David Hegg, in Reforming Pastoral Ministry:
Fellowship among believers is the fruit of fellowship with Christ. To produce the first, you must fertilize the second. What elevates true fellowship far above what the world would call friendship and belonging is simply this: Our relationship with fellow believers is a demonstration of our union with Christ, and the dynamics of this fellowship with others are dictated and defined by the fact that we are new creatures — loved, chosen, redeemed, forgiven, justified, and adopted into the family of God by God Himself through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Words of Grace 