Face to Face Fellowship and Complete Joy
Over the course of the past year, whilst we have lived through various lockdowns and ever-changing restrictions, I have come to appreciate certain verses and passages of Scripture in a new light. One of these such verses is 2 John 1:12:
“Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.”
In some ways it is a bit of an obscure verse, isn’t it? How many times I must have read that verse before and not really paid much attention to it! However, looking back over the past year there are two things about that verse which have hit home to me in a new way:
1) There is a measure of Christian fellowship that can only take place face to face
John wrote this letter to a local church, and in the course of the main body of the letter he has taught them about living in the love of God and walking in the truth of Jesus Christ. It’s a great letter, but John brings it to a close very quickly, even though he admits that there is much more that he could say.
Why does John keep this letter so short? He tells us why, here in verse 12. It is because rather than writing a longer letter to them, John would much rather go and visit this church personally and talk with them ‘face to face’.
This implies that this is a church which was fairly nearby to John; a church that he could easily visit sometime soon. It is not like some of Paul’s letters, which in some cases were sent hundreds of miles across Europe, or sent during times of imprisonment when Paul wasn’t able to travel and see the churches. No, this is a letter sent by John to a church fairly local to where he is; a church that he expects to be able to go and visit in the near future. Far better for him to write just a short letter and then to visit them in person, than to write a long letter and not bother going to visit them!
This tells us something about the nature of Christian fellowship. John understands, there is a measure of Christian fellowship that can only take place face to face.
Now, of course, we can enjoy a certain degree of fellowship with Christians in other places and parts of the world. We can stay in touch with them and pray for them, and write to them or phone them. It’s not that our fellowship is completely lost when we are physically separated from one another, but the fullness of Christian fellowship is something that we can only enjoy in person, as we spend time with other Christians. Paper and ink, or Facebook and the internet, just can’t do it in the same way.
During those times over recent months when we couldn’t gather together as normal our fellowship as Christians wasn’t lost, but it became hindered to a certain degree. Amongst many other things, one thing we missed out on was the full expression of our fellowship with one another as God’s people.
That’s the first thing we notice from this verse: there is a measure of Christian fellowship that can only take place face to face.
Here’s the second thing…
2) Christian fellowship completes Christian joy
As we have seen, John is talking in this verse about his desire to go and visit this church and have ‘face to face’ fellowship with them. But notice what he says in the purpose clause at the end of the verse:
“so that… our joy may be complete.”
Again, John is not saying that when we are physically separated from other Christians that our joy completely dissolves, but he is saying that by meeting together with other Christians and experiencing face to face fellowship with them, our joy is enhanced, and is even made “complete”. Christian fellowship completes Christian joy! (Notice how the same connection between experiencing Christian fellowship and the ‘completion’ of Christian joy is made by John in 1 John 1:3-4, and likewise by Paul in Philippians 2:2).
I wonder if this connection between Christian fellowship and completed joy was hit home to you over the last year? That whilst fully-expressed ‘face to face’ Christian fellowship was hindered, your Christian joy dwindled as well, and felt somehow incomplete. This verse makes sense of that experience: there is a measure of Christian fellowship that can only take place face to face, and Christian fellowship is what completes Christian joy.
As I write these words, the majority of churches here in Northern Ireland remain closed for the time being, though many are planning on reopening in time for Easter Sunday. I’m thankful that at Crumlin EPC we were able to reopen a number of weeks ago, and what a joy it has been to gather together once again with beloved brothers and sisters in Christ! Thank God that he has provided Christian fellowship as the context in which Christian joy comes to completion, and commit yourself afresh to gathering with God’s people for ‘face-to-face’ fellowship week by week, so that your joy may be complete!
Andy is the Minister of Crumlin Evangelical Presbyterian Church, NI
