If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship (koinonia) with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)
“Koinonia” is a Greek word that is typically translated to “fellowship” or “companionship”, but to the Christian it’s a word that holds so much more meaning than just surface value. I must admit as I begin this commentary it’s something that I feel I won’t be able to fully convey in words. I will try my best. The word “fellowship” is littered throughout scripture. I believe Paul captures the essence of this word each and every time time he writes… “in Christ”. Not only is he describing the relationship Christians have with one another but he also conveys this corporate “koinonia” we share under the umbrella of our Savior. All the worlds’ religions cannot claim its followers to be “in” its faith leader. One cannot say to be “in Buddha”, “in Muhammad”, or “in Krishna”. It’s only Christianity where we can claim to be “in Christ”. When we ask for our Lord to forgive us of our sins and ask him to come into our lives we become members of His body. Since we are now members of His body we are now “in Christ”, and The Father no longer sees all our sin and instead sees the purity of His Son. We are literally veiled in His righteousness. The connection we share is something on a spiritual level…The Holy Spirit. He helps us navigate all of life’s twists and turns together…sharing together, laughing together, crying together, loving together. We all have a sense of commonality when we are…together.
When Alexander The Great conquered “the civilized world” he spread the Greek language and culture around the planet. Greek became the “international language” of the world much like English is today. The Bible was translated from Hebrew by the apostles to a version of Greek called… “koine”. In Greek “koine” means “common”. Now it’s not so much significant that The Bible was translated into Greek as much as it is significant the version of the Greek language it was translated into. “Koine” was not the language of scholars or academics, but the language of the less fortunate, the homeless, the children on the streets, women who were not allowed to be educated, etc. Why would God allow His holy word to be translated into a broken street language, which in those times would have been considered vulgar to the educated? The answer should be simple. Our God does not desire His word to be “pretentious” or “proper”, or even, in the period of the apostles, auditorily sophisticated. Instead He desires… “koinonia”.
Here I Am, Send Me 