True Fellowship is a Interdependent Life Style

The Greek word for fellowship is "Koinonia" which comes from the root word "Koinos". Koinos is the word for common. It indicates something held in common. Such as a shared use of a house, garden, a mother, father, etc. It is the idea of a relationship that is dependent upon something held in common and is interdependent for its true meaning. That which caused the first Disciples of Christ to be in Koinonia was not that they gathered together to talk about Jesus, but rather that they lived interdependent with each other in Christ.

Acts 2:42-44 "And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common." (English Standard Version)

We need a depth of Fellowship that will show our union before others, a union that would cause others to long to be with us. Most groups gather under the banner of shared beliefs rather than "all things in common". That which drove the early Christians to a communal life style was the era of time and the need for a shared source of provisions to survive in those hard times and not least of all, was the sharing of the common bond of Christ in their hearts.

1 John 1:5-7 (ESV) “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 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.”


Believers are to find fellowship in the Father in order to have fellowship with others. True fellowship, with the Father, is living in His light and practicing the truth in all areas of our lives. Notice the Scriptures preface our living in the light as a prerequisite to “having fellowship with one another”.


Fellowship first is through the Father & our obedience to His will in our personal lives. The journey continues, into the broader reality of Koinonia of “living in common”, through an interdependent supporting life style. It is the Church living before others in all things, where Christ is Lord of all of our lives and we are a family that shares our relationship with God the Father, through Jesus Christ, His son, and we are empowered to this Koinonia with each other through His Holy Spirit.


Do we sell everything and move into a common house? No, it is the selling out of self into fellowship with the Father & learning to be interdependent with those God has placed us with and over as His shepherds of the Gospel of Christ. The moment we do this, there will begin to be a unity that will allow awe (the rapt attention & deep emotion caused by the sight of something extraordinary) to come upon those that see and know us. It will open the doors for unbelievers to see God at work through signs & wonders that are beyond our abilities when we simply are held together by a common belief. Because now we are in Fellowship – Koinonia – held together by His presence, His life lived in & through our lives as the Church. The Greek word for church is Ekklesia & its root form means "called out". The depth of that word is the assembling together for a particular cause or purpose which is fellowship in its truest meaning.


Our purpose in this life is to live in Fellowship with the Father, through His “Called Out People”, for the purpose of causing “awe and wonder” to come upon those around us, so that they will seek to know the One who causes us to have Fellowship. No longer do we walk independent in our Faith but rather interdependent I Peter 2:5 “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” I Colossians 2:2 “that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself.”.


What a blessing the Word is. It brings clarity to the reality of Fellowship. We are not left alone to figure out how to have fellowship among fellow believers. Fellowship is the assembling together for a particular cause or purpose which is fellowship in its truest meaning. We cannot do this on our own. It is an empowerment that comes to us as a result of our fellowship with the Father.


My Brothers in Christ seek to have your fellowship in order with the Father and then you will have the ability to take to the congregations, that you pastor, this same fellowship. That fellowship will be seen by those outside of Christ, which will bring awe to their hearts and draw them to desire the same hope that you all are living.


Let the Fellowship of Christ reign in your hearts!