Seth Barnes - Koinonia: God with skin on

3rd in a 5-part series on the pillars of life

Just as we were fashioned to find our true identity in God, so we were created as social creatures to interact with one another and in that interaction, find our context in a group of people whom we love and whom we are loved by. This inter-working is grounded in the Greek word, koinonia. It forms the basis for our understanding of what church should look like.

Some might call it "fellowship," but that word has connotations of potluck dinners in fellowship halls. It is insipid next to the red-blooded, full throttle corporate celebrations and nurturing body life that God designed us for. The deep peace and security that we experience in being known and accepted by a group, the celebrating which we do together and the grace we offer and experience, are all foundational aspects of Kingdom living.

True koinonia produces the fruit of intimacy within our fellowship. The profound commitment to one another that makes this dynamic possible is called "covenantal." This is a term that has fallen on hard times in our individualistic, mobile society. It is hard to commit when neither you nor others know with any certainty whether you'll be there in the next year. True covenantal relationships are based on shared responsibility and mutual accountability.

When we do find koinonia, we find a part of ourselves that we never knew was missing. We become complete as we fulfill our role in something much bigger than ourselves. We were born to be team players, not renegades, yet too many Christians have never found their team. When at last we find it, the dynamic we experience is koinonia.

Tomorrow, we look at freedom.