Rich Fellowship

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. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. (Acts 4:32-35 ESV)
Their giving was just a symptom, a sign of something deeper. The very first phrase needs to sink in - "the full number of those who believed" - all of them were of one heart. No one was being selfish. They distributed, they "fellow-shipped" whatever was a genuine need, with joyful hearts. They were rich not because they had so much, but because they were unified in purpose - to live life in testimony to Christ, to allow His grace to rule and reign. This gave the apostles liberty to preach and have their message backed up by the lives of those who received it. Let us live out the gospel.

The Fellowship of Finances

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. (2 Corinthians 8:1-8 ESV)
The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit unites believers in many ways. We share in the forgiveness Christ has accomplished, a common faith, the gifts he has bestowed on us to use in the Body, and the joys of seeing Him at work in and through us. Paul says there is one more way that we demonstrate this oneness: sharing generously with one another when there is a genuine need. There is no rule that says we need to do this, except the law of love written in our hearts. It was something the earliest Christians demonstrated without force or even suggestion. These believers at Corinth needed a little nudge, and that concerned Paul. Our selfishness in this area should concern us as well. We should love the opportunity to give, to share, as an expression of our being a part of God's family and fellowship. May we excel at it.

The Fellowship of the Spirit

Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:11-14 ESV)
The Holy Spirit is the great connector: He unites us with Christ and His work on our behalf; He adopts us into the Family of the Father; He joins us with other parts of the Body of believers. We are the great dis-connectors. We often do more to undo what he does. As Paul closes this letter, this is his great concern. Thus all the exhortations above: aim to restore relationships with each other, comfort each other, agree with each other, connect with each other. We need God's love for each other, grace to put up with each other, and the Holy Spirit to keep us united. And we need to let them do it. Let's stay connected.

The Fellowship of blood and bread.

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. (1 Corinthians 10:16-17 ESV)
Participation. In our minds we think of the white ribbons you get when you do not win the blue, red or yellow ribbons. But not so with this "participation." It is that word "fellowship, communion, sharing." It is a powerful word of relationship. The "communion" service is representative of this deep fellowship we have with Christ and His followers. We share in what He accomplished on the cross: forgiveness, reconciliation, transformation. Understood as such, there is no need for any other ribbons - there is no competition; Christ has won and He won for us. This should both humble us as we realize we are participants in this fellowship, and also challenge us to get on board and value what Christ has provided for us: The Fellowship.

The Fellowship of the Forgiven...

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 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 1:1-7 ESV)

John was there. He was one of the apostles to whom the early church devoted themselves to listen to his teaching. (Acts 2:42). He was also a part of the original fellowship, the Twelve, and integrally involved in the fellowship of First Church at Jerusalem. He experienced and explained this fellowship of believers with one another, based upon their common relationship with God through Christ. They were forgiven sinners who had become a part of the family of God. It was a whole new life. This message, this forgiveness, and this fellowship, have been passed on down through the generations. It is a sacred trust that we should value and preserve at all costs. May we not take it lightly.

Remember The Fellowship...

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:4-9 ESV)
The second devotion of the early followers of Christ was The Fellowship they had with Him and with one another. As Paul wrote to this troubled church at Corinth, that Fellowship was very Fragile. In the very next verses Paul pines about rumors that there were divisions and envy instead of this intimate teamwork and sharing that Christ designed and desires for His church. The worst part is that this fellowship, like the other treasures we have in Christ- forgiveness, the truth of His Word, spiritual gifts, and so on - just like those The Fellowship is His gift to us. We don't have to earn it or work at it; we need to accept it from Him and live in it. He invites us to "come on in" to this sharing of life with Him and His people, to stop going solo.

A Life well spent

He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. (Acts 28:30-31 ESV)
Luke concludes his historical account of the early church with this paragraph about Paul in his latter days at Rome. The paragraph before gives more details, but this summarizes it well. He spent his life sharing the truth about who Christ is and how He fits into God's big plan. It flowed freely from his life. It was a life well spent.