Paul writes to the church in Philippi,

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. (Philippians 1:5)

James Montgomery Boice asserts that we do not know much about this church, but it would seem that there was little to bind them together by worldly standards. However, it was the fellowship of the gospel that unified them.

Boice states,

This must always be the bond between Christians. If you unite with other Christians on the basis of affluence, you will exclude the poor. If you unite along social issues, you will exclude those outside your own level of society, be it high or low. If you unite intellectually, you will exclude either the simple or the intelligent.  However, you do it, the witness of the church will suffer.  How thankful we must be that God did not establish the fellowship of his children along these lines.  Our fellowship is in the gospel of God.

This is a timely reminder as the toxic, divisive ideology of the world has crept into Christ’s church, professing to offer unity that is counter to Scripture.

Our fellowship is in the gospel.

The gospel that Paul so clearly defined for us,

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you–unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:1-4)