"God is faithful, by whom ye have been called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord"-1 Cor. 1:9, Darby's Translation.

This fellowship entails a community of interest, for it is a partnership. All who are called into it share a common fund of spiritual blessing centered in God's Son and deriving its character from Him. Of course this involves corresponding responsibilities.

Those referred to in the text before us are "the assembly of God which is in Corinth" and "all that in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours" (1 Cor. 1:1-3); that is to say, all Christians. All who call upon the name of our Lord are in this fellowship by virtue of God's call.

Manifestly this is not a voluntary association; it is not formed by any agreement arrived at by any number of Christians; but all Christians are "called into" it by God.

Of old it had been said to Judah:"Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces" (Isa. 8:9). And the true minister was to tell that people:"Say ye not, a confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, a confederacy" (8:12). If any should contend that a voluntary association was a necessity, they were to be told "not, a confederacy!" For God would be against it, and would exhibit His displeasure therein by breaking it in pieces. The only security for God's people lay in sanctifying Him, and obeying His wishes.

The fellowship into which we are called is characterized as follows:

1. It is the fellowship of God's Son. He counts upon us to hold as a vital trust the truth concerning His Son. Through His grace we know the Son as One who in eternal ages lived in the communion of the Godhead, the eternal Son. The Father was the eternal Father, there was no moment when He began to be the Father; hence there was no moment when the Son began to be the Son. God "gave" His Son; the Father "sent" Him; He did not give or send one who was to become the Son after He had been given and sent. This great and glorious Person is One whom God presents to us for worship, He commits to us, as a treasure to be prized, the truth of His eternal sonship.

Nevertheless God also desires us to understand that the Man Christ Jesus, born in time, stands to Him in the relationship of Son. For we hear Him saying:"Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee" (Ps. 2:7). Hence Mary is told in Luke 1:35:"The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." He is called the Son of God because of the manner of His birth. And to this agrees Acts 13:32-33:-"We declare unto you the glad tidings of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this to us their children, having raised up Jesus; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee" (Darby's Translation). The Man whom God raised up in David's house as "an horn of salvation" is claimed as His Son. This too is a truth that gives character to the fellowship in which we are.

2.-It is the fellowship of Jesus Christ. All that His personal name sets forth is to be precious to us. We ought readily to say:

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer's ear.

For this name reveals to us His grace, meekness and lowliness; yet it reminds us that He
is Jehovah the Saviour; it is a name that describes Him reaching us in our wretchedness and lifting us out of it. It is a name too which God gives Him in exaltation, for He has given Him the name "which is above every name," that at the name of Jesus every knee of heavenly, earthly and infernal beings should bow. This is our direct concern in the fellowship wherein we are.

Moreover our Saviour is royal, He is the Christ, the anointed One, the Messiah who, although denied before Pilate by Judas, is "made Lord and Christ" at God's right hand. In this way particular attention is called to Him in the place of authority as the anointed Head whereby men may have to do with God. And the fellowship in which we are implies the confession of Him in this way.

3. It is the fellowship of our Lord. The way of deliverance from disorder is not by associating ourselves, but by subjection to the guidance of our Lord. The flesh will not be given recognition where the commandments of our Lord are carried out, commandments which we surely know are not grievous. But a proper readiness of mind that obeys calls for searching of heart. It can only be maintained in the power of the Holy Spirit. We know that in a true way no one can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Spirit, and it is further evident that if we are to continually acknowledge His rule it can only be by the Holy Spirit's power. It is therefore the responsibility of every Christian to follow the instructions of the One whom God has set over us, One who made good His claim to our loyalty by giving Himself for us, and who lets us know what kind of people He wants us to be. In conclusion let us give attention to the fact that God who has called us into this fellowship is "faithful." In the passage before us, regarding the fellowship, it is His faithfulness that is emphasized. We may be assured therefore that He will not overlook disregard among us of any one part of the characteristics proper to the fellowship He has called us into, but will deal with it as He only can. On the other hand we may be equally certain that He will support every endeavor consistent therewith. R. J. Reid