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John is talking about a whole new level
of relationship with God when he talks about fellowship. When we come to faith
in Christ we become “children” of God
(through forgiveness of sin) and we
receive the gift of eternal life. Unfortunately,
many Christians are content to be forgiven. Their lives don’t take on a
significant change in attitude or behavior.
Consequently, their lives also lack any meaningful experience of victory
and joy.
Fellowship “κοινωνία” is
a relationship that is intimate and participatory. It is a mutual devotion
characterized by a relentless and collaborative pursuit of one another. God
does this by nature. We do this through discipline.
The rewards are out of this world…
The most righteous of
us would like to say we pursue “κοινωνία with the father” as its own reward. The truth
is, as frail humans, we need an incentive to pursue God and John tells us that
incentive is joy. So…if our goal in life is the pursuit of Joy, and fullness of
Joy is found only in “κοινωνία”
with
God (the Father) and His Son…where do we begin?
Of course, John tells
us…
Since God is light, full κοινωνία with Him (full joy) cannot be attained if we dwell
in the shadows of life (darkness). In
fact, if we live in the shadows and claim we have κοινωνία with God we’re lying. If we claim to
have κοινωνία with God we must
walk in the light…out of the shadows.
Again, John is
helpful. He tells us exactly what “light”
and “dark” mean to us. “If we say that we
have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. “Light” is
sinlessness and “Dark” is sinfulness.
This is a nice, clear answer but…have you ever tried to live a sinless life?
Exactly…
So…is it even
possible to have κοινωνία with God (the
father) and His son? Once again, John helps us out. “If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in
the Light, we have “κοινωνία”
with one another, and the
blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin”.
John makes it clear “walking in the light” is not a matter of
sinlessness. It is a matter of obedience…as imperfect as it may be. If we are
walking in the light the blood of Christ covers our inability to do it
perfectly. “If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.
“κοινωνία with God” (joy) is achieved by walking in the
light…not with perfection but, with the forgiveness that comes from an
intentionality that fully agrees with God regarding sin. I will not
quibble. I will not rationalize. I will confirm in my soul that God is right. I
will step out daily and follow this path of agreement with all my heart, soul,
mind and strength…and with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
And, when I don’t do
it as well as I’d like…I admit it and…I’m forgiven. This is why agreement
with God is at the heart of obedience. If I dispute what is, or isn’t sin,
how would I come to a point of confession? I’d spend all my time arguing with God.
We won’t find much forgiveness in that…
If you’ve tried
walking in the light you will agree with me there is a kind of euphoria and joy
that comes from knowing our halting attempts are pleasing to God. There is a sense
of “cleanness” that comes from following an obedient path. I will never walk
another path. I will only get up each morning and ask God to help me do a
better job today. I will κοινωνία
with God regularly throughout the day to monitor my progress.
Why? Because of the incredible joy I gain from κοινωνία.
But…intimacy,
collaboration and participation with God begin with agreement…
Live boldly out there today…
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