FELLOWSHIP WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT BY OLAYINKA ONIFADE

(VOLUME 1)

What is Fellowship? Fellowship is referred to as a state of being with someone. Fellowship is communion or company with someone or a group of people. Hence, Fellowship with the Holy Spirit refers to a communion or a company with the Holy Spirit (that is; relating and spending time with the Holy Spirit).

The Bible in the book of 2 Corinthians 13:14 says May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BE WITH YOU ALL. The Bible passage here made use of the word all meaning as believers it is very important for us to commune with the Holy Spirit, for no one can do anything nor confess Christ as Lord without the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). Fellowship exists in the atmosphere of Relationship: meaning that for there to be a personal fellowship with someone, there must be an existing relationship. In other words you cannot have a fellowship with the Holy Spirit if you do not have a relationship with him.

It is very important to note that: Every fellowship stems out of a relationship, but not every relationship involves a fellowship. Christianity is not just about a relationship with Jesus but a personal fellowship with Him. The book of 1 Corinthians 1:9 says “God is faithful, by whom you were CALLED unto the FELLOWSHIP of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord”. The word fellowship can be replaced with the Greek word ‘KOINONIA’ which means intercourse. As believers, we are called to have an interchange with Jesus Christ.

Fellowship with the Holy Spirit involves a strong intimacy with God, it requires our daily involvement with God. But one big issue is that, there are many who are just comfortable with having a relationship with GOD but care less about whether or not they have a fellowship with Him, this kind of people have neglected the fact that just having a relationship is not enough, a fellowship is needed to make the relationship grow.

We must take note that relationship differs from fellowship. Relationship can just be an ordinary name tag like father and child, teacher and student, husband and wife. But fellowship is what qualifies a relationship, fellowship defines every relationship. The level of fellowship in a relationship determines the quality of that relationship. You know what, a Father can have a relationship with his son but at the same time doesn’t know him that much in fact it is possible for to couples get married, develop a relationship with each other and yet don’t know each other. This same story (illustration) applies to Christians too. They (some Christians) have a relationship with God but yet they don’t know God because they do not fellowship with Him. We can only know God (and know more about Him) when we fellowship with Him.

We must understand as a body of Christ that we were not adopted by God so as to just call Him Father. It is not just about the title or kind of the relationship we have with God, but what is most important is the quality of that relationship.
God desires to relate with His children (and we are His Children). He wants to spend time with us, He wants to talk with us and listen to us.

Our victorious and glorious living hinges on your fellowship with God and not just the relationship we have with Him. The aspect of fellowship is very important, for it is in the place of fellowship with the Holy Spirit that we can be or become like God. 1 John 1:6 says “If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth” verse 7 then went on to say that “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, purifies us from all sin.” Then this makes it clear that we cannot fellowship with God and not be like Him.