COMMUNION

“That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” – 1 John 1:3

COMMUNION is the voice of the human spirit God-ward – in worship, fellowship and prayer. Recall: Inspiration is the Voice of the Holy Spirit inside the human spirit, while Conscience is the voice of the human spirit soul-ward. Communion is the organ of our spirit through which we commune with God and worship Him in spirit and in truth: “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (Jh.4:23-24). It is the spirit’s organ of intimacy with God and fellowship with the saints (1Jh.1:3). The faculties of the soul are incompetent to commune with God. He is not apprehended by our thoughts, reasoning, feelings or intentions. He, as a Spirit can only be known directly in our spirits. Through communion we serve God with our spirit: “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit…” (Rom.1:9a).

Our worship of God and His communication with us are directly in the spirit. They take place in the “inner man”, not in the soul or outward man. The Communion dimension is unique because it requires our participation. Through conscience and intuition God communicates to us; whereas in communion we communicate with God. There is a response needed from us. It is a two-way relationship! It is God's communication and presentation of Himself to us coupled with our joyful response to Him – such that He's glorified and we're glad. In communion, God comes to us in love and we respond joyfully to the beauty of His perfections and the offer of His fellowship. He may sometimes come with a rod of discipline; but even in our tears, we can rejoice in the Father’s loving discipline (Heb.12:6-11). Communion with God may lay us in ashes or make us to leap with excitement. But it never destroys our joy: “Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy…” (Psa.43:4a).

Communion with God is the end for which we were created. We were created for His glory (Isa.43:7). Yet glorifying God is not something we do after communing with Him, but by communing with Him. Many human deeds magnify the glory of God, but only if they flow from our contentment in communion with Him. In order to commune effectively however, we must possess and sustain a similar nature as the Lord, a spiritual nature: “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1Cor.6:17). God is Spirit and we can have intimate fellowship with Him only through our sanctified and purified spirit (2Cor.6:14). A spirit that has been quenched because of sin or self cannot hear Him clearly and He certainly won’t be able to hear such. Lamentations 3:44 validates this: “You have covered Yourself with a cloud, that prayer should not pass through.”

People attempt to communicate with God in a wide variety of ways. Unfortunately, they often give their soulish thoughts and emotions first place and overlook the most vital way to fellowship with God – through the spirit. Communion hopefully happens when we do the Lord's Supper, but it's not limited to that event, which could be a trigger to the real thing (1Cor.10:16) A truly spiritual person is one who has a cleansed conscience, a sensitive intuition, and is continually praying and fellowshipping with the Lord in the Spirit. Knowing God’s will, discerning spiritually, and an intimate two-way fellowship, leads to a life that is pleasing to God. One major means of stirring communion to life is by being baptised in the Holy Spirit and receiving a supernatural prayer language (1Cor.14:15-16). Worship, prayer and fellowship then become more fulfilling, exciting, and profitable. Beloved, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the COMMUNION of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen” (2 Cor. 13:13).