Volume 22, Issue 3 (January 19, 2020)
“Fellowship in the Gospel”
By Kyle Pope
The word “fellowship” describes the beautiful relationship
of faith that connects true Christians to God and to all other true believers.
Yet, in the religious world, not only among denominationalists but among our
own brethren this word is often used in reference to everything from recreation
halls built onto church meeting houses, to casual social interaction between
Christians or non-Christians. In this study we will examine the words used in
the New Testament in connection with the concept of fellowship.
The word generally translated
fellowship is the Greek noun koinonia. Henry Thayer defines the word—“fellowship, association, community, communion, joint
participation, intercourse” (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament,
352). It describes the state of “association” or “joint participation”
enjoyed by Christians. Koinōnia belongs
to a family of words used in the New Testament to describe this joint
participation. Other words in this family are koinōneō,
the verb meaning “to fellowship”; koinōnos,
a noun describing “One who fellowships”; koinōnikos,
an adjective describing “the willingness to fellowship,” and koinos, an adjective meaning simply “common.”
Koinōnia
is essentially a bond for a united purpose. The nature of the bond varies
depending upon the nature of the purpose. In Luke 5:10, for example, the Holy
Spirit describes James and John as “partners (koinōnos)”
with Simon in the fishing business. Here their bond was not spiritual, but it
was the bond of a common occupation. Their shared purpose was literally to
catch fish. In Matthew 23:30, Jesus offers another example. Jesus rebukes the
scribes and Pharisees for claiming they would not have been “partakers (koinōnos) with them [i.e. their ancestors] in
the blood of the prophets” (NKJV). The bond in this case was a
common spirit and the purpose was shared opposition to God’s prophets.
The two examples above concern “joint
participation” yet, the first involves fellowship in the fishing business and
the second fellowship in carrying out persecution. The focus of the New
Testament is on a very specific bond of fellowship. Philippians 1:5 describes
this as “fellowship (koinōnia) in
the gospel.” In John’s first epistle, the Holy Spirit tells us how this
bond comes about. He writes—“That which we
have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship (koinōnia) with us; and truly our fellowship (koinōnia) is with the Father and with His Son
Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3). This shows that “fellowship in the gospel” is
a spiritual bond. This bond comes about when one accepts the gospel. When the
gospel was first preached on the day of Pentecost, those who accepted it—“...continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine
and fellowship (koinōnia), in the
breaking of bread, and in prayers (Acts 2:42). This is not talking about
social functions as a work of the church. The connection of the word fellowship
with the phrase “the apostles’ doctrine,” infers that fellowship in
Christ involves joint participation in the entire system of faith, towards the
shared purpose of “common (koinos) salvation”
(Jude 3).
We might notice some things about this
“fellowship in the gospel” from other texts where these words are used: 1.) Koinōnia must not exist with those who “walk
in darkness” (1 John 1:6), or who practice “lawlessness” (2
Corinthians 10:20). 2.) The Christian must not have “fellowship (koinōnia) with demons” (1 Corinthians 10:20)
nor “share (koinōneo) in other
people’s sins” (1 Timothy 5:22). In fact we are
told that someone who greets the one who transgresses the doctrine of Christ “shares
(koinōneo) in his evil deeds” (2
John 11).
Koinōneo
(i.e. fellowship) involves a person’s relationship with God. The one who is in
fellowship with God, is in fellowship with all others who are truly in
fellowship with Him (1 John 1:3). First Corinthians 1:9 refers to this as “the
fellowship (koinōnia) of His Son” and
Second Corinthians 13:14 speaks of it as “the communion (koinōnia) of the Holy Spirit.” Those in
Christ are said to be “partakers (koinōnos)
of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). Christians have received the things
of God’s Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10) and Christ dwells in us through faith
(Ephesians 3:17).
The question remains—When exactly is a
Christian practicing fellowship? In one sense a Christian is always in
fellowship with God and other Christians. Yet not every activity we share with
other Christians is “fellowship in the Gospel.” When Peter, Andrew, James, and
John went fishing together it would not have been accurate to call that
“fellowship in the gospel.” It was fellowship in the fishing business. What
kinds of activities are “fellowship in the gospel?” First Corinthians 10:16
describes the observance of the Lord’s Supper as the “communion (koinōnia) of the body of Christ.” In this
text the church (i.e. the body of Christ) jointly participates in the memorial
emblems of the broken body of Christ. The same text compares this with the
sacrifices of the old covenant. Those who ate from the tabernacle or temple
were “partakers (koinōnos) of the
altar” (10:18). When we participate together in those things that involve
the Gospel we are “partakers” of the gospel of Christ and engaged in
“fellowship in the gospel.” Four times in the New Testament the word koinōnia is used in reference to material or
financial contributions that support the teaching of the gospel (see Romans
15:26, 2 Corinthians 8:4; 9:13 and Hebrews 13:16). The gentiles who helped the
Jews in Romans 15:26,27 were described as having “shared (koinōneō) in their spiritual things” (NASB).
In our
day and age the word fellowship is often used
to refer to the eating of a common meal. While we know that early Christians
ate with one another as a result of the love they shared for each other (Acts
2:46), the word fellowship is never used in the New Testament to refer to a
common social meal. Christians should spend time with one another away from
times of assembly alone, yet, if we begin to think of participation in social
functions as “fellowship in the gospel,” we are misapplying a biblical concept.
May we all continue to study this mater and always strive to use “Bible names
for Bible things.”
