38 Bible Verses about Fellowship, In Christian Service
Most Relevant Verses
Recognizing the charge entrusted to me, James, Peter, and John, who were regarded as pillars of the Church, openly acknowledged Barnabas and me as fellow-workers, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews.
After this, the Master appointed seventy-two other disciples, and sent them on as his Messengers, two and two, in advance, to every town and place that he was himself intending to visit. "The harvest," he said, "is abundant, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray to the Owner of the harvest to send laborers to gather in his harvest.
Because of the share that you have had in spreading the Good News, from the first day that you received it until now.
From there they sailed to Antioch--the place where they had been committed to the gracious care of God for the work which they had now finished.
Yet you have acted nobly in sharing my troubles. And you at Philippi know, as well as I, that in the early days of the Good News--at the time when I had just left Macedonia--no Church, with the one exception of yourselves, had anything to do with me as far as giving and receiving are concerned. Indeed, even while I was still in Thessalonica, you sent more than once to relieve my wants.
While they were engaged in the worship of the Lord and were fasting, the Holy Spirit said: "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them." Accordingly, after fasting and prayer, they placed their hands on them and dismissed them.
While Paul chose Silas for his companion and, after he had been committed by the Brethren to the gracious care of the Lord,
And, when I was with you in need, I did not become a burden to any of you; for our Brothers, on coming from Macedonia, supplied my needs. I kept myself, and will keep myself from being an expense to you in any way.
Call to mind those early days in which, after you had received the Light, you patiently underwent a long and painful conflict. Sometimes, in consequence of the taunts and injuries heaped upon you, you became a public spectacle; and sometimes you suffered through having shown yourselves to be the friends of men who were in the very position in which you had been. For you not only sympathized with those who were in prison, but you even took the confiscation of your possessions joyfully, knowing, as you did, that you had in yourselves a greater possession and a lasting one.
And our hope for you remains unshaken. We know that, as you are sharing our sufferings, you will also share our consolation.
Under all circumstances let your lives be worthy of the Good News of the Christ: so that, whether I come and see you, or whether I hear of your affairs at a distance, I may know that you are standing firm, animated by one spirit, and joining with one heart in a common struggle for the Faith taught by the Good News, Without ever shrinking from your opponents. To them this will be a sign of their Destruction and of your Salvation--a sign from God. For, on behalf of Christ, you have had the privilege granted you, not only of trusting in him, but also of suffering on his behalf.read more.
You will be engaged in the same hard struggle as that which you once saw me waging, and which you hear that I am waging still.
He preferred sharing the hardships of God's People to enjoying the short-lived pleasures of sin.
Yes, and I ask you, my true comrade, to help them, remembering that they toiled by my side in spreading the Good News; and so, too, did Clement and my other fellow-workers, whose names are 'in the Book of Life.'
And, when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And so it came about that, for a whole year, they attended the meetings of the Church there, and taught a large number of people; and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called 'Christians.' During this time, some Prophets came to Antioch from Jerusalem. One of them, named Agabus, came forward and, under the influence of the Spirit, foretold a great famine that was to spread over all the world--a famine which occurred in the reign of Claudius.read more.
So the disciples, without exception, determined, in proportion to their means, to send something to help the Brethren living in Judea. And this they did, sending it to the Officers of the Church by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the Synagogue, the people begged for a repetition of this teaching on the next Sabbath. After the congregation had dispersed, many of the Jews, and of the converts who joined in their worship, followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue to rely upon the loving-kindness of God. On the following Sabbath, almost all the city gathered to hear God's Message.read more.
But the sight of the crowds of people filled the minds of the Jews with jealousy, and they kept contradicting Paul's statements in violent language. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out fearlessly, and said: "It was necessary that the Message of God should be told to you first; but, since you reject it and reckon yourselves not worthy of the Immortal Life--we turn to the Gentiles! For this is the Lord's command to us--'I have destined thee for a Light to the Gentiles, a means of Salvation to the ends of the earth'." On hearing this, the Gentiles were glad and extolled God's Message; and all those who had been enrolled for Immortal Life became believers in Christ; And the Lord's Message was carried throughout that district. But the Jews incited the women of position who worshiped with them, and the leading men of the town, and started a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their neighborhood.
The same thing occurred in Iconium, where Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish Synagogue, and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed in Christ. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles, and poisoned their minds against the Brethren. Therefore Paul and Barnabas spent a long time there, and spoke out fearlessly, relying upon the Lord, who confirmed the Message of his Love by permitting signs and wonders to take place at their hands.read more.
But the townspeople were divided, some siding with the Jews, some with the Apostles; And, when there was an attempt on the part of both Gentiles and Jews, with their leading men, to resort to violence and to stone them, The Apostles heard of it, and took refuge in Lystra and Derbe, towns in Lycaonia, and in the district round, And there they continued to tell the Good News. In the streets of Lystra there used to sit a man who had no power in his feet; he had been lame from his birth, and had never walked. This man was listening to Paul speaking, when Paul, fixing his eyes on him, and seeing that he had the faith to be healed, Said loudly: "Stand upright on your feet." The man leaped up, and began walking about, And the crowd, seeing what Paul had done, called out in the Lycaonian language: "The Gods have made themselves like men and have come down to us." So they called Barnabas 'Zeus,' and Paul 'Hermes,' because he took the lead in speaking; And the priest of Zeus-beyond-the-Walls, accompanied by the crowd, brought bullocks and garlands to the gates, with the intention of offering sacrifices. But, when the Apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd. "Friends, why are you doing this?" they shouted. "We are only men like yourselves, and we have come with the Good News that you should turn away from these follies to a living God, 'who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them.' In bygone times he permitted all the nations to go their own ways. Yet he has not failed to give you, in the good he does, some revelation of himself--sending you from heaven rain and fruitful seasons, and gladdening your hearts with plenty and good cheer." Even with this appeal they could hardly restrain the people from offering sacrifice to them. Presently, however, there came some Jews from Antioch, and Iconium who, after they had won over the people, stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the town, thinking him to be dead. But, when the disciples had gathered round him, he got up and went back into the town; the next day he went with Barnabas to Derbe. After telling the Good News throughout that town, and making a number of converts, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, Reassuring the minds of the disciples, urging them to remain true to the Faith, and showing that it is only through many troubles that we can enter the Kingdom of God. They also appointed Officers for them in every Church, and, after prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in whom they had learned to believe.
It was then decided by the Apostles and the Officers, with the assent of the whole Church, to choose some of their number, and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. Those chosen were Judas (called Barsabas) and Silas, who were leading men among the Brethren. They were bearers of the following letter--'The Apostles, and the Brothers who are the Officers of the Church, send their greetings to the Brethren of Gentile birth in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. As we had heard that some of our number had upset you by their assertions, and unsettled your minds--without instructions from us--read more.
We met and decided to choose certain men and send them to you with our dear brothers Barnabas and Paul, Who have sacrificed themselves for the Name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We are accordingly sending Judas and Silas, and they will tell you by word of mouth what we are now writing. We have, therefore, decided, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to lay no further burden upon you beyond these necessary conditions-- That you abstain from food offered to idols, from blood, from eating the flesh of strangled animals, and from impurity. If you guard yourselves against such things, it will be well with you. Farewell.'
Give my greeting to Prisca and Aquila, my fellow-workers in the Cause of Christ Jesus,
To Urban, our fellow-worker in the Cause of Christ, and to my dear friend Stachys;
Timothy, my fellow-worker, sends you his greetings, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my countrymen, send theirs.
If I must say anything about Titus, he is my intimate companion, and he shares my work for you; if it is our Brothers, they are delegates of the Churches, an honor to Christ.
Still I think it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you now, for he is my brother, fellow-worker, and fellow-soldier, and he was also your messenger to help me in my need.
For just as the human body is one whole, and yet has many parts, and all its parts, many though they are, form but one body, so it is with the Christ;
Gifts differ, but the Spirit is the same; Ways of serving differ, yet the Master is the same; Results differ, yet the God who brings about every result is in every case the same.
For, just as in the human body there is a union of many parts, and each part has its own function, So we, by our union in Christ, many though we are, form but one body, and individually we are related one to another as its parts. Since our gifts differ in accordance with the particular charge entrusted to us, if our gift is to preach, let our preaching correspond to our faith;read more.
If it is to minister to others, let us devote ourselves to our ministry; the teacher to his teaching, The speaker to his exhortation. Let the man who gives in charity do so with a generous heart; let him who is in authority exercise due diligence; let him who shows kindness do so in a cheerful spirit.
The human body, I repeat, consists not of one part, but of many. If the foot says 'Since I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it does not on that account cease to belong to the body. Or if the ear says 'Since I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it does not on that account cease to belong to the body.read more.
If all the body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If it were all hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed each individual part just where he thought fit in the body. If, however, they all made up only one part, where would the body be? But in fact, although it has many parts, there is only one body.
Whatever the gift that each has received, use it in the service of others, as good stewards of the varied bounty of God.
The eye cannot say to the hand 'I do not need you,' nor, again, the head to the feet 'I do not need you.' No! Those parts of the body that seem naturally the weaker are indispensable; And those parts which we deem less honorable we surround with special honor; and our ungraceful parts receive a special grace which our graceful parts do not require.read more.
Yes, God has so constructed the body--by giving a special honor to the part that lacks it- As to secure that there should be no disunion in the body, but that the parts should show the same care for one another. If one part suffers, all the others suffer with it, and if one part has honor done it, all the others share its joy.
On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the Good News for the Gentiles, just as Peter had been for the Jews. For he who gave Peter power for his mission to the Jews gave me, also, power to go to the Gentiles.
Together you are the Body of Christ, and individually its parts. In the Church God has appointed, first, Apostles, secondly Preachers, thirdly Teachers; then he has given supernatural powers, then power to cure diseases, aptness for helping others, capacity to govern, varieties of the gift of 'tongues.' Can every one be an Apostle? can every one be a Preacher? can every one be a Teacher? can every one have supernatural powers?read more.
Can every one have power to cure diseases? can every one speak in 'tongues'? can every one interpret them? Strive for the greater gifts. Yet I can still show you a way beyond all comparison the best.
I have another request to make of you, Brothers. You remember Stephanas and his household, and that they were the first-fruits gathered in from Greece, and set themselves to serve Christ's People. I want you, on your part, to show deference to such men as these, as well as to every fellow laborer and earnest worker. I am glad Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus have come, for they have made up for your absence;read more.
They have cheered my heart, and your hearts also. Recognize the worth of such men as these.
Regard our Lord's forbearance as your one hope of Salvation. This is what our dear Brother Paul wrote to you, with the wisdom that God gave him. It is the same in all his letters, when he speaks in them about these subjects. There are some things in them difficult to understand, which untaught and weak people distort, just as they do all other writings, to their own Ruin.
What, I ask, is Apollos? or what is Paul? Servants through whom you were led to accept the Faith; and that only as the Lord helped each of you. I planted, and Apollos watered, but it was God who caused the growth. Therefore neither the man who plants, nor the man who waters, is of any account, but only God who causes the growth.read more.
In this the man who plants and the man who waters are one; yet each will receive his own reward in proportion to his own labor.
To one is given the power to speak with wisdom through the Spirit; to another the power to speak with knowledge, due to the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another power to cure diseases by the one Spirit; to another supernatural powers; To another the gift of preaching; to another the gift of distinguishing between true and false inspiration; to another varieties of the gift of 'tongues'; to another the power to interpret 'tongues.'read more.
All these result from one and the same Spirit, who distributes his gifts to each individually as he wills.
So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; and they came and filled both the boats so full of fish that they were almost sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he threw himself down at Jesus' knees, exclaiming: "Master, leave me, for I am a sinful man!" For he and all who were with him were lost in amazement at the haul of fish which they had made;read more.
And so, too, were James and John, Zebediah's sons, who were Simon's partners. "Do not be afraid," Jesus said to Simon; "from to-day you shall catch men."
