The Right Hand of Fellowship
BOB MULLEN
MARCH 14, 2010
Our Mission
SERVING
FELLOWSHIPPING
WORSHIPPING
The Power of Gestures
 Meanings the handshake can
convey.
An Ancient Practice
 Galatians 2:9, ESV
“and when James and Cephas and
John, who seemed to be pillars,
perceived the grace that was given
to me, they gave the right hand of
fellowship to Barnabas and me,
that we should go to the Gentiles and
they to the circumcised.”
What This Conveyed
 That they were all equals in the
gospel.
 “I’m confident, I’m strong, but I’m
not overbearing.”
 They were not “clueless,
uncomfortable, or out of place”.
Right Hand = Power and Ability
 NIV Psalm 118:15
Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the
righteous: "The LORD's right
hand has done mighty
things!
Right Hand = Power and Ability
 Exodus 15:6, ESV
Your right hand, O LORD,
glorious in power, your right
hand, O LORD, shatters the
enemy.
Right Hand = Power
 NIV Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the
author and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy set before him
endured the cross, scorning its
shame, and sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God.
Right Hand = Power
 NIV Luke 6:6
On another Sabbath he went
into the synagogue and was
teaching, and a man was there
whose right hand was
shriveled.
Fellowship Defined
koinonia,
 fellowship, a close mutual
relationship;
 participation, sharing in;
 partnership;
 contribution, gift
 [UBS]
Fellowship is More Than Gesture
 Acts 2:42, ESV
“And they devoted themselves
to the apostles’ teaching and the
fellowship, to the breaking of
bread and the prayers.”
Fellowship is More Than Eating…
 1 Corinthians 1:9, ESV
God is faithful, by whom you
were called into the
fellowship of his Son, Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Of Unequal Relationships
 2 Corinthians 6:14
“Do not be unequally yoked with
unbelievers. For what partnership
has righteousness with
lawlessness? Or what fellowship
has light with darkness?”
A Result of Having the Same Spirit
 2 Corinthians 13:14
“The grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the love of God and
the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit be with you all.”
What Brings Us In to Fellowship
 1 John 1:3, ESV
“…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.”
What Brings Us Out of Fellowship
 1 John 1:6, ESV
“If we say we have fellowship
with him while we walk in
darkness, we lie and do not
practice the truth.”
Staying in Fellowship
 1 John 1:7
“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.”
Thoughts/Applications for This Week
 Learn how to shake hands.
 Be confident and strong, but not
overbearing.
 God has the real right hand/power
to give us fellowship- look for it.
 With whom do we have fellowship?