The Church: Koinonia and Ekklesia
As we start to come to the close of our summer series on loaded and difficult words in the Bible, we're going to be narrowing our focus down more and more. Last week we talking broadly about “Religion.” Next week, we'll be looking very specifically at that word, that label, “Christian.” Today, we're going to be in the sweet spot between those two, exploring the word “Church.” And it should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway, that when we talk about the Church, we're not talking about the building or the sanctuary, or the physical church structure. But we're talking about the community of people.
It's that line of thinking that merits a stern talking-to from God to the prophet Nathan in our reading from 2 Samuel this morning. When King David suggests building a temple – a building to house the Lord – God tells Nathan, actually questions Nathan, “I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”
In other words, God takes umbrage – Why are you trying to stuff me into a building? I don't want one, I didn't ask for one. I'll be with you wherever you go.
Now eventually, God desires a building and we know the Temple of Solomon gets built, along with other temples and synagogues – so the buildings do eventually come into play. But they're ancillary. They're secondary. They're never central to God's work or God's needs or God's purposes. The temple buildings, it seems, are more for the people worshiping, than the God being worshiped.
So let's move on to what the scriptures do mean when we talk about the Church.
You'll notice in the bulleting that there are two Greek words in the sermon title – Koinonia and Ekklesia, and those are what we're really going to be talking about today.
The Ekklesia is the assembly. Originally it referred to the assembly of citizens of democratic Greece. All the people who were eligible to come out, have a say, cast a vote, and make decisions as part of the community. Today that idea of the Ekklesia lives on in our churches. Most notably we see it in congregational churches, but we also see elements of it in our Reformed and Presbyterian polities, where the congregation has a say in the governance of their own churches. And actually, the meaning of that word, Ekklesia, has mutated a bit, so that it has come to refer, in English anyway, to the governing authority within any church or group of churches. So that even in very hierarchical denominations, such as Catholicism, Orthodoxy, or Anglicanism, ecclesiastical authority isn't exercised so much by the people, but by the bishops. So it can get a little confusing. That the original idea of the Ekklesia was to put the authority of the church in the hands of the worshiping members, but now the ekklesia can mean any church authority – even if exercised by a single person.
Now, don't get too scared. The point of this sermon isn't to compare and contrast different structures of church governance. I have a feeling that sermon would fascinate me, and, like, 2 other people – neither of whom go to this church.
But it is to say that how we gather, how we worship, how we conduct ourselves, how we resolve our differences and disagreements – those things matter, and they're all part of how we think of “church.”
When we have theological disagreements, we rely not on the discernment of just one person who may or may not get it right, but on the discernment of the assembly. On the prayers and direction of the ekklesia.
When we argue or when there's conflict, we don't resort (or we're not supposed to resort) to gossip or going behind peoples' backs, but rather, to first try to talk it out, person-to-person, and if that doesn't work, then look to the assembly. As Jesus teaches in Matthew 18, “If your brother or sister sins go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church.”
Everything that we do, the decisions we make, the way we handle our business, comes through the ekklesia. In our polity, we don't put authority in the hands of just one person. I don't get to dictate what we do. But rather, we're like a Republic – the assembly of the congregation elects the assembly of the Consistory, and together decisions are made and things get done. It's very much a bottom-up, not a top-down governance.
Which brings us to the second word.
The Koinonia.
And this is a word that's specifically used in Christian circles. And it speaks to the communal spirit of the church. The Koinonia, as we see it, is the covenanting of people with God and people with people. It's the idea that we can love God and each other so much that we can be of one accord. Not that we have to agree all the time and never be in conflict. But that in spite of our differences we can work together, pray together, break bread together for those things that do unite us: Love, Faith, Submission to Jesus Christ...
The Koinonia is the fellowship of the people.
And that word appears no fewer than 43 times in the New Testament. As a noun, as the fellowship of Christ's believers, and as a verb, when we fellowship together. And it encompasses the social aspect of the church, but it's so much more than that. I've said it before and I'll say it again, so much of what we do in worship happens outside of the sanctuary.
This is where we come together in communal, organized worship. So that for one hour, once a week, we know we're on the same page, praying the same words, blending our voices together into one in song and praise and thanksgiving. And it's a huge piece of or life together.
But after the final prayer is said, and the benediction is delivered, after we sing, “Lord dismiss us with your blessing...” we'll most of us go down to the Fellowship Hall together. And we'll share in refreshments together. And that's where we'll tell our stories to each other. That's where we get a chance to find out what's going on in each others' lives; where we learn of each others interests and passions, of worries and celebrations. That's where we learn what it is that's going on in our neighbor's lives that we can and should be praying for.
Who just graduated? Who's expecting a new baby? Who's in the hospital? Who just got laid off? Who's celebrating an anniversary? Or retiring? Or made the baseball team?
Whatever it is, that's where those conversations happen that bind us together as a community of faith. As a fellowship. In Koinonia.
In Christian Koinonia – in the Christian church, we both worship together so that we can fellowship together, and we fellowship together so that we can worship together. Those two go hand in hand.
It's not that we all have to be each other's best friends. Although that does happen and it's wonderful when it does.
But it does give us the chance to learn each other's stories. And motivations. And learn of each others' families and the things that shape us into who we are. And when we do that, and we do that regularly. As regularly, as say, coming to church and coffee hour each week... then we can start to trust each other. Then we begin to break down those natural walls that we all put up. And we can be honest. Honest about our faith and our feelings, about our cares and worries. About our lives and what we need prayers for.
That's the essence of the church.
To be a place of community. To be a place of mutual trust. To be a place of shared faith and common purpose. Not to be clones of each other, or to dictate each others' thoughts and actions. But to be able to say, “No matter what else we think or believe, I love Jesus Christ and I know you love Jesus Christ as well. We can worship and pray together in his name.”
Amen.
Let us pray.
Gracious God, we come to you in gratitude once again for the spirit of togetherness you put in your church, especially in this congregation. Lord, we pray that you make us mindful of the faith and love in each other, that our covenant with you and each other may continue to bear good fruit and be a blessing. Help us to remember that in all things you are God, and that we can always find common purpose in joining together in the name of Jesus Christ. We offer you this thanksgiving in his holy name. Amen.
As we start to come to the close of our summer series on loaded and difficult words in the Bible, we're going to be narrowing our focus down more and more. Last week we talking broadly about “Religion.” Next week, we'll be looking very specifically at that word, that label, “Christian.” Today, we're going to be in the sweet spot between those two, exploring the word “Church.” And it should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway, that when we talk about the Church, we're not talking about the building or the sanctuary, or the physical church structure. But we're talking about the community of people.
It's that line of thinking that merits a stern talking-to from God to the prophet Nathan in our reading from 2 Samuel this morning. When King David suggests building a temple – a building to house the Lord – God tells Nathan, actually questions Nathan, “I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”
In other words, God takes umbrage – Why are you trying to stuff me into a building? I don't want one, I didn't ask for one. I'll be with you wherever you go.
Now eventually, God desires a building and we know the Temple of Solomon gets built, along with other temples and synagogues – so the buildings do eventually come into play. But they're ancillary. They're secondary. They're never central to God's work or God's needs or God's purposes. The temple buildings, it seems, are more for the people worshiping, than the God being worshiped.
So let's move on to what the scriptures do mean when we talk about the Church.
You'll notice in the bulleting that there are two Greek words in the sermon title – Koinonia and Ekklesia, and those are what we're really going to be talking about today.
The Ekklesia is the assembly. Originally it referred to the assembly of citizens of democratic Greece. All the people who were eligible to come out, have a say, cast a vote, and make decisions as part of the community. Today that idea of the Ekklesia lives on in our churches. Most notably we see it in congregational churches, but we also see elements of it in our Reformed and Presbyterian polities, where the congregation has a say in the governance of their own churches. And actually, the meaning of that word, Ekklesia, has mutated a bit, so that it has come to refer, in English anyway, to the governing authority within any church or group of churches. So that even in very hierarchical denominations, such as Catholicism, Orthodoxy, or Anglicanism, ecclesiastical authority isn't exercised so much by the people, but by the bishops. So it can get a little confusing. That the original idea of the Ekklesia was to put the authority of the church in the hands of the worshiping members, but now the ekklesia can mean any church authority – even if exercised by a single person.
Now, don't get too scared. The point of this sermon isn't to compare and contrast different structures of church governance. I have a feeling that sermon would fascinate me, and, like, 2 other people – neither of whom go to this church.
But it is to say that how we gather, how we worship, how we conduct ourselves, how we resolve our differences and disagreements – those things matter, and they're all part of how we think of “church.”
When we have theological disagreements, we rely not on the discernment of just one person who may or may not get it right, but on the discernment of the assembly. On the prayers and direction of the ekklesia.
When we argue or when there's conflict, we don't resort (or we're not supposed to resort) to gossip or going behind peoples' backs, but rather, to first try to talk it out, person-to-person, and if that doesn't work, then look to the assembly. As Jesus teaches in Matthew 18, “If your brother or sister sins go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church.”
Everything that we do, the decisions we make, the way we handle our business, comes through the ekklesia. In our polity, we don't put authority in the hands of just one person. I don't get to dictate what we do. But rather, we're like a Republic – the assembly of the congregation elects the assembly of the Consistory, and together decisions are made and things get done. It's very much a bottom-up, not a top-down governance.
Which brings us to the second word.
The Koinonia.
And this is a word that's specifically used in Christian circles. And it speaks to the communal spirit of the church. The Koinonia, as we see it, is the covenanting of people with God and people with people. It's the idea that we can love God and each other so much that we can be of one accord. Not that we have to agree all the time and never be in conflict. But that in spite of our differences we can work together, pray together, break bread together for those things that do unite us: Love, Faith, Submission to Jesus Christ...
The Koinonia is the fellowship of the people.
And that word appears no fewer than 43 times in the New Testament. As a noun, as the fellowship of Christ's believers, and as a verb, when we fellowship together. And it encompasses the social aspect of the church, but it's so much more than that. I've said it before and I'll say it again, so much of what we do in worship happens outside of the sanctuary.
This is where we come together in communal, organized worship. So that for one hour, once a week, we know we're on the same page, praying the same words, blending our voices together into one in song and praise and thanksgiving. And it's a huge piece of or life together.
But after the final prayer is said, and the benediction is delivered, after we sing, “Lord dismiss us with your blessing...” we'll most of us go down to the Fellowship Hall together. And we'll share in refreshments together. And that's where we'll tell our stories to each other. That's where we get a chance to find out what's going on in each others' lives; where we learn of each others interests and passions, of worries and celebrations. That's where we learn what it is that's going on in our neighbor's lives that we can and should be praying for.
Who just graduated? Who's expecting a new baby? Who's in the hospital? Who just got laid off? Who's celebrating an anniversary? Or retiring? Or made the baseball team?
Whatever it is, that's where those conversations happen that bind us together as a community of faith. As a fellowship. In Koinonia.
In Christian Koinonia – in the Christian church, we both worship together so that we can fellowship together, and we fellowship together so that we can worship together. Those two go hand in hand.
It's not that we all have to be each other's best friends. Although that does happen and it's wonderful when it does.
But it does give us the chance to learn each other's stories. And motivations. And learn of each others' families and the things that shape us into who we are. And when we do that, and we do that regularly. As regularly, as say, coming to church and coffee hour each week... then we can start to trust each other. Then we begin to break down those natural walls that we all put up. And we can be honest. Honest about our faith and our feelings, about our cares and worries. About our lives and what we need prayers for.
That's the essence of the church.
To be a place of community. To be a place of mutual trust. To be a place of shared faith and common purpose. Not to be clones of each other, or to dictate each others' thoughts and actions. But to be able to say, “No matter what else we think or believe, I love Jesus Christ and I know you love Jesus Christ as well. We can worship and pray together in his name.”
Amen.
Let us pray.
Gracious God, we come to you in gratitude once again for the spirit of togetherness you put in your church, especially in this congregation. Lord, we pray that you make us mindful of the faith and love in each other, that our covenant with you and each other may continue to bear good fruit and be a blessing. Help us to remember that in all things you are God, and that we can always find common purpose in joining together in the name of Jesus Christ. We offer you this thanksgiving in his holy name. Amen.