KOININIA WORKS

KOININIA:

In the Bible, koininia is a Greek word translated as fellowship, communion, or participation,
referring to a deep, intimate, and covenantal bond between believers in Christ, built on shared beliefs, spiritual life, and mutual support. It goes beyond mere association, describing a dynamic of joint participation in a common life, faith, purpose and commitment to each other and the Lord. Koininia, then is Christian fellowship, uniquely enjoyed among brothers and sisters in Christ.

Acts 2:42 ESV

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching
and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

In the midst of the new-born Church, koininia showed up as believers gave themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to rejoicing together in living out their new lives of faith,  in sharing meals together, and in their prayers.

1 John 1:3 ESV

“ . . . 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 with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

Koininia welcomes us into the unique bonds of Christian unity which miraculously mirror the oneness of God the Father and the Son. Koininia is a deep and loving bond between believers which somehow reflects the glories of the unity of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

Philippians 2:1-2 ESV

So if there is any encouragement in Christ,
any comfort from love,
any participation in the spirit,
any affection and sympathy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind,
having the same love,
being in full accord and of one mind.

Koininia actually encourages us in Christ, comforts us in His perfect Love, enables us to participate in spiritual unity within the Body of Christ, gifts us with the holiest sense of affection and sympathy, inspires us to think with the same mind, the Mind of Christ; so that we live in one accord, purpose, and experience.

Ephesians  4: 11-13 ESV

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists,
the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for
the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of the faith
and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to mature manhood, to the measure
of the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, . . .

Koininia exercises our Spirit given gifts as apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers—as we join as one to equip the saints for the work of ministry—spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ together. Koininia works hard to build up Christ’s Church until we become unified in our faith in our Lord Jesus. Koininia blesses us as we grow in knowledge of Jesus Christ. Koininia strengthens us and matures us in our common faith until we reach the full extent of Christ’s blessing in and through us.

Koininia Works

In the face of a crisis
koininia works,
sometimes standing
side-by-side
or possibly back-to-back
one with a spear
or with mortar
and bricks—
Nehemiah leading
the people at the
wall and Ezra
in their prayers—
or in these days when a
water pipe bursts
one with a mop
and others, towels;
God perfects our unity
when in the face
of a challenge
we each one
do our tasks as God directs
and encourage
each other with
pats on the back.

Now, why would I be thinking of Nehemiah and Ezra while I watched us as a church respond to the consequences of a broken pipe and lots of water flooding through the ceilings onto the floor? Well, the once exiled Jews, and their leaders once they returned to Jerusalem, found a broken wall, a destroyed Temple, and lots of enemies. God chose his leaders well, and Nehemiah and Ezra provided His people the direction and energy needed for the monumental, but necessary task of rebuilding the wall, Now, we at First Baptist Church Glencoe have not been exiled, and we have no outer wall to rebuild; but we did experience a mighty challenge this past Sunday morning, arriving for Life Group classes and a Mexico Mission fund-raising lunch. At least one pipe burst and a toilet had kept running and the water flowed freely upstairs and down in the fellowship hall, and in the classes overhead. So, as God would have it, people, young and old, jumped into the battle and eventually got floors and furniture as dry as possible. Many, many folks did more than their share, so Life Groups met as usual, worship continued, and the Mexico Mission Lunch took place as planned, although we’re not quite sure how those dishes got washed.

In this world we all learn how quickly out-of-control things can get; and that God has His plan and the enemy, his; each as to how they intend to have God’s children act. While God’s plan includes coordinated, Spirit-filled, selfless hard work shared by all God’s people; the enemy would divide us so we waste time arguing and pointing fingers, rather than in doing the work which needs to be done. God intends to make each crisis one more opportunity to grow closer to Him and each other, while the enemy seeks to divide and conquer us while we are distracted by petty arguments and assigning blame. God leads us toward unity and His, and therefore, our own victory. The enemy would lead us nowhere but in circles, frustrating us as we end up with nothing but dizziness and confusion.

Now, as I pause to reflect on this crazy, mixed-up, eventually glorious day, I recognize how koininia works to accomplish God’s Purpose through our faith family. I think of folks who hang out around laundry mats with stacks of coins to bless folks and engage them in gospelcentric conversations. I think of folks working hard summer days in West Virginia, creatively sharing the Gospel. I think of the Praise Team working hard on Wednesday evenings, prayerfully seeking to lead us in true songs of worship on Sunday mornings. I think of faithful men and women preparing to teach Life Groups, lead D-Life groups, work with G.A.’s and R.A.’s and Mission Friends. I think of our ministry leaders praying for God’s guidance as they proclaim the Gospel and illustrate its power and truth among us. I think of men and women welcoming us to worship each Sunday. I think of committee members as they seek to discover and do God’s Will on our behalf as a faith family. I think of our saint of a lady in the Church Office dealing with all of the details of keeping everything about us as a church functioning smoothly day after day. I think of those on their knees throughout night and day praying in praise to Him who makes all this possible, and seeking His blessing on all we do for His glory. I think of our selfless Day School Director and staff as they love children and their families in the name of Christ as they make learning fresh and effective throughout the year. You know, God always knows what He is doing, and He always does it right, so I just have to stop and praise Him for being the Mover behind the scenes as He spreads around plenty of  Koininia Love for His glory and our shared joy. So join me in giving praise to the Father of us all, the creator of salvation, and the sustainer of Koininia Christian Love and Fellowship. INDEED, KOININIA WORKS!!!