![]() Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. So, whether you are together facing martyrdom, or final exams, or a ping-pong game, Christian fellowship is aware of a profound, eternal relationship of love governed by Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 4:29: And live to see another day.” Or a word to your friend that you just beat in ping-pong for the fifth time in a row, “You know Joe, I think God made you to preach, and made me to play ping-pong.” This too is Christian fellowship as a means of perseverance! Or this demonstration of Christian fellowship can be as cheerful as a smiling word to your roommate: “You will survive these final exams. So when I talk about Christian fellowship as a means of perseverance, the fellowship I have in mind is the mutual bond (and I think mutual would be the adjective form of koinonía in English) that Christians have with Christ that unites us in a profound and eternal relationship of love that should express itself in joyful and affectionate service to for each other’s good.Īnd that expression of love - that demonstration of Christian fellowship - may be at times bloodearnest as in the moment of martyrdom when Hugh Latimer said to Nicholas Ridley as they are about to be burned at the stake in 1555, “Play the man, Master Ridley we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.” That is Christian fellowship as a means of perseverance! So when you share with us in the realities we have seen and heard, namely the realities of Jesus, then you share not only with us, but you share with us in our sharing in the Father and the Son. That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ![]() ![]() That sharing together in the Father and the Son is certainly the case in 1 John 1:3: So Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:9, “You were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Which probably means both (1) sharing vertically in the union each of us has in Christ, and (2) sharing together with other believers the common union we have with Christ and each other. “Fellowship is a mutual bond that Christians have with Christ that puts us in a deep, eternal relationship with one another.” So when we talk about Christian koinonia - fellowship or sharing or participation that is unique to our relationship with other believers - what we are referring to is the shared union, the shared participation that we have together with Christ. So koinonía can be a sharing in the benefits of the death of Jesus, or in the financial relief of the saints, or in the sufferings of Christ. To participate with him in suffering for the gospel. In other words, Paul wanted to have a share in the sufferings of Christ. “That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship/sharing of his sufferings” (Philippians 3:10). In other words, they wanted to have a share in sending financial relief to the poor in Jerusalem. “They begged us earnestly for the grace and the sharing/participation in the ministry to the saints” (2 Corinthians 8:4). In other words, when we drink the cup and eat the bread we share in the benefits of the slain body and shed blood of Jesus. ![]() “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a fellowship/participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a fellowship/participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16). In the New Testament, koinonía signifies having a share in something, or sharing with someone in something, or you could say participation in something or with someone. The topic assigned for me in this series on perseverance is “Christian Fellowship as a Means of Perseverance.” So let me begin with a definition of Christian fellowship.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |