(ttnurnrbia
m4tnlngital &tntIJly
Continuing
LEHRE UND WEHRE
MAGAZIN FUER E v .-LUTH. HOMILETIK
THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY
Vol. XV August, 1944 No. 8
CONTENTS
Pap
Fetlowship with God. c. A.upst llardt ___ ______. __ 505
Walther and the Free Lutheran Conferences of 1856-1859
___ 529E. L. Luker
____ S63Outlines OB the Standard Gospels
Theological Observer 572
Eln PrediIer muas Dicht alleIn tOft Es 1st kein DIng. das die Leute
den, also daas lIE die Schafe unter mehr bel deJ" Klrche behaelt dem
weise. wle lie recbte ~ 801len die gute :Predl8t. - Apologfe, Art. 24
seID. 8OIl~ auch ~ den Woe1
feD. to.hnm, -daas Bfe die Sehafe atcht
aoare1feb. und mit falllcher Lehre ver If the trumpet give an uncertafn
fuehren un4 IrrtuDl elnfuebren_ sound. who &ball prepare himself to
Luthet' the battle? - 1 C07'.14:8
Published for the
Ev. Lath. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, aDd Other States
CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE, st.Louis 18, Mo.
ftIRDII m v ... ,..
Concordia
Theological Monthly
Vol. xv AUGUST, 1944 No.8
Fellowship with God
(The following paper was read before the Pastoral Conference of
the South Wisconsin District and offered to the CONCORDIA THEOLOGICAL
MONTHLY upon request. It represents the first part of the subject "The
Scriptural Content of K oinonia, Its Manifestations and the Restrictions
upon Such Manifestations.")
By way of introduction lei me say a few words about the
reasons for submitting a paper on Koinonia. It is well known that
the word "fellowship" has been very much in the foreground in
recent years, especially in connection with the efforts of Lutheran
bodies to establish church fellowship. We, too, have had com-
mittees at work discussing doctrinal differences with a view to
bringing about Scriptural unity as a basis of church and altar
fellowship. Some in our midst have looked upon these negotia-
tions with doubts and apprehensions; others, however, feel that
we have not even gone far enough in extending the hand of
fellowship. In view of such divergent opinions, it was thought
necessary to restudy the term koinonia and inquire: What is the
Scriptural content of that word? In what way should koinonia
manifest itself? Are there any restrictions upon such manifes-
tations?
There are other reasons for this paper on Koinonia. If we
study the spiritual life in our Church, we find a deplorable lack
of willingness to manifest fellowship by serving the brethren, both
among pastors and laymen. We sing with religious fervor, "Blessed
be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love," but we some-
times act as though that tie were most unblessed. Too frequently
pastors and members isolate themselves and seem satisfied to work
in their own sphere, without sufficient regard for the common
good; there is too much particularism, selfishness, and aloofness.
We notice absenteeism also on the home front of our Church.
Many stay away from congregational meetings, conferences, synod-
506 Fellowship with God
ical conventions, without a valid excuse; when they do attend,
they appear rather uninterested and do not meet their brethren
with warmth and cordiality. For some the Church seems to be
little more than a labor union in which they pay their dues, not
a communion in which they share life's greatest blessings.
On the other hand, we practice fellowship where it should be
denied. It has been said that church discipline is not exercised
as conscientiously as it should be according to God's Word, that
policies and decisions are often based on expediency rather than
principle. We are not in a position to say with finality to what
extent this is true; but so much is certain: all is not as it should be.
If we love our Lutheran Church, and we do,!) we want to do
all in our power to correct what is defective. "The crooked shall
be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth, and
all flesh shall see the salvation of our God." 2) Our ascended Lord
has made us "pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
till we all come, in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of
the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the
statUI • :llm: • _. ~ist, that we henceforth •
children, tossed to and and carried about with every 'Wind of
doctrine:; by the sleight of n1.en and cunning craftiness, whereby
they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, -may
grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ,
from whom the whole body, fitly joined together and compacted
by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual
working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body
unto the edifying of itseLf in love." 3) This paper is a small con-
tribution toward that end.
The word koinonia takes us into the very heart of the Christian
religion and can well serve as a basis of our consideration when
we have to decide certain doctrinal and practical questions. It is
used in Scripture chiefly to denote the fellowship of the Christian
with Christ, and the fellowship of the Christian with fellow
Christians. Originally only the second part was to be treated.
Since, however, Christian fellowship is rooted in and dependent
on Christ-fellovvship, it seetned rnost logical and profitable to stuc
both aspects of koinonia. For the present we shall present a pap,
on our fellowship with God.
1) "For my brethren and companions' sakes I will now say, Pea
be wiL~ .. ~:.ee. Because or the house of the Lord, our Gc . _ - ...
thy good." Ps.122: 8, 9. "If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, let my right hal
forget her cunning. If J do not remember thee, let my tonem" c'-I",,"
to the ..... -.+ .. -I' ~y :cnoutn., if I prefer not Jerusalem above 1
Ps. 137: :>, Il.
2) Luke 3: 5,6. 3) Eph. 4: 11-16.
Fellowship with God 507
To ascertain the Scriptural content of koinonia, we must, of
course, study in their context those passages in which this word,
so pregnant with meaning, is used. Before doing that, however,
it may not be amiss to set forth the etymology of the term and
its usus loquendi.
I
Etymology and Meanings of Koinonia
KOLVOOVLU, occurs nineteen times in the New Testament. It is an
abstract noun, derived, with its cognates XOLVOOVO, and %OLVOOV800, from
%Owo;, the stem of which, XOLV-, is related to C)"1Jv. The adjective XOLVO;
means common, that is, belonging to several, communis; it is the
opposite of LilLO;, which means one's own, private.
It is so used in the well-known passage Acts 2: 44: "And all
that believed were together, and had all things common (XOLVU),"
and Jude 3: "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto
you of the common salvation (XOLvfj; crw't'Y]QLa;) , it was needful for
me to write unto you," 4) In the papyri 'to XOLVOV is used as a name
for a guild of artisans, corresponding to our modern union.G)
KOLVOOVO; a s adjective expresses fellowship, communion, associa-
tion, etc, As a noun it designates a sharer, a partner, a comrade.
In this sense we meet it in 1 Cor. 10: 18: "Behold Israel after the
flesh; are not they which eat of the sacrifices, partakers of the
altar (XOWOOVOL 'tou {}ucrLacr't~QLoU)?" The translation "partakers of the
altar" is a literal translation of the Greek; but to bring out the
meaning Paul intends to convey in this connection, we should
prefer to translate: "have communion, or fellowship, with the
altar." It is so translated in verse 20: "I would not that ye should
have fellowship with devils." Matt. 23: 30 Jesus quotes the scribes
as saying: "If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would
not have been partakers with them (a:u'toov XOLVOOVOL) in the blood of
the prophets." The meaning, of course, is : We would not have
had a share in the murder of the prophets. In Luke 5: 10 XOLVOOVO;
means partner. "They beckoned unto their partners."
KOWOOVEOO, the verb, denotes a communion, or association, be-
tween two or more, based on a %OLVOV, a thing that two or more
have in common. It means: to have a share in something together
with someone else. Anteil nehmen; less frequently : to give
a share of something to someone, communicate, Anteil geben. For
the former meaning we may cite R eb. 2: 14: "Forasmuch, then, as
the children are partakers (XEXOLVWV'Y]XEV) of flesh and blood, Re
also Himself likewise took part of the same." For the latter we
4) Cpo also Acts 4: 32.
5) Moulton and Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament,
Illustrated from the Papyri and Other Non- Literary Sources, p. 350.
508 Fellowship with God
have no example in the New Testament. But the meaning is well
established through classical usage; e. g., f.1YJ JtuQo~ , f.1YJ AUjGVOU, f.1YJ
~Qo'toii f.1l1I\Evo~ ••• 'tOU'tWV XOLVWVELV.6 )
The abstract noun XOLVWVLa. denotes joint participation, the fel-
lowship of persons with persons in one and the same object, always
common to all, and sometimes whole to each. "It is worthy of note
that XOLVWVLa., like the verb, XOLVWV€W, is used specially of tbe closest
of all human relationships, e. g., the marriage contract." 7) Kittel
supports this view and says aptly: "In XOLVWVO~ liegt besonders das
Moment der Gemeinschaft; das Wort ist deshalb faehig, vor aHem
auch innige Verbundenheit auszudruecken." 8) This is apparent
from passages like Acts 2: 42: "They continued steadfastly in the
Apostles' doctrine and fellowship (XOLVWVL~)," where the word is
obviously employed to describe that common life of close brother-
hood in which all that they did they did in common, so that there
seemed to be but "one heart and one soul among them all." 9) We
may compare also Galatians 2:9: "And when James, Cephas, and
John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given
unto me, they gave to me the right hand of fellowship ( I\E1;L(J.~ •• •
)(.m:vrovLa.~) . ~'
Finally, XOLVWVLa., like XOLVWVEW, may also connote a fellowship
which manifests itself by giving a share to another with whom we
are associated. It is clearly so used in Hebrews 13: 16: "To do good
and to communicate (XOLVWVLa.~) forget not." This meaning is con-
tested by Cremel-Koegel, but defended, rightly I believe, in the
monumental work of Kittel; 10) the context and use bear that out,
and the Authorized Version translators were right in rendering
,Romans 15: 26 as they did: "It hath pleased them of Macedonia and
Achaia to make a certain contribution (XOLVWVLa.V 'tL'VU JtOL'I]cra.cr-fra.L)
for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem." 11)
To sum up, then, XOLVWVLa., with its cognates, means:
First : The share which one has or receives in something, joint
participation, das Anteilnehmen;
Secondly: The share which one gives, benefaction, communi-
cation, das Anteilgeben.
6) Demosthenes 25, 61, cited in Kittel, Theologisches Woerterbuch
zum Neuen Testament, III, p.798.
7) Moulton and Milligan, op. cit., p. 351.
8) "Dem Wortstamm XOL'VOr; nach ist das Teilhaben bei ~oL'Vwv6<;
anders orientiert als z. B. bei