WEEK #1

Authentic Biblical Community

Are you experiencing “C”? - Part 1

It doesn’t matter whether you are in an adult Bible fellowship, a small group, or on a ministry team. The question is – Are you experiencing Authentic Biblical Community? The forms may vary but the function is non-negotiable for a Christian who wants to obey the New Testament and experience life as God intended it. The Bible requires every believer in the church to experience on-going authentic relationships with a community of believers who practice the “one another” commands. The purpose of this series of articles is to biblically define ABC, to help the readers accurately assess whether they are experiencing ABC to the fullest and to determine what needs to be improved and strengthened in their present community experience.

What is “community”? The word “community” is not in the Bible. It’s a contemporary word used to recapture the original meaning of the biblical word “fellowship”. The word “fellowship” today has come to mean spending time together in the Fellowship Hall of a church building – drinking coffee, eating donuts and making small talk. In an attempt to revive the true essence of the word “fellowship” contemporary writers have used the word “Community”.

The biblical basis for the word “community” is found in the meaning of the original Greek word for “fellowship”. The word translated “fellowship” in the New Testament is from the Greek word koinonia. Koinonia simply means “to have in common, to partner or share”.

The word “fellowship” [Gr. koinonia] can be translated “partner”. Luke 5:10 says, “ and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners [Gr. koinonos] with Simon”. Christian fellowship involves entering into a partnership with one another for mutual edification (“building each other up” – all the one another commands) and evangelization of a lost world.

We can fellowship “in the Spirit” (2 Cor.13:14; Phil.2:1);  “in spiritual things” (Rom.15:27); “in material possessions” (Rom.12:13; 15:26; 2 Cor.8:4; 9:13; Gal.6:6; 1 Tim.6:18; Heb.13:16; Acts 2:44,45); "in the communion table” (1 Cor.10:16); "in sharing  the Gospel" (Phil.1:5); “in suffering” for Christ (Phil.3:10; Heb.10:33; 1 Pet.4:13).

Fellowship has been defined as “two fellows in the same ship”. If two people ended up in the same lifeboat, each possessing limited resources, they would ultimately learn to share everything in common – shared food, shared goals, etc. Believers that experience biblical fellowship do life together – they have shared life purpose, beliefs, values, goals, possessions and more.

Are you experiencing biblical fellowship or “community” with a group of believers? What spiritual goals are you partnering with each other to accomplish?