Many of you, or at least some of you have heard the story now of a party that I went to when I was in my fourth year of university.
And I went to a party, and at the time I was in love with Louise, and she wasn't in love with me.
And I went to this party, and Louise was at the party, but I didn't go to the party with Louise or come home from the party with Louise.
I went with Tom, and he's a great guy, but he wasn't Louise.
And after the party, as I was going home with Tom, we were walking, we sort of lived near each other, and we walked good ways together.
I said to Tom, Tom, I really like Louise, but I think she's too good looking to go out with a guy like me.
And Tom said, George, you're right.
She's way too good looking to go out with a guy like you.
Every time I think about that story, I think, isn't it amazing that he went into counseling?
And I think he's probably good at it now.
And, you know, many of us can look at couples, and you say to yourself, like, how on earth do those two get together?
Like, what keeps them together?
What is that magic or whatever that keeps them together?
They just seem to be so different.
You know, if we were to keep a little list of everybody who came to St. Albans today, and then tomorrow we were to interview them all,
I mean, you know, there are people in this church, and I know this, there are people in this church who think the NDP aren't probably left-wing enough.
And I know that there's people in this church who think the conservatives are wusses and should be far more conservative.
And, you know, if you were to line us all up, and all of a sudden you'd see that, you know, we differ in politics, we differ in marital status, we differ on children, a number of children, we differ in sexual orientation, we differ in education, we differ in race and culture, in sickness and health.
And so, you know, I mean, if you're not going to be a person, we differ in life, we differ in life.
And I think, you know, how on earth do those guys ever stay in the same room?
Like, what on earth actually keeps them together?
It just doesn't seem to make any sense.
Just like for some couples.
I think they'd say this about St. Albans, that they actually talked to us beyond these things.
And the answer is, and hopefully, you know, there's lots of bad things that keep different people together,
but for Christians, there's something really good which keeps us together.
And it's the second of the four marks of the church.
Those of you maybe who are here this week for the first time, we've been looking for basically for four weeks,
we've looked time and time again at this text which my son Tosh read,
like sort of going right back to that early snapshot of what the church is like and what it's to be like.
And in verse 42, we see the four marks of a church which is formed by the gospel
and upon which the Holy Spirit has fallen, in other words, a true church.
And the four marks are that they are devoted to the apostles' teaching.
And we understand that now to mean, of course, New Testament teaching and biblical teaching
as understood through the New Testament with Christ as Savior and Lord,
gospel-hearted, New Testament teaching, devoted to the apostles' teaching,
devoted to koinonia, or fellowship it's translated, I think, here in our Bible,
devoted to the Lord's Supper, which is more than just a ritual,
but also involves the deep remembering of Jesus' death and resurrection upon the cross,
and fourthly to the prayers.
And today, we're going to look at the second mark of the church
because it's in fact koinonia in a good church which keeps such different people together.
Koinonia is a spiritual reality which generates a common life.
Devotion to koinonia is a devotion to a common message, a common mission, a common life,
common boundaries, all flowing from a living communion with the living God,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Right?
It is a spiritual reality which generates a common life.
Koinonia is a devotion to a common message, a common mission, a common life,
common boundaries, all flowing from a living communion with the living God,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Today, my sermon is going to be a little bit different from my usual sermons.
I'm not going to exposit one text, but I'm going to look at several texts
which help us to understand this mark of the church, which is koinonia.
And koinonia is really important.
You know, without koinonia, New Testament study can just become arrogant, proof-texting.
Liturgy can become just something that we have huge wars over.
The Lord's Supper can be merely a boundary which marks our group versus your group.
We won't allow your group to have the Lord's Supper with our group.
And all of these things can become quickly and utterly deformed without this lifeblood of koinonia,
which is a spiritual reality which generates a desire and a drive and a forming of a common life.
And so let's open your Bibles and turn first to 1 John 1, verse 3.
Very tiny little book towards the back of your Bible.
And if you're using the Pew Bibles, it's on page 1054.
Page 1054.
And John chapter 1.
And it's verse 3, which is what I want to really focus.
But I'm going to give you the couple of verses before and after so you have a little bit of the context.
Page 1054, 1 John chapter 1.
But by the way, if, you know, many other Sundays we say an ancient creed.
Today we sang a wonderful short creed.
But in the creed, we say we believe in the communion of saints, the koinonia of saints.
And in fact, the word koinonia is one of the most common New Testament words.
Sometimes it's translated as communion.
Sometimes it's fellowship.
Sometimes as partake.
Sometimes it's participation.
Sometimes it's sharing.
And there's, what was the sixth word?
The sixth word will come to me later on.
Oh, partnership is the sixth word.
And so we can miss the fact that it's the same word time and time again.
But listen to 1 John.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,
which we have looked upon and our hands have handled, concerning the word of life.
Just pause there for a moment.
He's talking about Jesus, who has been from all eternity the second person of the Trinity.
And counter to the thought of the day, which thinks that God is distant, distant, distant, distant, distant,
and could never, ever, ever, ever come and walk amongst us.
John has just said in very, very powerful ways.
That which was from the beginning, the second person of the Trinity, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,
which we have looked upon and our hands have handled, concerning the word of life.
The life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and declare to you that eternal life,
which was with the Father and was manifested to us.
That which we have seen and heard, we declare to you that you also may have koinonia with us.
And truly, our koinonia is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
You see, koinonia flows first from responding to the apostles' message that God has sent his Son, Jesus,
to be the Savior of the world.
And the really spectacular news is that he came to be your Savior and he came to be mine.
And so koinonia begins when we hear the message of the apostles, the message of the Bible,
that there is a Savior who loves you, who has died upon the cross for you,
has risen from the dead and conquered sin and death and hell and hostile spiritual powers.
And he is conquered, not as a lonely victor, but he is conquered so that you can share in his triumph.
And we hear this message and we respond to love in love and trust and obedience.
And what happens is that we have koinonia with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
That means mere mortals, pillars of dust formed by a soul,
people who struggle with mortgages and with temptation and sickness and death.
You have said yes to Jesus and you got more than just Jesus loving you.
You now actually participate in and taste and live in the very life of God.
Isn't that the most amazing thing in the world?
Pillars of dust formed by a soul,
people with bad knees and bad credit ratings and all of those things,
that through Jesus you actually are brought into the very, very life of God
and can begin to taste that and know that.
And you are invited to have that become more and more a part of your life.
It is a living reality.
And the word here is that you and I are in koinonia,
a communion, a participation, a sharing,
a dwelling in the very life of the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.
And through responding to the gospel message,
the message of the apostles,
and saying yes to this message,
and all of a sudden discovering or beginning to discover
that God, in fact, has granted you vastly more
than you had ever begun to understand
when you first heard an inkling of the person of Jesus Christ.
And at the same time,
it is because we have responded to the gospel,
have entered into the very life of God,
that we also have koinonia with one another.
Listen to the verse of Scripture,
that that which we have seen and heard,
verse 3,
we declare to you,
why?
That you also may have koinonia with us.
And truly, our koinonia is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
Koinonia is a spiritual reality
which generates a common life.
It is a devotion to a common message,
a common mission,
a common life,
common boundaries,
all flowing from a living communion
with the living God,
the Father,
the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
Spirit.
Isn't that the most amazing
and wonderful thing in the world?
Let's look at the second text.
It's Philippians chapter 1,
verses 5 and 7,
but once again,
we'll read around it
to give you a little bit of the context.
And for those of you using the pew Bibles
in the church,
it's page 1016.
Page 1016.
And it's verses 5 and 7,
both have this word fellowship
or koinonia.
And here's what,
I'll begin reading at verse 3
just to give you the context.
I thank my God
upon every remembrance of you,
always in every prayer of mine,
making request for you all with joy,
for your koinonia in the gospel
from the first day until now,
being confident of this very thing,
that he who has begun
a good work in you
will complete it until the day
of Jesus Christ.
Just as it is right for me
to think this of you all,
because I have you in my heart,
inasmuch as both in my chains
and in the defense
and confirmation of the gospel,
you are all koinonia
with me of grace.
For God is my witness,
how greatly I long for you all
with the affection of Jesus Christ,
and this I pray,
that your love may abound
still more and more
in knowledge and all discernment,
that you may approve
the things that are excellent,
that you may be sincere
and without offense
till the day of Christ,
being filled with the fruits
of righteousness
which are by Jesus Christ
to the glory and praise of God.
Amen.
Hallelujah.
Listen to this again.
You see, it's a spiritual reality.
It's a real communion
with the living God,
but it is more than that.
This living communion
with the living God
generates a desire
for a common mission
and common message
and a common life
and a common work
which is being involved.
It's in a sense this desire
not only to know Jesus.
If you go in and read Philippians,
he wants to know Christ
and he wants to share
in his sufferings
and he urges them
to participate
in his mission
and in his ministry
and it's this sense
that God is at work
in the world,
Jesus is building his church
and when we are
in communion with God,
we have this desire
to be part of that action,
to be part of Jesus
building his church,
God being at work
in the world
through the proclamation
of the gospel
and people entering
into God's family
through adoption,
by grace alone,
through faith alone,
in Christ alone.
Verse 5,
for your fellowship,
your koinonia in the gospel
from the first day until now.
You see,
they have a koinonia
in the gospel message,
in the proclamation
of the gospel.
Verse 7,
I have you in my heart
inasmuch as both
in my chains
and in the defense
and confirmation
of the gospel.
You are all,
you all are koinonia
with me of grace.
You see,
this spiritual reality
of communion
with the living God
generates within us
this desire
to be involved
in mission,
common mission
and common proclamation
of the gospel message
and a common life.
You know,
it's what,
it's what drives us
to be interested
in Matthew Hoskin
in Cyprus
or other missionaries
or the work of Katrin
amongst the street poor
or the work of Jill
amongst the university students
or thinking of other ways
that we can be involved
in the extension
of the gospel
and what's going on
in Nigeria
and what's going on
in the Arctic
and it's a spiritual reality
which generates within us
this desire
to know of
and to participate in
and to further
this,
the message,
the mission
and this common life.
But there are boundaries.
There are boundaries.
Our age has this
ambivalence
about boundaries.
But this,
there's boundaries.
Let's turn to a,
sort of a dark passage
in 1 Corinthians chapter 10
verses 16 to 21.
There's a warning here.
1 Corinthians 10
verses 16 to 21.
We're going to begin
at verse 14.
It's on page 993
if you're using
the Pew Bibles.
This text,
as you turn there
to page 993,
1 Corinthians 10
verse 14 and following,
you know,
this text sort of
opens up to us
for a moment
that the Bible
has a different view
of what it means
to be human
than our culture has.
and it's almost
as if you think
of an hourglass
and in some ways
an hourglass
is biblically speaking
what a human being
really is.
Our culture
tends to think
of us as being
that little tiny
joining part
in an hourglass.
But this,
the Bible
constantly pushes us
to sense
that really,
even though,
I mean,
it's that little
tiny part
in an hourglass
that we see,
that little center part,
that's what we see
walking around,
but that if in a sense
we were to be able
to have God glasses
or biblical glasses
that we would see
that every human being
is not just in a sense
the little center part
in an hourglass,
but that because
we are
enfleshed
souls,
souls
that have
a body,
an embodied soul,
we would see
that in a sense
just speaking
figuratively
and literally
that in a sense
opening out
from us
is that every human being
is open
to these realities
and spiritual realities
which are far,
far bigger than us.
that there's in a sense
within every human being
whether it's denied
or whether it's
pursued in wrong ways
that in fact
we open up to,
there's an openness
in every human being
to these spiritual principles
and realities
which are just vastly
bigger than us.
You see,
one of the reasons
why Christians reject
almost all of the ethics
that you'd have described
in the Citizen
and the National Post
and they're all basically
utilitarian,
some type of utilitarian
measuring,
you know,
pleasure and pain
and harm
and lack of harm
that's caused
to other human beings
physically,
it completely and utterly
denies,
completely and utterly
evades the fact
that human beings
are fundamentally
open to spiritual realities
which are vastly
bigger than them
and that can be
pursued wrongly
and can be damaged
and can be
just completely
and utterly wrecked.
And at the same time
human beings
are not funnels,
the narrow part
at the bottom
just opening up
to the spiritual thing
but the fact of the matter
is that beneath us
we are completely
and utterly rooted
in creation.
That there is in fact
something within us
which is akin to
the rocks
and the trees
and the wind
and that some of us
as we get older
we become aware
of the fact
that gosh,
you know,
that nose
has been handed down
from father to son
to father to son
for generations,
you know,
and the eyebrows
or other types
of things
and that we're
part of this
huge genetic
and physical
bigness
and this text
sort of points
to that
with something.
1 Corinthians 10
verse 14
Oh, just one other thing.
Therefore, my beloved,
flee from idolatry.
There's two great messages
in 1 Corinthians,
two things that we are
to flee from.
We are to flee
from porneia
which is
anything which departs
from faithfulness
and heterosexual marriage
or sexual abstinence
and singleness.
We are to flee
from anything
that takes us
from that
and we are to flee
from idolatry.
It's the two great messages
of fleeing
in the book
of 1 Corinthians
and this text
begins with one of those
flee,
flee from idolatry.
I speak to you
as wise men and women,
judge for yourselves
what I say.
The cup of blessing
which we bless,
is it not
the koinonia
of the blood
of Christ?
The bread which we break,
is it not
the koinonia
of the body
of Christ?
For we,
being many,
are one bread
and one body,
for we all,
and here the word
isn't koinonia,
I'm going to say koinonia,
but it's a synonym
for koinonia,
for we are all
koinonia
of that one bread.
Observe Israel
after the flesh.
Are not those
who eat of the sacrifices
koinonia
of the altar?
What am I saying then?
That an idol
is anything
or what is offered
to idols
is anything,
but I say
that the things
which the Gentiles
sacrifice,
they sacrifice
to demons
and not to God,
and I do not want
you to have
koinonia
with demons.
You cannot drink
the cup of the Lord
and the cup of demons.
You cannot
koinonia
of the Lord's table
and of the table
of demons,
or do we provoke
the Lord to jealousy?
Are we stronger
than he?
You see,
this on one level
says that this ability
of koinonia,
that in a sense,
it's talking about
something which is human.
On one level,
it's something human,
which is that,
you know,
that's why I was saying
about there's,
in a sense,
out of the top of us
that there's this ability
to participate in
and be influenced
by spiritual realities
that are bigger than us.
And so it is possible
for us
to have a communion
with things
that are bigger than us
and that are fallen
and that are in rebellion
against God
and are in complete
and utter denial
of the gospel.
And Christians
are ones who have responded
to the gospel message.
By responding
to the gospel message
are in a living relationship
with Almighty God.
There is now
a spiritual reality
which generates
within us a common life.
There is a devotion
to koinonia,
is a devotion
to a common message,
a common mission,
a common life,
and common boundaries
all flowing
from a living communion
with the living God,
the Father,
the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
There are things
that we can be open to.
There are things
that can bring us together
which are in rebellion
against God
and we are to have
nothing to do with them.
There are to be boundaries.
The fact of the matter is
that there are,
in the history of the church,
we can think of
countless things
that have brought
Christians together.
They have been brought
together by racism,
by prejudice,
by hatred,
by social class,
by elitism.
They have been brought
together by a despising
of the poor
or a despising
of the rich,
by mere tastes
in music
or mere tastes
in liturgy,
by race,
by ethnicity,
by war,
and by...
There have been
many things
that have brought
Christians together.
Many things
that have brought
Christians together
and we are not
to be brought together
by these things.
We are to forsake
these things
and forswear
these things
that, in fact,
the wonder of the gospel
is that God invites us
regardless of our race,
our poverty,
our wealth,
our education,
our gender,
our sexual orientation,
that Jesus comes
to every human being
and invites us
to come to him
and he receives us
as his own
and that when he receives
us as his own,
we enter into this
living communion
and fellowship
with Almighty God
and once that happens
there is a spiritual reality
which is to take place
in us,
which is to generate
a common life
and that common life
is to be marked
by all of a sudden
the relativizing of race,
the relativizing of class,
the relativizing of education,
the relativizing of gender,
the relativizing of all
of these things
that there is,
in a sense,
a push past
these boundaries
that are not to be things
which unite us.
We are to be united
by the message of the gospel,
by entrance into a common life
with God
and so there are to be boundaries.
We are to forswear
or forsake
any type of communion
that opens us up
to that which is not God,
to that which is
in rebellion against God,
to that which is
antithetical to God
or a denial to God
or to the message
of the gospel,
the mission
of Jesus Christ
in the world.
We are to forswear that.
One text,
very briefly,
before we leave this,
it's in 1 John again,
it's just after the part
that we read
at the very beginning,
it's the other classic text
on this.
1 John,
chapter 1,
and it's sort of the rest
of that first chapter.
If you're using your pew Bibles,
it's on page 1054.
1054.
And here we're looking
at 1 John,
that's verse 6 and 7,
but we'll begin reading
at verse 5.
Page 1054,
1 John,
chapter 1,
verses 5 through 10.
This is the message
which we have heard
from him
and declare to you
that God is light
and in him
is no darkness at all.
If we say
that we have
koinonia
with Jesus
and walk in darkness,
we lie
and do not practice
the truth.
But if we walk
in the light
as he is in the light,
we have koinonia
with one another
and the blood
of Jesus Christ,
his son,
cleanses us
from all sin.
If we say
that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves
and the truth
is not in us.
If we confess
our sins,
he is faithful
and just
to forgive us
our sins
and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.
If we say
that we have not sinned,
we make him a liar
and his word
is not in us.
Here we see
once again
that we are not
to have koinonia
with darkness
but only with light.
We are not
to have koinonia
which proclaims
a false gospel
or an antithetical gospel.
We are not
to be united
by class
or by institution
that koinonia
is responding.
It develops
from responding
to the gospel message.
It creates
a spiritual reality
which generates
a common life
and there is
a devotion
to a common message,
a common mission,
a common life,
common boundaries
all flowing
from a living communion
with the living God,
the Father,
the Son
and the Holy Spirit.
You know,
one of the things
which we have been
looking at
over the last few weeks
as we draw to a close
is that the church
is learning
you know,
in Acts chapter 2
verse 46
the church is learning
to live large
and live little.
Koinonia
is what
in a sense
generates a desire
for Christians
to live large.
It's what
generates Christians
to say
I'm not supposed
to be alone
I should be part
of a church.
It's what generates
a desire
not only to be part
of a little church
here in the corner
of King Edward and Daly
but to also be
in some type
of common life
with other Christians
in the denomination
and other Christians
across denominational boundaries.
Koinonia
is that mark
of the church
that spiritual reality
which generates
this desire
to live
the Christian
life large
and to think
big.
And it's also
that
which generates
within a Christian
the desire
of a church
and the desire
of a Christian
to learn
how to live little.
It's what
pushes us
to say
how can we
make our families
Christian?
How can we
make our marriage
Christian?
How can we
find spiritual
friendship?
How can we
find those
little gatherings
where we gather
together in prayer?
You know
maybe it's just
you and some
people who all
work near each other
who decide
you're going
to get
to work
a few minutes
early
and spend
half an hour
in the cafeteria
over a cup of tea
and a cup of coffee
and maybe share
one Bible verse
and share a couple
of things in your life
and then quietly
try to pray
or maybe it's
a more formal
Bible study
or a more formal
teaching session
but it's
koinonia
this spiritual reality
which generates
a desire
for a common life
the desire
for a common life
is both living
large
and living little
it's that part
within us
which says
I need
Christian friends
I need a small
group where people
know my name
like I have to
confess to you
you know
it's
I have to confess
that you know
over the last
it's funny
you know
on one level
I want to confess
and apologize
to you folks
last time I talked
to the wardens
about it
said you know
George don't
apologize for
these things
you know
part of what
God has called
you to do
right now
is to be involved
with some of
these big things
that are going
on in the
Anglican church
you know
and I just
I'm so grateful
that you folks
have blessed me
and released me
and you're patient
for me
as I spend time
in some of
these things
with the continuing
crisis
but you know
we have to
get out of the
way
so Koinonia
can work
in your desire
to find
to live
the little
Christian life
as well as
the large
Christian life
and we have
different Bible
studies and groups
open that you
guys can come
to but if you
say you know
George I don't
feel like coming
downtown
I'd like to do
something in
Manor Park
or I don't
want to come
downtown
I want to do
something in
Kanata
or George
I don't want
to do that
I want to get
something going
right in the
center of Ottawa
we're all going
to get together
a little bit
earlier at the
Starbucks
you just tell us
and you come
alongside with us
and you help us
because in fact
the mark of the
church is not
only gathering
around apostolic
teaching
it's not only
gathering around
the Lord's
Supper and
remembering Jesus'
death and
resurrection upon
his resurrection
it's not only
the prayers
it is also
koinonia
a spiritual
reality which
generates a
common life
this common
life is living
large and
living little
it is a
devotion to a
common message
a common
mission
a common
life
not that we
all live
identical
not that we
become clones
but that in
our difference
in our
idiosyncrasies
in our
uniqueness
that we
learn to
live a
life
common
and together
with bonds
of affection
and with
friendship
and with
helpfulness to
each other
and peaceableness
with common
boundaries
all flowing
from a living
communion
with the
living God
the Father
the Son
and the Holy
Spirit
let us pray
Father we
give you
thanks and
praise
that you
do not
want us
to all be
clones
and all
be uniform
and identical
you don't
care if we
all
in fact
Father we
probably
you know
given that
you've made
every snowflake
different
you would
probably be
offended if
we all
dressed
identical
or combed
our hair
the same
way
we thank
and praise
you Father
that you
are a God
who loves
difference
and loves
uniqueness
and Father
we thank
and praise
you for
that
and that
you will
keep us
in our
uniqueness
we thank
you Father
at the same
time that
the healing
authority of
your Son
Jesus
and the
healing
authority of
your Holy
Spirit
will bring
healing to
brokenness
and darkness
and sin
in our
lives
we thank
and praise
you that
you lead
us to a
common life
with others
who are
different
but who
have also
come to
your Son
Jesus
Christ
Father may
your Holy
Spirit
fall afresh
upon this
church
that
koinonia
might truly
mark us
and that
we might
live large
and live
little
for your
glory
in Jesus
name
Amen
and
glory