The Koinonia of the Ekklesia, Part II

In my last blog I wrote part one of “The Koinonia of the Ekklesia.”  In it I talked about the last word of that phrase, ekklesia, and what it really means to be a part of the church.  To be a part of the church is to be a part of “the called-out ones.”  It means to be a person who has been called out of darkness (sin/the world’s system) into the marvelous Light (a relationship with Jesus Christ).

In this blog I want to focus on the koinonia or, the fellowship, of the church.  The fellowship of the church is much more important than we give it credit for because we often fail to truly understand what fellowship is. 

The fellowship in the church is “the joint participation of individuals for a common cause or purpose.”  The word fellowship means so much more than the typical, “let’s all get together and have a fellowship dinner in the church’s fellowship hall” sort of thing.

When I think of true fellowship I think of the words that were penned by Luke in Acts 2:42-47.  The people of the early church were people who were in joint participation for a common cause.  They were in fellowship with Christ.  They were in fellowship with His sufferings.  They were in the fellowship of the “mystery” of God’s grace.  They were in the fellowship of ministry.  And they were in fellowship with one another.

Those who were a part of the early church are described this way:

• They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching
• They devoted themselves to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer
• Everyone was filled with awe, and many miraculous signs were done by the apostles
• All the believers were together and had everything in common
• Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone who had need
• Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts
• They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people
• The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved

What an awesome picture of what, I believe, God intended the koinonia of the ekklesia to look like.  This shows what an impact the church can make when we are in true fellowship, not only with Christ, but with one another. 

In my final installment on this topic I will share the importance of not only having this true fellowship, but also the importance of protecting it at all costs (with a little help from The Lord of the Rings).  Make sure to check it out!