Can We Trust the Gospels?

Recent Posts


Past Posts Archived by Date


Search this site


Topics


Search this site


Syndication

« Inspiration from The High Calling | Home | Intimate Fellowship with God and God’s People »

The Christian Life as Intimate Fellowship

By Mark D. Roberts | Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Part 5 of series: What is the Christian Life?
Permalink for this post / Permalink for this series

In my last post in this series, I asked: What is the life revealed by God? The answer of John in his first letter is: Jesus Christ. Through the one who is the Life, we experience the fullness of life. In the first chapter of 1 John we learn much more about the essential character of this life.

John explains his purpose in telling his spiritual children about God’s life this way: “We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (1:3). Faith in Jesus, the eternal life that was with the Father, opens up a way to experience eternal life now, a life that John describes by the word “fellowship.” In fact he uses this word four times in the first seven verses of 1 John:

The one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life. This one who is life from God was shown to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and announce to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was shown to us. We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

We are writing these things so that our joy will be complete.

This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth. But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. (1 John 1:1-7, emphasis added)

What does John mean by this word “fellowship”?

We associate fellowship with camaraderie and informal friendliness. At Irvine Presbyterian Church, we had a “fellowship hall.” It was a place for church potlucks, wedding receptions, and casual conversation on rare rainy days. But our sense of fellowship fell far short of the word “fellowship” as used in the New Testament. (Photo: The Family Christimas Celebration in the Fellowship Hall of Irvine Presbyterian Church.)

The Greek word translated as “fellowship” (koinonia) means far more than hanging out with friendly people in a comfortable place. Koinonia literally means “holding something in common.” Among Greek speakers in the Roman Empire, it was used in business to refer to partnership or joint-ownership, a relationship in which two people held business interests and assets in common.

Early Christians used koinonia for their celebrations of the Lord’s Supper, that which we call “communion” (a word that is based on koinonia, coming to us through the Latin communio). By taking bread and wine in memory of Jesus, the first Christians were “sharing together” or “having communion” in him (1 Cor 10:16-17). Marriage could be called “the fellowship of life.” Sexual intimacy between spouses could be called simply koinonia. Clearly, therefore, koinonia implies a depth of relationship we don’t usually associate with a fellowship hall.

It’s hard to find an English word that unites the various and deeper connotations of koinonia. “Fellowship,” “partnership,” and “sharing” highlight limited facets of the word’s meaning. “Communion” gets much closer, but has a religious tone that might obscure the original sense of koinonia. The best translation I can conceive for koinonia in 1 John uses two words, “intimate fellowship.”

God’s kind of life involves, neither a casual relationship with him such as one might experience in a fellowship hall, nor a deep relationship that happens only when we “receive communion” in church, but intimate fellowship available at all times and in all places. God desires our kinship with him to consist of far more than a few rushed prayers or cameo appearances at Easter and Christmas services. The Creator of Heaven and Earth seeks an intimate, personal relationship with you and me. God wants us to share deeply in his life, both now and forever.

What a wonder! In our preoccupation with our personal search for God we can easily forget that God is searching for us too. That’s one of the major narrative themes of the Bible: God’s search for humankind, God’s effort to reestablish the fellowship between himself and his human creatures that was broken because of sin. Jesus Christ came, not only to save us from sin and death, but also to lead us into close, lasting relationship with God. As the source of eternal life from God, Jesus welcomes us into koinonia, intimate fellowship with God . . . but not with God alone.

Topics: Christian Life |

5 Responses to “The Christian Life as Intimate Fellowship”

  1. J Falconer Says:
    July 21st, 2009 at 2:16 pm

    Rev. Mark Roberts & family, Thanks for the last 3 weeks series. Many readers are still actively engaged & enjoying the series of posts. Naturally, summer & responsibilities & issues & recreation can take a lot of time. Many people are naturally worried their job security, health stresses, economic portfolio, etc. Thanks for the spiritual insights. Hope your children are enjoying the summer free of some of the usual schedules & pressures. Continue praying for believers everywhere - some are considering new careers, relocations, relationships & avenues of ministry (charity) & possibly a church home. Thanks again for your website. Happy Summer j & family

  2. Pseudo-Polymath » Blog Archive » Tuesday Evening Highlights Says:
    July 21st, 2009 at 6:27 pm

    […] On the living Christian life. […]

  3. Stones Cry Out - If they keep silent… » Things Heard: e77v3 Says:
    July 21st, 2009 at 6:28 pm

    […] the living Christian life. Share the […]

  4. RevK Says:
    July 22nd, 2009 at 10:12 pm

    Great post! This is why we chose a theological word to name our church! It seems to be among the most important for defining the whole of our need for and the results of the Gospel — in one word!

  5. deb Says:
    July 23rd, 2009 at 9:59 am

    Appreciating this..

Comments

Thanks for your willingness to make a comment. Note: I do not moderate comments before they are posted, though they are automatically screened for profanities, spam, etc., and sometimes the screening program holds comments for moderation even though they're not offensive. I encourage open dialogue and serious disagreement, and am always willing to learn from my mistakes. I will not delete comments unless they are extraordinarily rude or irrelevant to the topic at hand. You do need to login in order to make a comment, because this cuts down on spam. You are free to use a nickname if you wish. Finally, I will eventually read all comments, but I don't have the time to respond to them on a consistent basis because I've got a few other demands on my time, like my "day job," my family, sleep, etc.

You must be logged in to post a comment.