WTW 2022
7 April
The Great Divide
In regard to fellowship and association, the great divide is between what message and what people are received
On the one hand
“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:11-12
On the other hand
“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.” 2 John 1:10-11
“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” Matthew 10:40-42
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:21-23
Wisdom in the WORD 
In order to get some perspective of specific instructions about how to treat unrepentant offenders, here are an assortment of specific instructions in various situations:
1C5
Do not even associate
Do not eat together
Expel them from your midst
2Th3
Keep away from
Do not associate
2J
Do not let them in your house
Do not welcome them
Do not share in their wicked work
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I think the verses in 2 John 1 you quoted are not to be applied broadly. In context, John was referring to deceivers (vs 7), those who have gone too far, beyond the Gospel. Those are the ones we’re not to welcome into our home or even give a greeting to.
So the great divide in our response to and interaction with people may be more in how we come to them, what we present as defining who we are and what we represent, than anything else. If we come with a purely natural mindset, without eternity in view, we accept and tolerate all sorts of things, some of which we should not or should walk away from.
~eyn
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The new testament scriptures are written here at the end of the age precisely because this is the end when the wicked will wax more wicked and the righteous more righteous.
The seed of heaven has come bringing new birth for all who will receive Him, making new creations with His purpose of making the dividing line between the two kingdoms perfectly clear to all who recognize Him. There is no fellowship between light and darkness.
It is important to note here that there must be a clear understanding of the difference between the range of interactions most readily illustrated by the terms association and fellowship. Indeed, there is a range, and we are not to isolate ourselves. Having established that, it is essential to understand both the full scope of association and the limitations of fellowship. To understand the freedom of natural association and yet fail to understand the distinctions of fellowship is to fail to understand the depths of God’s righteous requirements of the heart. To fail at this is to fail in understanding how those impact our involvements with others. We must not operate frivolously with those who do not accept the whole counsel of God which is the full teaching of Christ precisely as written of by the Beloved in his second epistle.
~eny
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Association vs Fellowship
I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
John 17:14-19
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
1 Corinthians 5:9-11
I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.
2 John 1:7-11
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Interesting and Scriptural are the boundaries of each. Oh to be swallowed up by the eternal, that this mortal vanish.
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Avoid (Gr. στέλλω = stello)
Used in only 2 verses
2C8:20 & 2Th3:6
Stello: to remove oneself withdraw oneself to depart, followed by ἀπό with the genitive of the person, to abstain from familiar contact with one, 2 Thessalonians 3:6.
https://biblehub.com/greek/4724.htm
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Associate (Gr. συναναμίγνυμι = sunanamignumi)
Only found in 3 verses
1C5:9, 11; 2Th3:14
Sunanamignumi: to mix up together; passive, present imperative 2 person plural συναναμίγνυσθε; infinitive συναναμίγνυσθαι; reflexive and metaphorically, τίνι, to keep company with, be intimate with, one: 1 Corinthians 5:9, 11; 2 Thessalonians 3:14
https://biblehub.com/greek/4874.htm
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To Avoid or Associate
To Withdraw or Confront
To Interact or Partner
Just consider these things deeply, openly.
Come to the WORD with an open heart.
We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. That is, we are to have our understanding conform to God’s WORD, and NOT to come to the WORD with our own understanding in order to seek out our understanding in the pages of scripture. We are to surrender our understanding to the truth of the WORD, not bend the WORD around our understanding.
So, having established that, listen and read, hear and meditate on all these things, in all these passages. The LORD is speaking clearly, addressing things which are not the way they are to be. Even on this simple word above, the word avoid (stello), look closely at the pattern of JESUS, of the apostles and prophets. There were most certainly people who they intentionally avoided just as there were those they intentionally associated with AND those with whom they had partnership, fellowship, friendship, relationship, brotherhood.
And these were not the same.
And so, even to this day, there are certain ones whom the LORD would have us also withdraw from after prayer and wise counsel, just as there are those with whom we will have contact with and be in interactions with and perhaps even surface interactions. And then there are those who we are to be in koinonia fellowship with. And the important thing is to recognize that these things are not to be according to our own thinking or what is easy or seems naturally in line with the culture or our current involvements. In contrast, where we have the lines drawn in wrong places, we must come humbly before the LORD in prayer and in the WORD and in koinonia with others who truly love JESUS and ask HIM to redraw our lines of interactions and avoidance and relationships in all the right places as HE desires.
The WORD of the LORD.
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That being said, JESUS never avoided anyone.
He withdrew from crowds and did not speak to Herod. He taught us to shake the dust off our feet against those who reject Him. He associated with sinners rather than the religious. He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel but He never avoided sinners whether Jews or non Jews, Samaritans, Greeks, Syro-Phoenicians or Canaanites. He avoided the crowds and did not go to the feast with his earthly relatives but He never avoided any individuals, only crowds and situations due to specific purpose and timing.
Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John—although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. John 4:1-3
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As noted in the most recent comment above, it does seem to me that JESUS Himself in the fullness of His power and obedience did not avoid anyone ever, though He did withdraw from crowds and situations at specific times and places for specific purposes and reasons, just never in avoidance of any individuals.
This is course was in the fullness of His power and obedience.
Would to God that we may walk in the same fullness of His power and obedience even today!
Of course, in conjunction with this fact that he never avoided anyone AND was always in full power and obedience, this meant that some people in the kingdom of darkness would have much preferred that He had avoided them and left others who had been in the kingdom of darkness being dramatically transformed into the kingdom of light and those being amazed beyond any human understanding what had just happened!
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