Principles of Spiritual Fellowship
The First Principle--Faith
When it comes to principles of spiritual fellowship, I believe the most important principle is faith. Faith orders our fellowship. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith is the means by which souls partake of spiritual things. Faith is the essence of our walk in God because by faith we hear God and then obey that which God has said. If we are going to come to a place of spiritual fellowship, it is going to be on this ground: that we have entered into that fellowship by faith. There is no fellowship except through faith. We might say it in this way--that there is no fellowship unless we hear God, submit to His working, and obey what He has said. If we go on to be a part of a corporate fellowship with the Lord, it is going to be on this beginning ground--each member gathering together by faith, having entered into the fellowship which God has prepared for us in Christ Jesus, that we might come boldly to the throne of grace.