Relationship and Fellowship

Far too often we have the bad habit of co-mingling two words that have different meanings from two different sources AND end up speaking of the two as if they are the same thing, and mean the same thing. Relationship & Fellowship are a good example.

For generations people thought of a relationship as being one of a family. A birth had occurred. A relationship had been established. In marriage, God says the two become one. Having a relationship through the God-ordained birth of a new family. And becoming kin to both families of the groom and the bride. But, today, our enemy has once again distorted and deceived many into thinking of a relationship as being a friend or a partner, which is really a fellowship. Modern use disconnects and diminishes relationship from being a part of a family by birth or marriage.

Did you know that relationship never appears in the Holy Scriptures? The man-made word, relationship, came into being in the mid-1700’s. Shocker, isn’t it?

God does speak of family (Gr: patria) and kin (Gr: suggenes), by blood. Does family ring a bell? Earthly family, Heavenly family. God is more specific when talking about family…father, mother, son, and daughter (almost 6,400 times in Scripture).

So, fellowship is God’s word (Gr: koinonia) we should be using to describe getting together, having fun with someone at dinner, going somewhere together, having an acquaintance, etc.

By the way, have you ever heard of having a relationship dinner at church?