Koinonia (Fellowship)

Most people are familiar with the general meaning of the word “communication.” But what does it mean when Christians use the term “fellowship” (or “koinonia”)?

“Koinonia” is an important aspect of Christian life. The Greek root of the word means to “share something in common with someone.” The word always implies active participation and a reciprocal action of the giver and receiver. Therefore, “koinonia” can refer to participation, conversation, sharing, fellowship, mutual aid, etc. In the Chinese Bible (Union Version), the word is also translated as “fellowship” (Acts 2:42), “have fellowship” (1 John 1:3, 6, 7), “to have a share in” (1 Corinthians 10:16), “to participate in” (2 Corinthians 8:4), “giving a contribution” (2 Corinthians 9:13), and so on.

The center of koinonia is the Trinitarian God. All believers have fellowship with God, and as a result, they naturally become one body with each other.

1、The Fellowship between the Father and the Son (Matthew 11:25, 27; Luke 10:21-22; John 14:10). The Gospels repeatedly record the Lord Jesus praying to His Father. The Lord Jesus and the Father are one, and anyone who has seen the Lord Jesus has seen all the virtues of God.

2、The Fellowship between Believers and God (John 14:6, 23, 26; 1 John 1:3). Believers pray in the name of the Lord Jesus, asking the Father to listen to their prayers and have fellowship with God. The bodies of believers are temples of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit indwells them, constantly teaching, correcting, comforting, encouraging, and helping them to lead a new life.

3、The Fellowship between Believers. The Bible places great importance on the interactive life of believers, commanding Christians to love one another and have community life. It warns them not to stop meeting together, and so it often uses the phrase “you are to ‘one another’…” to encourage, provide for, share, and pray for one another.

The Bible records:

[John 14:10] Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

[1 John 1:3] 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.

[1 John 1:7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.