B. Similarly, the desire to call ministers by titles, such as “Reverend”<\/p>\n
1. Even though only God is called reverend – Ps. 111:9<\/p>\n
2. Even though Jesus said not to use titles – Matthew 23:6-12<\/p>\n
3. I know better than to give flattering titles – Job 32:21-22<\/p>\n
C. Other misused terms are more subtle – take the term fellowship as an example.<\/p>\n 1. People talk about fellowship halls where people partake of fellowship\ndinners. \n
2. At times, I have heard some use the word fellowship to denote the meal.<\/p>\n 3. Besides poor grammar (fellowship is an noun and not an adjective), those\nusing the word fellowship in this manner show that they do not understand\nwhat fellowship entails.\n
II. What is fellowship<\/p>\n A. Fellowship comes from two basic Greek words: koinonia<\/i> and metoche<\/i> (and the\nforms related to these words)\n
1. Both mean having something in common or a partnership<\/p>\n
a. The Greek word for common is koin<\/i>.<\/p>\n 2. It is translated as fellowship, communion, partners, partaker, companion,\ncommunicate, and sharing.\n
3. It is strongly tied to the concept of unity or oneness.<\/p>\n
B. Examples of fellowship<\/p>\n
1. Fishing partners – Luke 5:7<\/p>\n
2. Having common experiences, such as tribulation – Revelation 1:9<\/p>\n 3. Having common benefits, such as working for someone who is a Christian\n– I Timothy 6:2\n
4. Sharing possessions<\/p>\n
a. such as sending aid to needy saints – Rom 15:26<\/p>\n b. When the Philippians send aid to Paul, he called it sharing in his\naffliction – Philippians 4:14-15\n
III. The basis for fellowship<\/p>\n
A. Our fellowship with God<\/p>\n
1. The book of I John is on this topic<\/p>\n 2. Many talk of having fellowship with brethren, but that fellowship is first\nbased on a fellowship with God – I John 1:3\n 3. To have something in common with God, we must become like him – I\nJohn 1:5-7\n
4. It means we must keep God’s commandments – I John 2:3-6<\/p>\n 5. Christ went out of His way to further cement our common experience. \nGod, the Son, came to this world to live as a human – Hebrews 2:14, 17-18; 4:15\n
B. Our fellowship with Christians<\/p>\n
1. We share the same calling – Hebrews 3:1<\/p>\n
2. We have received the same gospel – I John 1:3<\/p>\n 3. There is no longer a separation between Jew and Gentile because of the\ngospel – Ephesians 3:4-6\n
4. We are able to share our faith – Philemon 6<\/p>\n
C. We do not have fellowship with the wicked<\/p>\n
1. Light and darkness have nothing in common – II Corinthians 6:14-7:1<\/p>\n
2. Since we must expose sin, we have no fellowship with sin – Ephesians 5:11<\/p>\n 3. This is why we are not to have close companions who are of this world – I\nCorinthians 15:33\n
IV. Forms of fellowship<\/p>\n
A. We share in understanding Christ’s sufferings – Philippians 3:8-17<\/p>\n
1. The Lord’s Supper is a weekly reminder – I Corinthians 10:16-17<\/p>\n
2. Therefore, we walk together by the same rule – (Philippians 3:16-17)<\/p>\n 3. We must speak the same thing. There must be no division. – I Corinthians\n1:9-10\n
B. We have fellowship in the gospel – Philippians 1:5<\/p>\n
1. Which we share with others – Galatians 2:2<\/p>\n
C. We give aid to others – Hebrews 13:16, I Timothy 6:17-19<\/p>\n D. We have fellowship by agreeing about common points and holding a common plan\n– Galatians 2:9\n E. We share in the works of others by supporting them – Philippians 4:14-15, I\nCorinthians 9:7-14\n
V. Fellowship is a state of being. <\/p>\n A. Either you are in fellowship, meaning that you agree, holding common ideas and\nexperiences, or you are not in fellowship.\n B. Fellowship is not the deeds. Instead, the deeds are an expression of the fellowship\nthat already exists.\n 1. You cannot force fellowship by doing things that people do when they have\nfellowship.\n
C. Compare it to friendship. You cannot “do” friendship.<\/p>\n 1. Those who are friends do things together, such as spending time together\nand talking about personal things.\n
2. Just because you spend time with someone doesn’t mean you are friends<\/p>\n D. Those in denominations have shallow relationships with each other. They go\nthrough the motions of fellowship, but it doesn’t really exist. Hence, they call the\nthings they do what they lack inside.\n
E. Brethren, let us not fall into the same practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I. As hard as we try to keep terms pure and free from the influence of denominations, we still sometimes find things creeping into our language. A. People wanting to call the minister, “pastor” even though it properly belongs to those who oversee the congregation – the elders. B. Similarly, the desire to call ministers by titles, such…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32],"tags":[253],"class_list":["post-18232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-fellowship"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60888,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-proper-way-to-refer-to-a-preacher\/","url_meta":{"origin":18232,"position":0},"title":"What Is the Proper Way to Refer to a Preacher?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 27, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Adapted from an article by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 58, No. 34, Aug. 21, 2009. Question: My denominational friends refer to their preacher as \"Pastor\" or \"Reverend.\" What is the proper way to address the preacher, or how do you refer to him as you speak of him\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87534,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/no-titles-please\/","url_meta":{"origin":18232,"position":1},"title":"No Titles, Please","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Joe Slater One of the minor annoyances of being a preacher is that well-meaning people frequently put some title before your name. It may be Reverend, Pastor, Father, or some other title. They are trying to be respectful, which I appreciate even though I repudiate the titles. I tell\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49118,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/dont-reverend-me-its-forbidden\/","url_meta":{"origin":18232,"position":2},"title":"Don’t “Reverend” Me \u2014 It’s Forbidden!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 1, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Hayse Reneau The English word 'Reverend' is used but once in our Bible; and it references, The Creator, Jehovah God (Psalms 111:9.) \"He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.\" Anyone who accepts this title is filled with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59334,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/reverend-is-his-name\/","url_meta":{"origin":18232,"position":3},"title":"Reverend Is His Name","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Kent Heaton The book of Psalms is a powerful testimony to the majesty, praise, glory, and awesome power of Jehovah God. Isaiah wrote the words of the Lord, \"To whom would you liken Me and make Me equal and compare Me, that we would be alike . Remember the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3981,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-preacher-be-referred-to-as-reverend\/","url_meta":{"origin":18232,"position":4},"title":"Should a preacher be referred to as “reverend?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Very often here preachers are referred to as reverend.\u00a0 Is it correct to refer to a preacher, minister or elder as reverend? Answer: The word reverend indicates that a person is worthy of adoration or reverence, entitled to respect mingled with fear and affection. Such a description would apply\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41662,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-some-use-titles\/","url_meta":{"origin":18232,"position":5},"title":"Why do some use titles?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 23, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello brother Hamilton. Hope you're doing well. I have a question that pertains to \"titles\" given to those in position in the church and mainly I'm speaking on preachers and the title that some give themselves such as reverend, pastor, evangelist, etc. Now, I read some of your articles\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18232\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}