Excerpt from
Koinonia: What is it? Why do Christians need it? [1]
Introduction
In the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, as governments began to tell people to avoid any unnecessary contact with other people, there has been much discussion over the need to obey earthly authorities. There has been discussion of the importance of the Lord’s Supper and how the rules and regulations of the government have been interfering with our ability to partake of the Lord’s Supper. There has also been discussion over how there is no emergency Lord’s Supper and that we can wait to partake again later because the Word of God is also efficacious. So, we can still be strengthened in faith because God has provided other ways of getting His Word to us. Still, hasn’t the Lord’s Supper been instituted for our comfort and strength in times like these?
Given the rules and regulations, there has also been much discussion about work-arounds—ways to hold church including partaking of the Lord’s Supper while honoring the civil authorities. But the interests of the civil authorities do not fully match the interests of the Church. Yes, we want to love our neighbor and not hurt him in his body. Here there is an agreement but that is largely the extent of our agreement.
What the government doesn’t understand is Koinonia—and I dare say we don’t truly understand it either.… At the start of the pandemic, the government said our gatherings could only be with 10 people or that we couldn’t gather at all. This is a direct restriction of our faith for we believe that the “body of Christ” gathers physically. Your body is not virtually put together; neither is the body of Christ. We actually gather physically and even our head, Christ, is bodily present with us, even though we can’t see Him.
In what follows I make the case for this important aspect of our faith and how it is tied into our Lord’s dispensing His gifts and is also His gift to us—a gift we should not be giving up lightly nor for which we should be creating substitutes.[2]
Where to Begin
As God’s people, we always look to our Lord and what He has to say. The directive from God the Father about Jesus at the mount of Transfiguration is certainly pertinent: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him” (Mark 9:7)! We always begin with hearing our Lord’s Word. In doing so, we will hear words that convict us and words that comfort us. We hear God’s Law and Gospel and we need both. We need to hear the law both to help direct us in this fallen world to what is good but also to turn our eyes away from ourselves to our Lord so that we can hear and rejoice in His good news of what He has done for us.
Since we rejoice in Christ’s forgiveness and His grace given to us through His blood shed on the cross for us, we who have received this grace look to our Lord to see if we are living by His Word or not…. How can we love the Lord better or more? How have we failed and for what do we need to ask forgiveness so that we might move forward in God’s peace, correcting our thoughts and ways to align with His?
This is a good thing for us to do. It has been pointed out by many good theologians that when it comes to our complaints against others or the world, we need to take a good look at ourselves, first. Preeminent of these theologians is God Himself. In an oft quoted saying that we truly seldom take to heart ourselves, Jesus said:
“But why are you seeing the speck, the one which is in the eye of your brother, but you aren’t noticing the beam of wood in your eye? Or how will you say to your brother, ‘Allow me to cast the speck out of your eye’ and behold the beam of wood is in your eye! Hypocrite! First, cast the beam out of your eye and then you will open wide one’s eyes to remove the speck out of the eye of your brother!” (Matthew 7:3-5)
Here Jesus calls His disciples what He, otherwise, reserves for those in opposition to Him. He calls us “hypocrites”! And this He does with an outrageous example that is impossible: someone walking around with a two-by-four in his eye and not even aware of it but concerned with the bit of sawdust in someone else’s eye. How could this be? And that is Jesus’ point. How can anyone do such? How can someone ignore their own faults and failures while pointing out those of others? Such a passage is meant to call us to repentance. This picture cries out to us to stop such outrageous behavior when correcting our brother or sister in Christ.…[3]
Yet, often times, we quote Jesus to others telling them that they need to listen to Jesus about the beamin their eyes without listening to Jesus ourselves. I know this because I, too, do this.… If I can find fault with you then I won’t have to deal with my own fault.
But it is exactly here that we must begin in order to see that this problem does begin with us. Nothing has made this so clear as when the pandemic hit. Government regulations came down and not a voice was raised from [our] church body—except for a handful of pastors and laity to whom most people didn’t listen. They cried out against limiting or stopping worship, often pointing to some aspect of the third commandment….
…I was…awash in worry, concern and fear. I didn’t have a clear idea of what to do or how to proceed.… I looked to see how people were responding—but what I didn’t do was run to Scripture to see what God had to say.
Instead, my instinct was to find a solution and justify it. I sought out Scripture after the fact…to support my position. In this process I waffled…. I could provide no clear guidance because I was reacting to circumstances rather than sitting down with God’s Word and letting the Lord guide me.
Now, to be sure, God forms us in such struggles—when we are faced with tentatio, that is affliction or suffering. And certainly, such affliction [had come] upon the world at [that] time. It drives us back to God’s Word—back to hearing and thinking on it, hearing it and praying it. Thus, when I tried to justify myself with Scripture, I found that I could not.
Instead, I began to realize that God was disciplining [that is, teaching] me—and, to some extent, I believe also the whole church. Hebrews 12 records the encouragement that our afflictions aren’t necessarily punishments but rather discipline from our Loving Father in Heaven. He is working through such trials and troubles for our good.
These struggles, like when Abraham had to sacrifice Isaac, teach us trust in God and at the same time reveal to us our faith in the Lord. Such discipline reveals also where we are weak. Still, the author of Hebrews encourages us to carry on through the struggles and to live in faith knowing that God will bring good out of the discipline and troubles. In other words, we are called to fight against sin.
One of the examples in Hebrews 12 is Esau, who sold his birthright for some stew. He gave up the blessing of the Messiah—the blessing of Jesus being born in his lineage. He gave up the Abrahamic blessing for worldly sustenance—the eternal traded in for the temporary.
The author of Hebrews goes on to point out how we have been blessed with such a birthright. Rather than being struck with fear before God’s mighty presence on Mount Sinai certain of death, we come before the Lord in hope and life, having been made perfect through the blood of Christ. Notice the language in Hebrews 12:22–24 and the picture it paints:
But you have come to and still are at the Mountain of Zion and the city of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the myriads of angels, the special gathering, and to the church of the firstborn ones who have been registered in the heavens and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the upright ones who have been perfected, and to the mediator of a new covenant, Jesus, and to the blood of sprinkling which speaks better in comparison to Abel.
Here we see a feast at which God’s saints gather before God, having been made perfect by the mediator Jesus, whose blood speaks for us. Where does this happen?
While Hebrews 13 goes into how you and I should lead holy lives as God’s people, it is important to understand what bridges these two chapters together—and in fact, what has been a major point throughout the Letter to the Hebrews. Up to this point, the whole letter has pointed out how Jesus has fulfilled the Old Testament worship and symbols and how we find the fulfillment of the Law for us through our connection to Him. Thus, as the author draws near the end of this letter, he admonishes us to continue with Christ
But he doesn’t imagine some sort of isolated individualistic Christian existence. Look again at the above passage from Hebrews 12 as well as places like Hebrews 10:24-25 and 12:28.
And let us contemplate one another for the provoking of love and of good works, not forsaking the gathering together of ourselves just as [is] the habit for certain ones, rather being encouraging. You, too, are seeing by how much more the day is drawing near for so many. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
Therefore, while receiving an enduring kingdom, we have grace through which let us serve in an acceptable manner to God with awe and reverence. (Hebrews 12:28)
These passages show us that it is in worship that our inheritance comes to us. It is in worship that our Lord and God speaks—not only to us but for us. He speaks on our behalf to the Father. Worship is about God acting for us. And so we, along with all Christians throughout the ages, are urged not to give up the special gathering but to continue to gather at the new Mount Zion. As Jesus taught in John 4:21–24:
“Believe me, woman, because the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You are worshiping what you don’t know; we are worshipping what we know because the salvation is out of the Jews. But the hour is coming and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For even the Father is searching for the ones who are worshipping Him like such. God is spirit and it is necessary for the ones worshipping Him to worship in spirit and truth.”
The new worship that our Lord has established, which replaces the old way, is when the body of Christ gathers in a place in spirit and truth. What does that mean?
Jesus teaches us, “‘The Spirit is the One who makes alive, the flesh is not any help. The sayings, which I have spoken and are known to you, are Spirit and are life’” (John 6:63). He also prays elsewhere, “‘Make them holy in the Truth. Your Word is Truth’” (John 17:17). Clearly, Jesus says His Word is Spirit and the Father’s Word is truth. In worship we have both because Jesus spoke to us the words of the Father (John 3:32-34; 8:26, 40; 15:15)[4]. Thus, in the Word we have the Father speaking, we have the Son of God who is the Word present (John 1:1, 14)[5], and we have the Holy Spirit acting—the Spirit of truth whom the Father and the Son sent to continue to speak the Word (John 15:26; 16:13)[6]. Our Triune God comes to us in the Word.
So, how can we give up such worship without giving up our Lord and God?
Often times we think of worship as something we are doing. We think of it as our work. But here is where we have gone astray. Yes, being in church is work. Yes, getting into the pew can be a struggle some days. Yes, listening and pondering God’s Word requires some effort and attention.
But worship itself is not work. It is receiving. It is an inheritance. It is our Lord’s gift to us. Worship is God meeting with us for our benefit and blessing. Worship is sitting at Jesus’ feet, before the throne of the Father, and in the presence of His Spirit.
There is only one word that describes replacing our time with God, and the events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have made this clear: Idolatry. God has been disciplining us through these events to see that our problem is not the pandemic nor the government’s response. Our problem is found in our own hearts as Jesus Himself taught us:
“‘That thing which comes out of the man defiles the man. For from inside, out of the hearts of men, the evil thoughts come out, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, covetous desires, depravities, deceit, self-abandonment, an evil eye, blasphemy, arrogance, foolishness; all these evil things from inside come out and defile the man’” (Mark 7:20-23).
This problem is certainly in my heart.
And here we come to the matter and why we are willing to give up Koinonia. We have committed some form of idolatry. We found that there is something else that we fear, love, or trust more than God. And so we were willing to change worship and provide a substitute worship. We did this in the name of love of our neighbor but what we lost and gave up was so much more than we realized. God gave us something precious and worth more than gold or silver and we traded it for a bronze substitute.
Today, then, I am urging each of us to realize and recognize what has been our own idol that we feared more than God, or whom did we trust over God, or what love replaced our love of God—even what idols may still be in effect in our own lives.[7] For me, my idols have been my own righteousness before others (that is I love the praises of men), my health and preserving it (that is even though I trust Christ has given me eternal life, I harbor trepidation over death), and my own reason and intelligence (that is I trusted my ability to determine what was good and right over what God has said).
I lay all this before you, dear reader, that you would see that my desire is for our mutual edification and encouragement in Christ. This problem is just as much mine as it is yours. And our solution is found in the same place it always has been—in Christ Jesus.
Gracious Father, in mercy You sent Jesus in the flesh for us to save us and redeem; in mercy You send Your Word among us to call us to repent; in mercy, You continue to send Your Holy Spirit to change our hearts and minds. Work in us today to repent of our less than faithful attitudes and actions toward You. Help us to turn away from any idols that plague and lead us to follow where You lead even into death knowing and trusting that You have the power to deliver through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Savior and Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen.
[1] The following is an excerpt from a book. © Jason Krause 2020-2022, addition 2024. Copied with permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Because the commandment “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” is closely tied to koinonia, this booklet is also a case about how and why God has called us to hear His Word and not to despise it.
[3] Gibbs, 369-370.
[4] Jesus revealed that He spoke the words the Father gave Him in these verses:
John 3:32-34, “‘The One who has seen and has heard this and still knows testifies, and no one receives His testimony. The one who receives his testimony certifies that God is truthful. For the one whom God sent speaks the sayings of God, for He gives the Spirit without measure.’”
John 8:26, “‘I have many things concerning you to say and to judge but the One who sent me is truthful, and I speak the things which I heard from Him into the world.’”
John 8:40, “‘But now, you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken to you the truth which still stands, which He heard from God. Abraham did not do this.’”
John 15:15, “‘I don’t say you are a servant because the servant does not know what the lord is doing. But I have said you are friends because all things which I have heard from my Father I made known to you.’”
[5] “In the beginning, the Word was, and the Word was towards God and the Word was God…. And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we saw His glory—glory as the Only Begotten from the Father, filled of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14).
[6] Jesus said, “‘Whenever the Mediator might come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the Father, that one will testify concerning me…. But whenever that one might come, the Spirit of Truth, He will guide you in all Truth. For He will not speak from Himself but as much as He will hear, the One who is coming will also report to you’” (John 15:26; 16:13).
[7] I am echoing Christ’s call for us to repent of replacing our first love lest we lose true life (see Revelation 2:4-7).