(Koinonia)

 

Greek Pronunciation [koy noh NEE ah]

HCSB Translation:  Fellowship

Uses in the NT: 19

 

“that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
(1 John 1:3)

 

Koinonia most often carries the sense of communion or fellowship, referring to an association involving close mutual relations. Because of a common Spirit, Christians have fellowship with God and one another (1 Jn. 1:3, 6, 7).

This kind of intimate fellowship was displayed among the sharing community of the early church (Act. 2:42).  Koinonia may also refer to the way in which this fellowship is portrayed, namely, through sharing, generosity, or participatory-feeling.  Paul speaks of the Corinthian church’s generosity in sharing a financial gift (2 Cor. 9:13).  By extension, koinonia may refer to the financial contribution itself (Rom. 15:26).

It may also express participation or common fellowship in a task or cause. Thus, believers have a common participation in the faith (Phm. 6) and in Christ’s body and blood (1 Cor. 10:16).

 

 


Word Studies courtesy of the Holman Christian Standard Study Bible. Used with permissions from B&H Publishing Group, A Division of LifeWay Christian Resources.