Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1969 · 48th Convention › Sheet 560
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1969, Sheet 560

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

THEOLOGY OF FELLOWSHIP 529

B. IN EXTENDING THIS FELLOWSHIP

Believers exercising their fellowship with God and
with one another, and growing strong therein, labor
to extend the fellowship. This they do in accord with
Christ's great missionary command (Matt. 28:19: Acts
1:8) and from a powerful inner urge to share the
blessings of Christian fellowship with the world, that
world for which fellowship has been purchased and
intended by God (Acts 4:20: 1 Cor. 19-23: 2 Cor, 4:13
to 15; 2 Cor. 5:14-21: 1 John 1:1-7).

C. IN GUARDING THIS FELLOWSHIP

A Christian's fellowship with God in Christ as well
as his fellowship with other Christians is an exceedingly
great and precious possession (1 John 3:13, 14: Eph.
4:1-6). For this reason Satan constantly strives to
disrupt this fellowship by every means at his disposal.
Therefore it is necessary for the church to safeguard
this fellowship in every way.

This the church does —

1. By remaining steadfastly under the power of the
Gospel in Word and Sacrament (Acts 2:42: Rom. 6:3-95;
Gal. 3:26-28: 1 Cor. 12:13: 1 Cor. 10:16, 17: 1 Cor. 11:
26), since Christian fellowship can be nourished and
sustained only by the Gospel, which created it (John 8:
31, 32: Matt. 28:19, 20: Acts 20:20: Acts 20:27, 28: Luke
11:27, 28: John 15:7-9: 1 John 2:24, 25; Col. 3:14-16).

2. By applying the corrective measures of the Law
and the healing powers of the Gospel whenever the
church is invaded by errors in teaching and preaching
(Titus 1:9: 1:13,14; 1 Tim. 1:3, 4; 1 Cor. 1:10, 11: 3:3, 4:
Eph. 4:1-6; Col. 3:14-16: 2 Thess. 3:14,15), by corrup-
tions of morals (Matt. 18:15; Luke 17:3, 4; Gal. 6:1-2;
2 Tim. 4:1-3). and by schismatic and separatistic ten-
dencies (Titus 3:10: 1 Cor. 1:10, 11: 1 Cor. 3:3, 4), which
impede Christian fellowship. (Cp. Acts 15:1-29: also the
manner in which St. Paul deals with erring Christians
in his epistles. For the importance of correcting error
see James 5:19, 20.)

3. By resolutely confronting, exposing, and excluding
all that threatens to vitiate and destroy the fellowship
(Matt. 7:15, 16; 16:11,12: Gal. 5:9: 1:6-9; Acts 19: 8-10:
2 John 9-11: Rom. 16:16-20; 1 Tim. 1:19, 20; 1 Cor. 5:
3-6; Matt. 18:15-18), whether it be a satanic intrusion
from outside the church or a satanic perversion from
within (John 8:44; 2 Cor. 2:8-11; 2 Cor. 11: 2-4: 1 Tim. 4:
1,2; Matt. 24:24). (Cp. 2 Peter 2:1-10; 2 Tim. 3:1-9;
1 John 2:18,19; Eph. 5:6-11; Matt. 12:25, 30-32; Jude
17-23; 2 Peter 3: 1-3, 17, 18: 1 Cor. 15: 32-34; 1 Tim. 6:3-5.)

“Now the God of patience and consolation grant you
to be like-minded one toward another, according to
Christ Jesus, that ye may with one mind and one mouth
glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(Rom. 15:5, 6)

PART TWO

The Concept and Practice of Church
Fellowship as Disclosed by Church History

The teachings of Scripture concerning the fellowship
of Christians with God through faith in Christ, and the
fellowship with one another which inevitably follows
from their mutual fellowship with God as His children,
as set forth in Part I of THEOLOGY OF FELLOWSHIP,
are meant to be translated into practice. A study of the
history of the Christian church shows that the church
has sought to do this, both in the intimate circle of the
local congregation and beyond, in what has commonly
been called church fellowship, or communicatio in sacris,
terms somewhat more inclusive than the expression
“pulpit and altar fellowship.” Pulpit and altar fellow-
ship are, however, among the outstanding manifestations
of church fellowship.

During the early centuries of her existence the Chris-
tian church sought for sound principles to guide her in
the practice of church fellowship. In the following we
seek to set forth the understanding and practice of
church fellowship which guided the church during three
periods of her history: A. during the first four centuries
of the Christian era: B. during the century following
the Reformation; C. during the time of the Lutheran
Church in America.

A. CHURCH FELLOWSHIP DURING THE FIRST
FOUR CENTURIES OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA

The first four centuries of the Christian era, extend-
ing to the time of St. Augustine, are of particular im-
portance for an understanding of the subject of church
fellowship. During these centuries which were marked
by the rise of numerous heresies and schisms, the church
was obliged to think earnestly about her true nature in
the light of Scripture. As she did so, she developed
principles to guide her in the practice of church fellow-
ship, and fashioned the instruments which would enable
her to carry the accepted principles into practice.

1. Church Fellowship During the Lifetime
of the Apostles

So long as the apostles lived and personally super-
vised the churches, which were still few in number. the
matter was relatively simple. Under the guidance of the
apostles wicked persons were put out of the congrega-
tion (Acts 5:4-10: 1 Cor. 5:13): heretics were unmasked
(Gal. 1:6-9; 1 Tim. 1:19, 20); and the activities of po-
tential schismatics were restrained (1 Cor.1:10ff.).
However, as the church grew, the best efforts of the
apostles no longer sufficed to exclude all gross sinners
and heretics from the churches, as St. John’s letters to
the seven churches of Asia Minor show (Rev. 2 and 3).

2. Church Fellowship After the Death of the Apostles

If the last decades of the apostolic age already indi-
cate that the practice of church fellowship was beset by
great difficulties from wicked men and from heretical