Our verse begins with the wonderful expression, “God is faithful.” This is repeated three times in the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, He is faithful to not allow us to be tempted or tested above what we are able to bear. He knows us and our spiritual strength, and so limits the extent of whatever testing may come. In 2 Corinthians 1:18, we read that God is faithful in what He says, directly or through His apostles. So Paul writes to these saints that their word, as speaking on God’s behalf, was not yea and nay, but yea and amen. God’s word is sure, and we can trust it and rest in it even today.

The third reference to “God is faithful” is in our verse above. He is faithful, in calling us not only to salvation, but also into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

In the first nine verses of 1 Corinthians 1, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is mentioned many times. Every blessing is connected to Him. As we enjoy the blessings, may we enjoy them in fellowship with the Father’s beloved Son! In our verse, the faithful God has called us to the fellowship of His Son. In illustration of what this means, we could consider David at the cave of Adullam (1 Sam. 22:1–2). David was in rejection by Saul and the nation at large, but a group of men had gathered around him. In a sense, they were in his fellowship. If David had been smitten, this fellowship would have ended.

Our true David has died once, and is now alive at the right hand of God. While He is still rejected by this world, we are called into His fellowship, where He is the center and the theme. What a wonderful privilege is ours! As David’s men who gathered to Him took character from him, so we should take character from Christ, into whose fellowship we have been called by grace!