Koinonia is the key

How can Adventists today experience the elusive quality of community that is our birth right in Christ? One group we can learn from is the church after Pentecost (see Acts 2:42-47). That community of believers had it all: love, unselfishness, camaraderie, great joy, and daily church growth.

The key word in Acts 2 describing them is "fellowship," translated from the multifaceted koinonia. Let's note its usage in the Bible. First, in describing our relationship with God through Christ: "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship [koinonia] of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Cor. 1:9).* Beyond that, it applies to our community with fellow believers, as John says, "that you also may have fellowship [koinonia] with us; and truly our fellowship [koinonia] is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3).

At the Communion table we share koinonia: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion [koinonia] of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion [koinonia] of the body of Christ?" (1 Cor. 10:16). This mutual koinonia through Christ is the heartbeat of Christian experience (see Phil. 1:3, 5; Eph. 3:9; Rom. 15:26; Phil. 3:10). Koinonia symbolizes everything we need as a church to experience the quality of community lost in Adam and restored in Christ. It summarizes the meaning of perfection as it applies to His corporate body of redeemed believers.

Koinonia and the pillars

I believe that koinonia with its community oneness is vital present truth for the church of the 1990s. Let's test what it does for five major Adventist doctrines:

1. The Sabbath. Some of us were taught to regard God's weekly day of rest as a 24-hour personal performance during which we tiptoe along the tightrope of legalism. But when we accept our position in Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath, the day becomes a feast of koinonia. We still shun secular business but not for the sake of proving anything or gaining individual points with God. Our purpose in setting aside personal pursuits is to join fellow believers in celebrating communally the accomplishments of Jesus. So the Sabbath is a day for koinonia in Christ. It draws us out of individual business into communal worship through our mutual life in Christ.

2. The sanctuary and the judgment. Having one's name come up in the heavenly sanctuary has been the mother of all threats to many Adventists. But when we understand how koinonia fits in, the judgment no longer intimidates. Individual successes or failures do not matter, be cause all human righteousness was condemned at the cross (see John 12:31). But another righteousness was established there the righteousness we share together in Christ which was certified at His resurrection (see Rom. 4:25). Where do works come in? The presence of koinonia in our lives, which is the keeping of God's law of love, proves that we are partaking of our new humanity in Christ rather than living with the world in Adam's rebellion (see John 3:18).

3. The Second Coming. Those who don't know the benefits of the righteousness we share in Christ see His soon return as a terrible threat. They don't feel individually worthy of going to heaven. And, of course, nobody is or ever will be. Only through accepting our righteousness in Christ can we have confidence regarding His coming. "Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light" (Col. 1:12; see also verses 13, 14).

So everyone in Christ is worthy of heaven. This isn't once saved always saved. Lucifer lost his heavenly position through selfishness and pride, the opposite of koinonia. If we revert to that lifestyle, we too will be lost. Daily we must live by faith in Christ, continually exchanging what the world offers for our corporate position in Christ. Then we can rejoice together that we are accounted worthy, which stimulates a lot of koinonia.

4. The state of the dead. The Bible says Jesus "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Tim. 1:10). Through our position in Christ we don't die, as such; we enter an unconscious sleep in the grave (John 11:11, 14, 25, 26; 1 Cor. 15:22, 23). Satan's deception says that Christians travel alone to heaven at death, but the Bible says we are all going together when Jesus comes. Imagine the koinonia we'll enjoy together on the way to heaven!

5. Spiritual gifts. The doctrine of Christian community really stands out here. I used to think that those who avoid indulging when tempted are complete Christians. Now I under stand that koinonia requires not just resisting sin but much more. We are saved to serve Jesus by building up His corporate body with the spiritual gifts entrusted to us individually. Not all gifts are the same; some are more visible and have greater impact than others, particularly the gift of prophecy. We Adventists recognize this in the ministry of Ellen White. But what ever our spiritual gifts may be, we need not feel inferior. In ourselves we all are incomplete, but together we share completeness in Christ. And each of us is essential in comprising and nurturing the communal body of Jesus. Our participation in koinonia involves the loving, serving expression of each one's spiritual gifts. Nothing less will complete the global mission that Jesus has entrusted to His church.