Deeper Relationships in the Right Direction

Goes both ways… kinda. Craig doesn’t call me for advice with his projects. But if something needs to be held up while he works on it, or torn down so that he can work on it… I’ll get that call.

It’s the deepest relationship that my wife and I have outside of our family.

We’ve done projects together. Vacationed together.

We’ve been in the hospital together through a cancer journey.

We’ve been in the hospital together to welcome the birth of our two kids.

We’ve been in a courtroom together to welcome the adoption and addition of their son to their family.

We’ve been back in the hospital together through a heart surgery…

(Come to think of it: we’ve been in a lot of hospitals together.)

But they are our first call. And we are theirs.

See:

There’s acquaintances (who you don’t call).

There’s friends (who you might call).

But then there’s these people who expect your call.

Koinonia: A Fellowship

The Bible has a term to describe those “expect your call” kinds of relationships.

God calls these kinds of relationships a “koinonia”—or a fellowship:

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koinonia: a fellowship

(1 John 1)

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Go ahead a turn to 1 John 1. We’re going to begin reading verse 1 in a little bit.

But as you find that, let me help you grab on to what you’re about to read.

Because this word, fellowship… when we use it today, we use it a little differently than John is using it in his letter we’re going to read.

And whenever we do that—use the same word that appears in Scripture, but use it differently today—we’re in danger of missing the true meaning of what’s written.

So here’s the deal:

When we use the word “fellowship” today, we usually use it to communicate something about a kind of connection | or even a feeling | in a relationship.

Fellowship is a connection or a feeling for us. Like, “there’s a real sense of fellowship;” or like a “kindred spirit.”

And it’s kind of a churchy word, too.

In fact, the church I grew up in had a large, multipurpose room that they called “the Fellowship Hall.” There was a kitchen attached to it. And it was where they had their potlucks—or their “fellowship” time. Just a time to be together; hang out together; enjoy one another’s company and some egg/tuna/ham salad sandwiches.

But when John uses this word, it has some of that same meaning… but also a lot more.

So read along with me—verse 1:

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1 John 1:1–2 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.”

1 John 1:3–4 “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.”

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So from those verses you can kind of get this sense of community and friendship—especially in verses 3 and 4 there. It’s a deeper kind of relationship—first with God, through Jesus—and then with the people who believe in Jesus and his experiencing his new life and his way of life together.

(Nod to those who stepped across the faith line at Christmas Eve… this is what happened to you…)

But if John wanted to just talk about a deep friendship or sense of community amongst Christians, he had words he could’ve used to describe just that.

But he doesn’t.

He uses this word koinonia, translated here as “fellowship”—

Because he’s talking about something that goes beyond just friendship in this passage.

He’s describing more than just a deep bond between people.

Read verses 1-2 with me again—because what we’re going to find is not just a deeper sense of community, but a deeper sense of common purpose:

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This community that John is describing and wanting his readers to join | is a community based on Jesus—but not only that:

It revolves around proclaiming him and his message.

Telling others about him. Testifying or sharing about who he is and what he’s done.

It’s a community based on a mission.

And that’s what a fellowship is—and why John uses that word to describe this kind of relationship:

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In a fellowship, deep community is formed when its members share and live out a common purpose.

In community, you’ll find some friends. In a fellowship, you’ll find some partners.

Community goes deep. But a fellowship is a deep community that desires to go wide.

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Story: Lord of the Rings

(Fellowship of the Ring)

(My story of getting involved)

(Our tendency to live as disconnected; streaming isolates us; Amazon boxes box us in)

(Churches love to be in either the deep or wide camp. PLC remains in the deep and wide camp. Pleasing nobody—except those who want to reach everybody.)

What if 2025 was the year in which your church went from the place you had acquaintances…

To friends…

To a true fellowship where you found some partners?

Earn an accredited degree from Redemption Seminary with Logos.