Koinonia: Sermon 6/26/16

Koinonia

1. Most of us have probably heard the Greek word “Koinonia” at some point or other.
   1. Koinonia is the Greek root from which we derive our word “Communion” but, contrary to popular belief, the word does not mean “A small meal consisting of a morsel of bread dipped in a cup of wine (Or grape juice)”.
   2. Koinonia IS translated into the English word “Communion” in the New Testament, but it is also translated into the English word “Fellowship”.
   3. Does anyone find it a little odd that a single word could be translated into two such seemingly different meanings?
2. I’d like to spend a little time today talking about “Koinonia”.
   1. Strong’s Concordance defines koinonia as “That which is shared in common as the basis of fellowship”.
   2. In classic Greek use, the word koinonia was used to indicate the sharing of a common goal or purpose.
   3. In Luke 5 we read that Peter was a fisherman, and that James and John were his partners. The word here translated “Partners” is actually “Koinonia” because Peter, James, and John were united in a common purpose, which was fishing.
   4. While discussing the offering that was collected by Paul in Corinth to support the believers in Jerusalem, the word “Koinonia” is translated in 2 Corinthians 8 as “Participation” and in 2 Corinthians 9 as “Contribution”, again, sharing in the common purpose of the sharing of resources for the support of the community of believers; koinonia.
3. So apparently there is more to “Fellowship” than just friendship. We are not so much being called to be friends as we are called into fellowship with each other with a common purpose in mind; that purpose being the sharing of the gospel.
   1. But, not only are we being called into fellowship with each other, we are being called into fellowship with God Himself.
   2. And we are being called, not just to be God’s friends, but to align ourselves with Him in a common purpose.
   3. We read in this morning’s New Testament lesson “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard,so that you also may have fellowship (koinonia) with us. And our fellowship (koinonia) is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ”.
   4. Us… Sharing in the community of believers, with Jesus, and with God Himself, in the common goal of showing the world who God is, in Jesus, in order that others may come to share our faith, and to join in our fellowship as well.
4. Now, I’d like to give you an interesting little piece of information.
   1. The word “Koinonia” does not appear in the Hebrew Bible. Not at all.
      1. This wouldn’t be surprising, given the fact that the Hebrew Bible was written in Hebrew, and koinonia is a Greek word. But when the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek by a group of 70 Hebrew scholars, sometime in the third century BCE, the Septuagint, as this translation was called, avoided the use of the word “Koinonia”, because God was not thought to be someone with whom humans could have fellowship
   2. I know I’ve explained this before, but it bears repeating.
      1. Every now and then we run into a reference to the veil in the temple being torn. In Paul Baloche’s praise song “Jesus Messiah” the second verse reads “His body, the bread His blood, the wine
         Broken and poured out all for love
         The whole earth trembled and the veil was torn”.  What?
      2. The Hebrew Temple was arranged in concentric squares. On the outside was the Court of the Gentiles, where everyone was welcome.  Inside that was the Court of the Women, where only Jews were permitted.  Next came the Court of the Israelites, where only Jewish Men were permitted, and then you had the Court of the Priests, where only the priests were permitted.  Inside that was the sanctuary, where only working priests were permitted.  And then finally at the center of it all was the Holy of Holies.  The Holy of Holies was separated from the rest of the temple by a curtain that extended from floor to ceiling.
      3. Let me read a short couple of paragraphs from “The Tabernacle Place” website that explains.
   3. The word “veil” in Hebrew means a screen, divider or separator that hides. What was this curtain hiding? Essentially, it was shielding a holy God from sinful man. Whoever entered into the Holy of Holies was entering the very presence of God. In fact, anyone except the high priest who entered the Holy of Holies would die. Even the high priest, God’s chosen mediator with His people, could only pass through the veil and enter this sacred dwelling once a year, on a prescribed day called the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur.
   4. The picture of the veil was that of a barrier between man and God, showing man that the holiness of God could not be trifled with. Habakkuk 1:13 says “God’s eyes are too pure to look on evil and He can tolerate no sin”. The veil was a barrier to make sure that man could not carelessly and irreverently enter into God’s awesome presence. Even as the high priest entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he had to make some meticulous preparations: He had to wash himself, put on special clothing, bring burning incense to let the smoke cover his eyes from a direct view of God, and bring blood with him to make atonement for the sins of the nation.
   5. To the Jewish mind, having fellowship with God was unthinkable, and yet at the moment of Jesus death, the veil in the temple was torn in two. Through the atoning death of Jesus, all of the barriers between God and us have been removed.  No more curtains, no more smoke, no more blood of atonement.  Through Jesus, we are able to have fellowship (koinonia) with the Father.
      1. Joining in fellowship with Jesus means aligning ourselves with Him. It means sharing His goals, His purpose, His mission.
      2. Karl Barth is considered by many to have been the greatest Protestant mind of the 20^th Century. His seminal work was a fourteen volume, 6 million word study of systematic theology called “Church Dogmatics”.  One of Barth’s best known quotes is “In the Church of Jesus Christ, there should be no non-theologians”.
      3. Barth was right. It’s not possible to join with someone in a common purpose if you don’t know what that person’s purpose is.
         1. Joining in fellowship with Jesus means having a clear understanding of His mission. It means understanding and emulating His methods
         2. If we fail to have a clear understanding of Jesus’ plan and purpose, we have the capacity to do far more harm to the Gospel than we have to do good.

• Unfortunately, these days we are seeing far too many believers who have spent too little time in the Gospels and too much time listening to people who speak to their worldview without regard for how their teachings fit with the Gospel or the actions of Jesus.

1. We see far too many people spewing hate when that which we are actually called to is love. The Bible tells us as plainly as can be that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.  In joining in fellowship with Jesus, His mission becomes our mission.  We are not in this world to condemn the world, or to condemn individuals or groups for that matter.  We are in this world to love.
2. We are called to follow the example of Jesus, who’s harshest words were always reserved for the religious elite of His day. People who He referred to as a “Brood of Vipers” and people who He said were “White and beautiful on the outside but inside filled with the bones of the dead and everything unclean”.
3. Jesus spoke these words to them because they were using their religion to build themselves up by demeaning and excluding others.

• Jesus command to us to love contains no exclusions. Jesus didn’t tell us not to love people of other nations, He didn’t tell us not to love people of other faiths, nor did He tell us not to love people who are different from us.
• Here is what Jesus actually taught about love:
  1. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

1. If we want to be in fellowship with Jesus it means learning to love the unlovable. We need to love the rude, the arrogant, the mean, the hateful, and the spiteful.  We need to love those who don’t believe as we believe, who don’t live as we live.  We need to love those who don’t share our values, who live alternative lifestyles, and who disagree with our worldview.
2. We need to love because God choose to love us when we were unlovable. We need to love because loving others is the very definition of koinonia with God.  We need to love because the world desperately needs to witness God’s love in action, and there is no one capable of showing it to them except for us.
3. This is hard… This is REALLY hard.  It’s something that takes commitment, and perseverance, and lots and lots of practice; but if we want to have fellowship, if we want to have koinonia with Jesus, this is what we have to do.

9. When we join Jesus in the common purpose of making His name known, we join with Him in fellowship. And joining in fellowship with Jesus, means joining in fellowship with the Father, it means joining in fellowship with each other, and it means joining in fellowship with all believers throughout the ages.
10. (Move behind the communion table) Contrary to what some may think, this is not an altar.  This is a communion table.  The elements of our communion are distributed from this table, and when we have communion, we are, figuratively speaking, joining with each other in koinonia.  Not just the sharing of a small meal, but the joining with each other, with Jesus, and with God the Father in the common purpose of making Jesus known to the world.
    1. And it’s not just believers in the here and now, because when we walk over here (Stage right) we are sharing this table with our parents, our grandparents, our great grandparents, and beyond. We are sharing this table with all of the believers who came before us; and if we walk far enough, we end up at the Last Supper, sharing fellowship with Jesus and the disciples themselves.
    2. And when we walk over here (Stage left) we are sharing with our children, our grandchildren, our great grandchildren, and with all of the believers who will follow; and if we walk far enough, we will end up at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, sharing fellowship with all believers throughout all of time.
11. Fellowship, communion, participation, contribution, partners, working together in pursuit of a common goal, koinonia.
    1. To have fellowship with Jesus is to understand His goal, and to immerse ourselves in it; to emulate His kindness, His gentleness, and His compassion; To care about people as He cared about people, to witness as He witnessed, and to love as He loved.