Koinonia (Union & Shared life) I

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Koinonia - Fellowship

 

 

Sunday 09/03/17 

Series: Doers of the Word

Message – Koinonia (Union & Shared Life) I

 

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Koinonia

1:1 – The Logos of Life

“1  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-“

Guzik says,

  1. The idea of the Logos – of the Word – was huge for John, for the Greek world of his day, and for the Jewish world of his day. For the Jew, God was often referred to as the Word, because they knew God perfectly revealed Himself in His word. For the Greek, their philosophers had spoken for centuries about the Logos – the basis for organization and intelligence in the universe, the Ultimate Reason which controls all things.
  2. It is as if John said to everyone, “This Logos you have been talking about and writing about for centuries – well, we have heard Him, seen Him, studied Him, and touched Him! Let us tell you about Him.”

1:2 – He was manifest and revealed the co-eternal relationship between He and the Father.

“2  the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us-“

  • Here in John’s letter, he points to the Perichoresis.
    • Again Guzik offers us some help by explaining this relationship…
      • There was an eternal relationship of love and fellowship ( koinonia ) between the Father and the Son. Jesus referred to this in John 17:24 : “for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
      • This eternal relationship is clearly described in the Scriptures, but we could also understand it from simple logic.
        • God is love (1Jn. 4:8) and
        • God is eternal (Micah 5:2).
        • We understand that love in isolation is meaningless. Love needs an object, and since there was a time before anything was created, there was a time when the only love in the universe was between the members of the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A.k.a. Perichoresis
    • John introduces this relationship of knowing and trusting within the Godhead with the full view of all he is about to reveal. His statement about the inter-relationship of the Father and Son from eternity past is a deliberate prelude to the “fellowship” ( koinonia ) we’ve been invited into with them. John’s intention is to cause us to fully comprehend and embrace this “fellowship” ( koinonia ) ourselves.
    • This Jesus came to reveal LIFE.
      • “IN HIM WAS LIFE and that life was the light of men.” – John 1
      • “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.” – John 12:49-50

1:3 – An invitation to fellowship ( koinonia ) .

“3  that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship ( koinonia ) with us; and truly our fellowship ( koinonia ) is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”

  • While the individual ideas of fellowship ( koinonia ) or relationship or intimacy reveal parts of what the word “fellowship” means here these words are both too broad and too narrow to offer any real clear picture.
    • To broad to zero in on its specific meaning.
    • To narrow to explain and explore its depth.
  • As you know the word ‘fellowship’ ( koinonia ) is the Greek word Koinonia. Morgan tells us that, “The Greek word koinonia is derived from the word koinos, which very literally means common – in the sense of being shared by all.”
  • Let’s explain the word by example… Let’s look up Acts 2:41-47,

“(41) Then those who gladly received his (Peter’s) word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.  (42)  And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship ( koinonia ), in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.  (43)  Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.  (44)  Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,  (45)  and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.  (46)  So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,  (47)  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

    • The word ‘fellowship’ ( koinonia ) in this passage reveals a joint sharing together of everything. All resources were equally at the disposal of all as they had need…and not only that it was a shared experience. The word Koinonia carries with it the notion of a shared life.
      • This explains other statements in scripture…

 

  • “If one suffers all suffer with them….” – 1Cor. 12:26
  • “…the fellowship ( koinonia ) of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…” – Phil. 3:10
  • “…Saul, Saul, why are you  persecuting Me?” – Acts 26:14
    • As you can see this is not a phrase of convenience, but a settled reality of which MOST Christians live totally unaware!
    • THAT is why John writes this as he says in the next verse.
  • Morgan commenting on this word and verse says, “Those who have a fellowship ( koinonia ) one with another, are those who share the same resources, and are bound by the same responsibilities. The idea becomes almost overwhelming when it is thus applied to the relationship which believing souls bear to the Father, and to His Son Jesus Christ. . . . The Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and all believers have all things in common. All the resources of each in the wondrous relationship are at the disposal of the others. Such is the grace of our God, and of His Son.”

1:4 – John says he writes these things to make full our JOY.

“4  And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.”

  • I’ve often thought that this reality actually does not inspire joy in most people and in fact, most Christians. Guzik confirms this belief by saying…
    • Speaking honestly, for many people this is totally unappealing. Sometimes it is because they don’t know who God is, and an invitation to a “personal relationship with God” is about as attractive to them as telling an eighth-grader they can have a “personal relationship with the assistant principal.” But when we know the greatness, the goodness, and the glory of God, we want to have a relationship with Him.
    • Other people turn from this relationship with God because they feel so distant from Him. They want a relationship with God, but feel so disqualified, so distant. They need to know what God has done to make this kind of relationship possible.

1:5 – In order to help us grasp the depth of his words, John starts with identifying one of the most fundamental truths about God – He is ABSOLUTE. This is necessary in a world where people’s definitions of truth are subjective and personal. We can have no fellowship ( koinonia ) with God if we do not first understand His core nature as absolute! So, John falls back on a metaphor which really is not a metaphor in it’s strictest sense.

“5  This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”

  • He tells us – “God IS light and in Him is NO darkness at all!”
    • This is a self evident fact – light cannot have darkness just as darkness cannot have light – the two are mutually exclusive in expression and existence.
    • The word “light” often symbolizes understanding, revelation, comprehension.
      • PS. 119:130,  “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.”

 

  • John 1:4-5,  “4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

 

  • Wuest translates these words like this…
    • 1Jn 1:5,  “And it is this message which we have heard from Him and at present is ringing in our ears and we are bringing back tidings to you, that God as to His nature is light, and darkness in Him does not exist, not even one particle.”

Because of these facts, all that is in Verses 6-8, become immediately obvious…

1:6 – If we say we share all things in common with Him and yet order the course of our life in Darkness we are lying and not practicing what is true.

“6  If we say that we have fellowship ( koinonia ) with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

  • It is very popular in today’s Christianity to claim this very thing.
  • What has paved the way for this deception is a lack of focus on God and the trivializing of sin. We say,
    • I’ve made a mistake not I’ve rebelled against God’s character and the reality of Christ in me.
    • If I’ve done anything wrong – which Often is a result of confusion brought on by misunderstanding sin.
    • I’m not Jesus – which is to say “I’m only human” – as if He wasn’t and as if being human made sin impossible to resist.
  • Christians believe they can entertain sinful behaviors, have secular friends, thrive on secular entertainment and still claim to be holding all things in common with Him.
  • One of the most common complaint of Christians is the distance they seem to “feel” in relation to God.
  • One of the most common deceptions Christians embrace is that they are close in fellowship ( koinonia ) with a God they act nothing like.
  • Guzik says, “Many Christians are not aware of their true condition. They know they are saved, and have experienced conversion and have repented at some time in their life. Yet they do not live in true fellowship ( koinonia ) with God.
    • Now the words “walk in darkness:” speaks of a walk in darkness, indicating a pattern of living. This does not speak of an occasional lapse, but of a lifestyle of darkness.
    • We lie and do not practice the truth: God has no darkness at all (1Jo 1:5). Therefore, if one claims to be in fellowship ( koinonia ) with God (a relationship of common relation, interest, and sharing), yet does walk in darkness, it is not a truthful claim.”

1:7 –  Those who truly want fellowship ( koinonia ) with God – to share all things in common with Him must themselves walk even as He walked.

“7  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship ( koinonia ) with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

  • Doing so allows the blood of Jesus to cleanse us – fitting us for intimacy with God which allows us to hold all things in common.
  • To think God will apply the most uncommon – most holy and sacred thing in the entire universe – Jesus’ blood – to a person who is habitually and willingly continuing in known sin is perhaps the greatest form of blindness attainable for a Christian…and it is not a long stones’ throw away at all from complete enmity of heart against Him.

1:8 – If we claim we HAVE no sin.

“8  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

  • This is one of the more obvious reasons why some of the modern teaching on this topic is so devilish. The word “here” means to have and hold as a possession. SO, if WE claim that we have and hold no sin as our own possession – we deceive ourselves and the truth is NOT in us.
    • One of the claims of the teaching to which I am referring is that a Christian does not need forgiveness for sins once they are born again – since all sins have been eradicated in relation to the believe from the moment they receive Christ. However if this is true – then we can never truthfully say that we have and hold sin as our possession. Which is precisely what this verse says that we MUST NOT say and precisely admitting that we do in fact have and hold sin from time to time is what 1 Jn. 1:9 says we MUST say.
    • To say otherwise is to forfeit Koinonia which is NOT to say relationship, but we cannot hold all things in common with a God Who IS truth when we believe a lie…see verse 10.

1Jn 1:9-10,

“(9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (10)  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

1:9 – If we simply acknowledge our treason – our rebellion – our selfish actions which run contrary to His approved character. He is…

  • FAITHFUL & JUST to forgive us our SIN (not forgive US, but forgive us our sins.)
    • The word sins is in the plural and therefore CANNOT be referring to THE SIN, forgiven the world when they come to Him in faith for salvation for THAT SIN is in the singular – that of unbelief.
    • And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is a confessing of actions of sin not a state of sinfulness – so the cleansing is NOT for BEING unrighteous internally, but for acting unrighteous EXTERNALLY. This a is a TOPICAL cleansing of sin – not a comprehensive removal of the nature of sin.
      • When a sinner first comes to Christ they DIE with Him and are raised to new life.
      • When a Christian repents of sin, they acknowledge and embrace afresh their deadness to sin and are cleansed of external association with it.  
        • Like what Christ said to Peter in John 13:6-10, “(6) Jesus then came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?”  (7)  Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”  (8)  Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”  (9)  Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”  (10)  Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.”
        • Why did Jesus say they were already clean? Well in John 15:3,  Jesus told them, “You are already clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.”

1:10 – We cannot claim we have not committed sin – if we do we make God out to be a liar and His LOGOS is not in us.

Example of Jesus ministry focus:

A wedding feast

Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding: This is the first of many stories suggesting that Jesus was always welcome among those having a good time. Jesus didn’t spoil the good time.

Little illustrates the purpose and scope of Christ’s ministry better than His first miracle.

The word “woman” sounds a little harsh and unkind, but in reality the actual Greek word and it’s tense makes this a term of kindness and respect. Yet, it if it contained any reflection of the nature of their relationship as Mother and Son, it would have had to be in the WAY He said it.

Some who understand Greek better than I, believe the use of this term was intended to communicate a breaking away from the maternal relationship they had enjoyed to that of a man Who was now standing on His Own apart from her support.

The wedding couple had clearly not provided enough for their guests – They ran out of wine! This was a major social embarrassment and could even be viewed as an insult against their guests – one they would very likely never have lived down.

Tenney says, “To fail in providing adequately for the guests would involve social disgrace. In the closely knit communities of Jesus’ day such an error would never be forgotten, and would haunt the newly married couple all their lives.”

On a more spiritual note, wine was held as a symbol of joy.  We will come back to this in a moment.

There were 6 waterpots of stone according to the manner of purification of the Jews:

The waterpots are connected with the system of Law, because they were used in ceremonial purification.

Jesus involved those around Him – Fill the waterpots with water: This first of Jesus’ miracles revealed the future pattern of co-operation of Koinonia in the Kingdom.

Jesus wanted the cooperation of men in this miracle. He could have filled the pots Himself, either physically or by means of a miracle, He involved others in this miracle making it a shared experience.

The vessels would only be a filled with wine as the servants were obedient to Jesus’ words. If they were less than diligent and only filled the waterpots 2/3rds the way full or even 9/10th, the wine in the pots would only risen to the level of their obedience. This, when we connect it to our passage in 1 John, fits perfectly. Obedience to the LOGOS – or Join-participation and shared experience with Jesus brings JOY!

Then Jesus commands, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast:” There are those who believe this took faith on behalf of the servants and it may have, but we know for certain that it at very least required obedience. And even as they are sharing in joint-participation with Jesus in this miracle of joy, they are simultaneously offering this “shared experience” horizontally with their fellow man.

These servants did not know what Jesus was up to – it is more than likely they had never themselves ever witnessed a miracle and certainly Jesus had no such reputation since this was His first. So, imagine with me their utter surprise when the Master of the feast accused these servants of holding back the good wine until the latter end of the feast.

This was good wine! This has more than one meaning – not only did it have a higher alcohol content (if the context of the text can be trusted – “when they are well drunk you bring out the wine of lesser quality), but it was exceptional in quality as well.

Finally the fact that it all began in a wedding feast and that this is precisely where this dispensation will conclude its very telling.

Weddings are the joining of two to live as one… Sharing all things in common in a shared life together!

This miracle was called a “sign” – but of what?

Well, all signs point to Jesus so we know that in some way this wine represented Him, (He IS our Joy) but it also represented WHAT Jesus had come into the world to do – and that was to bring LIFE.

This was a miracle of conversion, from the old ways of doing the works of the law, through rigid ceremony and external purification for a status of “non-rejection” from God to the new life of Jesus offered of righteousness through trust in HIS works, through the flexibility of relational trust unto genuine purity of heart towards intimacy with God through a shared life with Him.

As we read in this first chapter of 1 John and even more so as we continue through his letter, we find an emphasis on “koinonia” between the brethren. This shared experience with our brothers is ALSO a source of Joy for us – for to love Christ IS to love our brothers and to love our brothers IS to love Christ. Which is why Paul said to the Christian in Philippi, “Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.”

1Jn 2:1-6,  “(1) My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  (2)  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.  (3)  And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.  (4)  Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,  (5)  but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:  (6)  whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

We will pick up here next week…Blessings! 

 

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. If you do not know Him, please use our ‘Contact Us‘ page and reach out so we may have the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Neither money nor attendance at our church will be mentioned.

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Blessings!

 

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!