This morning I met with a UMW circle and led a lesson on For the Love of God: The Epistles of John by Justo L. and Catherine Gunsalus Gonzalez. In the book, Gonzalez talks about the importance of Koinonia, a Greek word typically translated as fellowship. When we think of fellowship, we think of gathering together and enjoying one another’s company. It’s sitting around the table for a meal or talking with one another at a party.

But Gonzalez points out that koinonia was a term used to describe a business relationship, a partnership of sorts. The koinonia was similar to what we refer to as a corporation. So when the author of the epistle John writes to his readers that the reason for the letter is so they “may have fellowship with us that our joy may be complete,” he does not mean that they all need to get together and hang out, he means that they should partner up. They share a common inheritance and a common promise and they share this with God through Jesus Christ. I cannot imagine how this idea would effect early Christians. Most of the members in the early church were impoverished and struggling to survive. Many were slaves. These were not the type of people who were invited into the koinonia, most of them did not have the finances or the rights to own property or make business arrangements. And yet, here in this letter they are being told that they are in a partnership, a corporation, with God as the CEO. To say that they felt as though they had value and worth would be an understatement.

Though I doubt this is a new concept in biblical scholarship, it is the first time I have encountered this understanding of koinonia, and it has impacted me greatly. To think that we have this type of relationship with the Creator, that we are in a partnership with God, is a revelation to me. If this is true, then we have a common goal, a common vision with God. We should be working toward bringing the kingdom into fruition, letting Christ work with in us so that together we might change the world. We are supposed to be in a partnership with God, the question is have we been good partners? Have we really worked with God toward making God’s vision a reality? If I’m honest with myself, I doubt that I have. I’ve sold myself short, I’ve taken the easy way out, I’ve been cynical and haven’t fully believed in God’s vision. And yet, God patiently waits for me to come back into the koinonia, to come back into that partnership. Perhaps, this time I will.

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