koinonia

In our final study of the book of Galatians last week we came across a passage that has some very interesting implications for what it means to be a part of a church. The passage is found in Galatians 6:6:

"Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor."

At first glance this seems like a very strange command when read in the English language- almost like the elementary rules of a kindergarten classroom- something like, "good students will always be nice to their teachers..."

But a rudimentary study of the original context helps us clear things up. The word for "instruction" is the word "katacheo" in the Greek, and denotes a serious student. It is where we get the word "catechism" today and has come to mean the memorization of a large body of doctrine. The word "instructor" is a word more closely akin to a "mentor" or a "pedagogue"- someone who is more than just a mere lecturer, but rather a person who is walking with you for the purpose of leading you to a masterful understanding of the material he is teaching. In ancient times, privileged students were given mentors not just for specific study but for instruction in all matters of life. The word "share" is the word "koinonia" in the Greek language, denoting a higher level of community and fellowship than what can be found in casual friendship.

So in this context, the apostle Paul writing to the churches in Galatia has a level of expectation that within the life of the church, these kinds of relationships are normative. He doesn't merely make a command hoping to bring them about, instead his command is predicated on the fact that these relationships are already in place.

Reading passages like this are very challenging to me as pastor. I am forced to ask if these are the kinds of relationships we are promoting in our church? Is this what we are about? Have these kinds of relationship been so infused into the life of our church that they are more the norm or the exception? Of course the answer is that we regularly promote these kinds of relationships and encourage them as a part of our programming. But I wonder how much of this kind of thing is actually happening. I wonder too if this is where we are applying all our energy as a church?

I do think we have these kinds of relationships. I see them everywhere in our faith community. But I believe many of these relationships occur not because we energetically formalize them as such but because they are the dynamic natural work of the Holy Spirit in us. My contention is that if we are His Body, then all that we do in a formal way should reflect what is already going on in us spiritually and is specifically commanded in scripture. I do believe the life and mission of the church hinge upon the effective carrying out of the interchangeable and interconnected biblical concepts of "koinonia" on the one hand and "katecheo" on the other. The health and life of the church is determined by how effectively it lives out community and disciple making.

In my next post I will discuss some ideas of how we can begin to formalize and promote some of these specific commands from scripture.