Shortly after I began my Junior year at Oral Roberts University, I was given the task of doing a word study on the Greek word koinónia. (Fun Fact: This year at the National Spelling Bee Championship, the winning word was "koinonia.") This Greek word is usually translated as "fellowship," "participation," or "communion."
-Luke E. Wagner
A Biblical Example
The first time in which the word koinónia is used in the New Testament is in the Acts of the Apostles. Directly after Peter preaches to the multitudes on the Day of Pentecost, a total of three thousand believers are added to the Church (Acts 2:41). Luke, who is the author of Acts, then gives a brief look into what this Church looks like and how it functions. He declares that the believers "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship [koinónia], to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42). The devotion of the believers to one another in the earliest stages of the Church led them to a place where they "had all things in common," so much so that "they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need" (Acts 2:44-45).
The phrase "all things in common" (Acts 2:44) in Greek is hapanta koina; the word koina means "common," and is a derivative of the word koinónia. Luke uses similar phrasing later on in Acts 4:32: "Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common [panta koina]."
Luke's goal with the book of Acts is to show how the Church was born, and how the Good News of Jesus the Messiah spread to the ends of the known world in the 1st century via the Church. Luke, therefore, utilizes these opening chapters of Acts to portray what the lifestyle of the Early Church was like. Now, it is important to keep in mind that Luke was most likely either a Greek who had converted to Judaism, or a Jew who had been heavily influenced by Hellenistic thought; either way, Luke is writing from both a Jewish perspective and a Greek perspective in his book, and he is most likely writing to a primarily Greek audience, or at least an audience composed of both Jews and Greeks.
Why is it important to understand this aspect of Luke? Well, with any piece of literature it is of the utmost importance to understand the author; how else is one able to understand the perspectives and worldview of a certain written work, unless, of course, the author's perspectives and worldview are understood and taken into account? If I want to truly appreciate The Great Gatsby, it would definitely help if I knew a thing or two about F. Scott Fitzgerald, about when he lived, where he lived, and how he viewed the world around him. It is no different with the biblical authors.
Therefore, when one understands Luke's Hellenistic background, as well as the Hellenistic identity of much of his audience, his writings take on a whole new meaning of life. Now, as far as koinónia is concerned, Luke intelligently and intentionally weaves together Hellenistic thought with Christian truth. There was a popular ideal among the Greeks known as the "doctrine of common property," and the Greeks believed that if this ideal was reached, society would function properly; Plato himself wrote about the people of Athens in this way: "Neither had any of them of their own, but they regarded all that they had as common property; nor did they claim to receive of the other citizens anything more than their necessary food" (Critias, 110).
Sound familiar? Plato's assessment of the people of Athens came a few centuries before the writings of Luke, and it would seem that Luke is, indeed, pulling from this Greek ideal of true fellowship and even the sharing of possessions among people (cf. Acts 2:44-45; 4:32). Why would Luke do this? Keeping in mind that both Luke and his audience have been heavily influenced by Greek thought, it is easy to see why Luke would present the lifestyle of the Early Church in such a way; in these beautiful descriptions of the Early Church, Luke is proposing that the greatest Greek ideal of a perfect and properly functioning society is being truly realized now within the community of Christian believers.
And the most amazing aspect of all of this, and what truly sets it apart from what the Greek idealists and philosophers, such as Plato, sought, was that the Early Church was not functioning in this way because they were forced to, or because that was how the society of the Roman Empire was set up. Rather, this true and beautiful Christian fellowship was simply a direct result of the love of Jesus and of the unity of the Holy Spirit among the Christian believers. It was not, in any way, forced behavior; the people of God, unified by the Spirit, acted voluntarily out of the existing state of their "glad and generous hearts" (Acts 2:46) to bless those in need and to lift one another up.
I am struck by the way in which the apostle John speaks about koinónia. In 1 John 1:3, John explains to his readers his reasoning for writing this particular letter, and for declaring the truth of who Jesus is to them: "[W]e declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship [koinónia] with us; and truly our fellowship [koinónia] is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ."
John, similarly to Luke, does not present this true fellowship as an ideal that is nigh impossible to attain; or that only a select few can tap into. Rather, he is clear that having fellowship with the community of believers is intrinsically connected to having fellowship with God (1 John 1:3). This means that if we are in a loving relationship with God, then we also can and even are expected to have that same type of fellowship with God's people. This fellowship does not rest on us alone, but is governed and inspired by the Spirit of God residing in his people.
Let us realize that as the place in which the Spirit of God now resides, we are asked to be the place in which heaven meets earth, and where God communicates with his creation.
A Modern Example
As stated previously, this is not an ideal that is unattainable. And it is most definitely not forced behavior. It is the love of God functioning within us. And I believe it is actually quite practical, and perhaps even simpler than we expect it be at times. Here's an example:
A few weeks ago, at a Church gathering, a young couple in our community humbly asked for the help of the members of the Church body; they were having difficult finding steady paying jobs, and they were newly married, as well as newly pregnant. As a result, there were many bills and new obstacles that had already come their way, and even some that are continuing to come their way. And in the comfort of our Christian community, this couple asked for the help of their brothers and sisters to support them, not only financially, but through a variety of different means. Immediately, the community took it upon themselves to support this young couple. Money was taken up for them, but also comfort was given and prayers were prayed.
It was in that moment that I saw a very clear and authentic glimpse into what Christian fellowship is and what the Church is called to be. I understood in part what Paul meant when he wrote, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep" (Romans 12:15). Similarly, Paul instructed the Corinthian Christians how the body of Christ works: "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it" (1 Corinthians 12:26).
This is who we are called to be, and this is how we are to function as the people of God.
A Practical Application
If I am being completely honest, Christian fellowship has been glossed over in Western culture. It has been shrunk down in order to be contained and manageable within a certain time frame or certain setting. It has been regulated to a time limit of thirty seconds after worship, and a few minutes after service. Monday through Saturday is untouched by this Western understanding of Christian fellowship. And this can be incredibly harmful for believers. This is not what we see in Scripture; rather, we see people genuinely and intentionally involved with the people around them, both practically and spiritually. Widows and orphans are taken care of (James 1:27; 1 Timothy 5:3-16), possessions are willingly shared and given to those in need (Acts 2:45; 4:32, 36-37), and the Holy Spirit was mightily at work among the Church to perform miraculous signs and wonders among the people (Acts 3:1-10; 5:12-16).
My goal in sharing all of this is to hopefully spur us all on towards Christian fellowship, and the type of fellowship that is clearly seen in the Early Church, and most of all, in the life of Jesus himself. For, this is, indeed, what Paul desires for the Church in Philippi, that they would function as Jesus functioned, in humility and with a servant's heart, so much so that Jesus was even obedient unto death (Philippians 2:5-8), and that in this, he showcased the greatest form of love for his friends, by laying down his life for us all (John 15:13).
The Church is described as a body (1 Corinthians 12:12) and a family (Ephesians 6:10). We must recognize that a healthy body works together and a healthy family is composed of love and unity. Prejudice has no place among members of the body (1 Corinthians 12:21-25). We are commanded to "outdo one another in showing love," to "extend hospitality to strangers," to "[l]ive in harmony with one another," to "not be haughty, but associate with the lowly," and to "not repay anyone evil for evil" (Romans 12:10, 13, 16-17). Within the kingdom of God, evil does not overcome good, but good overcomes evil (Romans 12:21) Just think if the body of believers understood and acted out this kind of fellowship with one another. I am a firm believer that if we desire to see peace in our world, we must first see peace in the Church. I pray that we would be unified in one heart and soul (Acts 4:32), and that we would bear each other's burdens with love (Galatians 6:2; Ephesians 4:2).
-Luke E. Wagner
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