I want to share a concept that God has been speaking to my heart about.  It centers around the Greek word Koinonia which is translated in the New Testament as communion, association, fellowship, sharing, common, contribution, and partnership.  However, none of these words adequately captures what the early Christians meant when they spoke of the Koinonia they had with one another and Christ. Koinonia expressed a relationship of great intimacy and depth.

For one to have fellowship with another Christian in the early Church meant much more than what it means today to many contemporary Christians (i.e., Christians having donuts and coffee together after the Sunday service). Genuine fellowship demonstrates that bond which binds Christians to each other, to Christ and to God.  Fellowship is all-inclusive, deep, personal and intimate. The meaning of ‘fellowship’ or ‘communion’ in the New Testament relates to sharing one common life within the body of Christ – spiritual, social, intellectual, economic. No area of life can be excluded.

The Church is not simply a society; it is fellowship in God and with God. Every description of the Church is simply another way of expressing the depth of this fellowship.