THE SCRIPTURAL CASE
1. Fellowship — KOINONIA: A Word Study
The word koinonia occurs about twenty times in
the New Testament. It can refer to (a) sharing one’s goods or wealth with
those in need, and may then be translated “contribution”, or
“distribution”, or “to communicate”; (b) participation
in a common life of faith, which would include the Breaking of Bread; (c)
association with the Lord Jesus Christ (which would also include the Breaking of
Bread) and with his Father (The Committee of The Christadelphian,
“Fellowship: Its Spirit and Practice”, The Christadelphian,
Vol. 109, No. 1291 — Jan. 1972 — p. 13).
Following is a summary of the passages where koinonia
occurs:
A. Sharing one’s goods:
- “To make a certain contribution for
poor saints” (Rom.
15:26).
- “Fellowship (‘joint
participation’: Diag.) of the ministering to saints” (2 Cor.
8:4).
- “They glorify God.... for your
liberal distribution unto them” (2 Cor.
9:13).
- “But to do good and to
communicate forget not” (Heb.
13:16).
B. Participation in a common life of faith:
- “They continued in the apostles’
doctrine and fellowship, and breaking of bread, and in prayers”
(Acts 2:42). (This shows that, though “fellowship” may include joint
participation in the emblems of Christ’s death, it is not confined to that
one activity.)
- “The right hand of
fellowship” (Gal. 2:9). (A partnership of preaching the
gospel.)
- “For your fellowship in the
gospel...(I thank God)...” (Phil.
1:5).
- “Fellowship of the
Spirit” (Phil. 2:1).
- “For your
fellowship is with the Father and his Son.... if we walk in the
light....we have fellowship one with another” (1 John
1:3,7).
C. Association with Christ and his Father:
- “By whom (God) ye were called unto
fellowship of his Son” (1 Cor.
1:9).
- “The cup..... communion of the
blood of Christ; the bread....communion of the body of Christ” (1
Cor. 10:16).
- “What communion hath
light with darkness?” (2 Cor.
6:14).
- “The communion of the Holy
Spirit be with you” (2 Cor.
13:14).
- “The fellowship of the
mystery” (Eph. 3:9). (The shared effort in preaching to the
Gentiles.)
- “Fellowship of his
sufferings” (Phil. 3:10).
- “Our
fellowship is with the Father and his Son.... If we say we have
fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie....” (1 John
1:3,6).
There is a related verb, koinoneo, that is used
in similar ways: (a) of giving to those in need, (b) of the relationship between
fellow-believers, and (c) of association with our Lord; though we have also here
a negative use: (d) of having association with forbidden deeds or doctrines,
against which the saints are warned.
Again, the relevant passages are as follows:
A. Giving to those in need:
- “Distributing to the necessity of
the saints” (Rom. 12:13).
- “If the
Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things.... (they should)
minister in carnal things” (Rom.
15:27).
- “Let him that is taught in the word
communicate unto him that teacheth” (Gal.
6:6).
- “No church communicated with
me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only” (Phil.
4:15).
B. The relationship between believers:
C. Association with our Lord:
- “The children are partakers
of flesh and blood...(and) he (Jesus) also...” (Heb.
2:14).
- “Rejoice.... inasmuch as ye are
partakers of Christ’s sufferings” (1 Pet.
4:13).
D. Association with forbidden deeds and
doctrines:
- “Neither be partakers of other
men’s sins” (1 Tim. 5:22).
- “For
he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (2
John 11).
- “What communion hath light
with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14). (This word is koinonia again,
as above, but the implication is as the last two
quotations.)
As a summary of the use of these two words in the New
Testament, we may remark:
- They are used in the positive sense, to be shared, 25 times; and in
the negative sense, to be withheld, only 3 times — which should
certainly give us a hint as to which is most important!
- Fellowship is with
the Father and Son 10 times; and with one another only 6 times. (Even here,
however, we may have fellowship with one another only because we have
been called together out of the world by God.) Fellowship is His to
bestow, not ours. We share “fellowship” with our brethren, certainly
— but we share what we have each received as a gift, and not what we have
each earned!
Scriptural fellowship — as we have seen — is joy:
for us, the joy of mortal men and women in sharing common knowledge and
purpose with the Eternal Father and with His Son, to whom He has committed all
power and authority:
“Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus
Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be
full” (1 John 1:3,4).
“As Paul writes to the Corinthians, we have been called unto the
fellowship of Jesus Christ our Lord. In him we have a friend who never
fails, a companion who never tires, who fills our moments of prayer and
meditation with strength and comfort and hope, who answers our spiritual seeking
with fresh insight, new vision, and deepening peace. For as we, with the same
insatiable thirst as the psalmist, reach out for God, in sky and sea and earth,
and long for the deep inner peace, which is His gift, He meets our uplifted eyes
and upraised spirits. For, ‘In thy light shall we see light’, and
share it in the living fellowship of His family” (S. Harris,
“A True Fellowship”, The Christadelphian, Vol. 106, No. 1261
— July 1969 — p. 309).
