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
Keeping daily divine company with Christ through the agency of the Holy Spirit is the divine provision for victorious living in a fallen and depraved world.
Company with Christ
God’s provision for us to live in company with Christ is an integral part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in this present age.
While in our sinful natures we may grieve the Spirit and at times resist Him, He will never leave or forsake us.
The entire course of a Christian’s life has the marvelous possibility of us keeping daily company with Christ.
At the conclusion of our earthly life, we will enter into a glorious eternity with Him. The Bible puts it simply as “Christ in you the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).
Share with others: