LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #228 | THE LIFE OF MOSES #209
Pastor Christopher Choo
Lesson 3914
LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #228
THE LIFE OF MOSES #209
MOSES AT MT.SINAI#108
THE TABERNACLE OF MOSES ( Part 67)
THE TABLE OF SHOWBREAD IN THE TABERNACLE OF MOSES #21
WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KOINONIA FELLOWSHIP THAT INCLUDES THE BREAKING OF BREAD?( Part 1 )
In the Bible, Koinonia is more than friendship. It is a divinely intimate, holy unity among believers—and between believers and the Lord—involving everything from spiritual oneness in the Holy Spirit, community life, sharing contributions from money to food gifts, and the communion partaken in the body and blood of Christ Jesus.
The Book of Acts is the first place we see the word Koinonia in the Bible.
Here, it is translated to mean a deep community fellowship among believers.
For example, newly baptized believers “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship (koinonia), to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).
The passage goes on to elaborate about what this Koinonia looked like: communal-style living, where they “had everything in common,” sold property to give to anyone in need, gathered regularly in the temple courts, and ate together joyfully in their homes (43-47).
Later, when Gentiles began to hear the Good News and also became Christian, we see the concept of Koinonia used to include them, too.
Back then, Jews and Gentiles did not intermingle and thought poorly of each other. But Christ at work in them through the power of the Holy Spirit allowed these separate groups to dissolve their former boundaries and become as one—True Koinonia.
As the apostle Paul wrote to the early church in Ephesus, God had a secret plan, a “mystery,” of unity beyond these cultural constraints. “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 3:6).
Koinonia also includes the many-become-one concept reflected in the sacrament of Holy Communion.
In the Last Supper, Jesus offered bread as his own body, “given for you,” and then his blood in the wine, calling it“the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:19-20).
Later, the apostle Paul reminds early Christians that this act, too, is a part of Koinonia, as those who partake are one body all sharing one loaf (1 Corinthians 10:17).
And it’s not just the sharing of food. Koinonia applies also to the sharing of financial gifts. As Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, generosity applies both to the spiritual and the material. Their financial generosity not only helps the community with physical needs but also serves as evidence that helps draw others into that united body of Christ.
Conclusion
Koinonia Fellowship is a phrase that depicts an interactive relationship between God and believers who are sharing new life through Christ.
The Greek word captures the entirety of this relationship. It involves active participation in Christian community: sharing in spiritual blessings and giving material blessings.
Gentile believers in Macedonia had nothing in common with the Jewish believers in Jerusalem except Christ (Rom 15:26–27).
So the word KOINONIA was coined ( like the Malay word BERSATU ) to express the concept of unity through diversity of culture and ethnicity.
So Acts 2 focuses on the relationship among believers in fellowship.
2 Cor 9 uses Koinonia to express generosity in community.
Paul also uses Koinonia to describe the way he identifies with Christ’s sufferings.
John, in his first letter, uses Koinonia to describe what connects us to God and to each other through Christ.
So the next time you come across “fellowship” used in a churchy way, remember that Koinonia Fellowship should focus on what we all have in common: new life in Jesus Christ.
