Unhindered Divine Fellowship
Reflections on Union with Christ and Communion with the Triune God
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise him, all creatures here below
Praise him above, ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Amen
- Thomas Ken, “Doxology”
Fellowship is Essential
Social extroversion and lack of human interaction don’t mix well. I’m a social butterfly; so when the Covid-19 pandemic began back in 2020, let’s just say it was hard for me to endure the isolation from friends and family. However, we don’t need a pandemic to feel the feelings of loneliness. Maybe your personality isn’t as extroverted as mine, but you probably know what it’s like to be apart from people you care about for long periods of time, and phone calls, Facetime, and ZOOM video meetings can’t fully capture the fullness of human communication. There is something about being physically present with a friend or loved one that cannot be captured with any form of technology (no matter how hard Meta tries).
But what if there was a friend with whom you can have communion at any time? In fact, this friend is not only available 24/7 but also unable to be hindered by anyone or anything.
All Praise to the Trinity
John 14-17 is a huge chunk of what is called “The Upper Room Discourse” which was when Jesus teaches his disciples on the night of the Passover. What we learn from Jesus in this section is the wonderful reality that God is Triune. The doctrine of the Trinity is the doctrine that there is one God who eternally subsists in three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Throughout these verses, Jesus makes statements like how no one can come to the Father except through him (John 14:6), how he will ask the Father and both will send the disciples “the Helper” “the Spirit of truth” (14:15-17, 26; 16:7, 13-14), and how he wants the Father to glorify the Son so that the Son may glorify the Father (17:2). All of these just scratch the surface of the wonderful reality that one God has within himself this divine communion between three persons. It is this same eternal, Triune God who not only created all things but also acts in creation to work out the eternal plan of redemption.
United with Christ & Communion with the Triune God
But then in John 17, Jesus prays to the Father with what has been called “the High-Priestly Prayer,” and in John 17:20-26, Jesus prays these words:
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Notice the language of “I in them,” “you in me,” and “they in us.” Do you see what Jesus is saying? Those who belong to Jesus through faith in him are united with Christ in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension (Ephesians 2:1-10; Romans 6). Because we are united with Him, we get the joy of not only fellowship with Jesus but all three persons of the Triune God! Though one day we will be with God forever in our resurrection bodies when Christ returns, right now, you and I are experiencing the never-ending love of God the Father, the friendship of the Son of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit! This fellowship can never be broken!
Indelible Communion with Love Divine
So, as Christians, are you truly alone? No! Will there be times of loneliness and even feelings of being forsaken by others? You can be sure of it. But has the Triune God abandoned you? With the strongest emotions, BY NO MEANS! Will God’s love for me run dry? Well, how much does the Father love the Son, the Son love the Father, and The Spirit to both the Father and the Son? Eternally, Perfectly, Holy, and Infinitely. Ok, now insert yourself with the Son of God. That’s how much God loves you (Rom. 5:1-5; Gal. 4:4-7).
And can anything, even worldwide catastrophes, ever destroy this fellowship?
Never (Rom. 8:38-39)!