团契的真义

Dear brothers and sisters, I am Barnabas, the name the apostles gave me, meaning "Son of Encouragement." My original name was Joseph, a Levite born on the island of Cyprus. Today I want to share with you a theme, the true meaning of fellowship.

I. Fellowship Begins with Self-Sacrifice (Acts 4:32-37)

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. (Acts 4:32)

This was the scene after Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended and the church was born. The brothers and sisters were not forced by law to share; they were filled with the Spirit's love, willingly laying down their own possessions.

I had a field at that time, my property in Cyprus, an inheritance from my ancestors. To be honest, selling it was not easy. But when I saw the needs of the brothers and sisters, when I thought of how the Lord Jesus gave up the glory of heaven for me, what could I not give up?

He had a field, and he sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. (Acts 4:37)

I laid the money at the apostles' feet, not for human praise, but because I knew deeply: all of it originally belonged to God. I was merely returning God's things to God's household.

This is the first lesson of fellowship: experiencing abundance through giving. The Lord Jesus said, "I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35). The moment I sold that field, I lost a piece of land; but what I gained was a deeper life-connection with brothers and sisters, the joy of participating in God's kingdom-building. I have never regretted it.

Fellowship is not sitting together drinking tea and chatting. The foundation of fellowship is self-sacrifice, imitating Christ, who, though he was in the form of God, emptied himself, taking the form of a servant. Paul later wrote:

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-4)

II. Fellowship Means Accepting the Rejected (Acts 9:26-27)

There was a man in church history whom all the disciples feared, Saul. He had persecuted the church, guarding the garments of those who stoned Stephen, dragging believers from house to house into prison. When he claimed to have been converted, who dared believe him?

And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. (Acts 9:26)

The brothers' and sisters' fear was understandable. Saul's name had been the church's nightmare. But I heard his testimony and saw the light in his eyes, light that came from the Lord. So I made a decision:

But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. (Acts 9:27)

Why did I accept Saul? Because I remembered the Lord Jesus' words, he came not to call the righteous, but sinners. If God had already accepted Saul, what right did we have to reject him? Paul later wrote:

Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Romans 15:7)

True fellowship does not only accept those who are "like us." True fellowship imitates Christ's acceptance, he died for us while we were still sinners. That former persecutor of the church became the Apostle Paul, who wrote thirteen epistles of the New Testament. If no one had been willing to accept him, what would church history have looked like?

III. Fellowship Means Rejoicing at Grace (Acts 11:22-26)

Later, the gospel spread to Antioch, and Gentiles began to believe in the Lord. When the Jerusalem church heard this news, they sent me to investigate.

When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose. (Acts 11:23)

Luke recorded my reaction upon arriving in Antioch: "He saw the grace of God and was glad." This sentence seems simple, yet it contains the core of fellowship. I did not go to examine whether their faith was qualified, did not go to evaluate whether their conduct met standards, what I first saw was "the grace of God," and my response was "gladness."

So often in fellowship we more readily see others' shortcomings: this person's theology isn't deep enough, that person's life isn't mature enough, this church does things differently from us. But the eyes of fellowship should first see grace, God's work in their lives.

For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. (Acts 11:24)

Luke said I was "a good man", this is not boasting. This "good" is not moral perfection but the fruit of the Spirit. A person filled with the Holy Spirit naturally bears fruit of love, joy, and peace, naturally becoming a blessing to fellowship.

In Antioch, I did another important thing:

So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. (Acts 11:25-26)

I went to Tarsus to find Saul, this was no random decision. I saw that the Antioch church needed good teaching, and I knew Saul had that gift. Fellowship is not one person bearing all the ministry alone, but seeing others' gifts and bringing them where they are needed.

The Holy Spirit's work in Antioch showed me that God's grace is not limited by geography, ethnicity, or culture. When we accept one another across these boundaries for Christ's sake, the world sees a love that transcends human nature. The name "Christian" was not something we chose for ourselves, the people of Antioch gave it to us, because they saw our lives resembling Christ. This is fellowship's most powerful testimony.

I too was once weak. Paul recorded in Galatians something that shames me, in Antioch, when people came from Jerusalem, even I drew back with Peter, afraid to eat with Gentile brothers. Paul rebuked us to our faces. This experience taught me deeply: even the "Son of Encouragement" needs a brother's encouragement. Fellowship is not one-directional giving, but mutual edification. No one in fellowship is only the giver; we are all simultaneously receivers.

IV. Pain and Forgiveness in Fellowship (Acts 15:37-39)

I must speak honestly: fellowship is not always beautiful. Paul and I had a serious disagreement.

Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. (Acts 15:37-39)

Mark was my cousin. During the first missionary journey, he left us midway. Paul considered him unreliable and refused to take him again. But what I saw was a young man, he had fallen, but he needed a second chance.

Paul and I "had a sharp disagreement, so that they separated." This is Scripture's honest record, with no concealment. In fellowship there will be conflict, disagreement, mutual hurt. Two Spirit-filled people can still argue intensely, because we are all still on the path of sanctification.

But the story does not end there. Years later, Paul wrote from prison to the Colossian church:

Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him). (Colossians 4:10)

Paul accepted Mark! At the end of his life, he even wrote to Timothy:

Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. (2 Timothy 4:11)

The Mark whom Paul once rejected later wrote the Gospel of Mark, the earliest of the four Gospels. If no one had given him a second chance, the church would have lost an entire Gospel.

The true meaning of fellowship includes forgiveness and restoration. We are not a group of perfect people pretending to be holy, but a group of redeemed sinners forgiving and building one another up in Christ.

V. The Foundation of Fellowship Is Christ (Heb. 10:24-25)

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Fellowship is not optional. The author of Hebrews solemnly warns: do not neglect meeting together. Why? Because the Christian life is not a solitary journey. We are members of Christ's body, connected to one another, needing one another.

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. (1 Corinthians 12:26)

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

The foundation of fellowship is not human affection, but the new covenant established by Christ's blood. We can have fellowship with one another because we all have fellowship with Christ; we can accept one another because Christ first accepted us.

Dear brothers and sisters, the lesson I learned in my lifetime is this: fellowship is not a gathering of perfect people, but the unity of redeemed sinners in Christ. It requires self-sacrifice, acceptance, seeing others through the lens of grace, and choosing forgiveness amid conflict. May you treasure the fellowship God has given you, it is a foretaste of heavenly fellowship, the glorious hope that we will be with Christ and all the saints forever.

Your brother, Barnabas, the Son of Encouragement