Koinonia/Fellowship

(koinonia/fellowship)                           July 11, 2003

“And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full” (1 John 1:4).

Messiah Yeshua exhorted us to “seek first the kingdom of Elohim” (Matt 6:32).  But what is this kingdom of Elohim?   In the writings of Paul it has been recorded that “the kingdom of Elohim is righteousness, peace and joy in the Spirit of Holiness” (Rom. 14:17).   Where is this kingdom?  The Apostle John seemed to have a practical handle on this mystery.  He summarized it in one word, “fellowship/koinonia”.   “Our fellowship/koinonia is with the Father and the Son Yeshua the Messiah” (1 John 1:3), and if you join us in this “koinonia”, he continued, your joy will be made full. In other words, that portion of YHVH’s kingdom will become complete in your life.

Is the manifestation (potential or factual) of this kingdom in our being just a matter of grace, or do we have to work at it?  The answer may lie in the meaning of the word “koinonia”.  The relationship implied by “koinonia” is more than just going out and having a beer with a friend, or a chat with a girl friend, or getting together for a picnic in the park.  Koinonia means communion, intercourse, intimacy and joint participation.  All of these speak of what one should be enjoying in a marriage relationship. Thus the definition for this word sheds even more light on our relationship with the Father and His Son.  John then tells us how we might have this kind of “koinonia”. He says that it is conditioned upon our “walking”.

This proposition sounds easy enough… But John goes on to clarify this “walk”: Elohim is light, and if you walk in the light you will have spiritual “koinonia”.   However, if you walk in darkness you will also have koinonia, but not with the Father or with His Son.  Who will you then have intimacy with?  I hate to even think about it…but we do not have to be Satan worshipers in order to have koinonia with him and his hordes of demons.

If we are to manifest the joy of YHVH’s kingdom on this earth, we must walk in the light as He is in the light.  Whose responsibility is it to establish His kingdom here and now?  Do the scriptures say anything about being passive, not needing to seek or walk out kingdom life, or not having to work out our own salvation?  Remember, one of the definitions for koinonia is “joint participation”.   What would a marriage relationship be like if one of the partners were to stop participating in it?

In some of my past writings I have been using a term that has fallen short of what our Father is doing in this hour of restoration.  I have said and have written that we are returning back to our “Hebraic roots”.  More recently I have felt the sting of correction in that we are not returning to our Hebraic roots, as they are only a passing point on our way back to the Garden of Delight (Eden), back to where we once walked in the cool of the morning or evening with our Creator. This is not something that is out of reach; it has been made available through the redemptive work of our Messiah.    “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Yeshua the Messiah, His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).  Sin is what separated us in the first place, and had us kicked out of “koinonia”.  But now that sin has been dealt with and we have been born again, we have a new heart an a new spirit and we are no longer identified with the body of sin, in spite of the power of sin that still dwells in our members, because it is no longer us (see Romans 7:17)!   “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for His seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God”  (1 John 3:9).  There is no other way back to the Garden of Delight (Joy), back to the kingdom of Elohim, except by the way which YHVH our Creator has paved in and through His Son.  There are some who in pursuit of going back to their “Hebraic roots” have forsaken Yeshua, even under the warnings of all the apostles, but none so clear as John who says: “Whosoever denies the Son, has not the Father: [but] he that acknowledges the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23).  In one way it is a joy to hear how many believers are returning to the whole counsel of Elohim (all the scriptures), but on the other it is sad to know that some have left the New Covenant teachings and have denied Yeshua.

If we are to progress in this restoration of YHVH’s kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy, it will not be someone else who will do the work for us. On the contrary, YHVH has made the way, now it is up to us to walk in the fellowship of obedience to His Word.  A sister word to “koinonia” is “abide” (meno): to remain, dwell, continue, not to depart, endure.  “The anointing [Spirit of Holiness] which you have received of Him abides in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall abide in Him.  And now, little children, abide in Him” (1 John 2:27-28). “Whosoever abides in Him sins not: whosoever sins has not seen Him, neither knows Him” (1 John 3:6).  “He that says he abides in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked” (1 John 2:6).  Scriptures are very clear; we must do the walking and it is not through the yellow pages, but it is in His light where we have koinonia with the Father, His Son Yeshua our Messiah and with one another, making our joy complete.  

Ephraim