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claimed only to those disposed to listen. These were found, as we hav

explained above, mainly among the humble ones, the poor of the land. is above all a spiritual liberation from sin which the third Isaiah announces, in metaphorical terms. The mystique of poverty reflected i

these chapters has affinities with the spirituality of many Psalms. But thbest comment of "the poor are evangelized" is probably found in thGospel Beatitudes. Bibliographical Note: J.l. Alfaro, O.S.B., "The Land —

Stewardship," Biblical Theology Bulletin   8 (1978) 51-61; E. Bammel, arPtochos,  "poor", Theological Dictionary of the NT,  vol. 6, pp. 885-915; FBovon, Luc le théologien. Vingt-cinq ans de recherches  ,  7950-197

(Neuchatel-Paris 1978); F.F. Bruce, "The Holy Spirit in the Acts of thApostles," Interpretation  27 (1973) 166-183; W. Brueggemann, The LandOvertures to Biblical Theology   (Philadelphia 1977); A. Causse, Le

pauvres d'Israël, prophètes, psalmistes, messianistes   (Paris 1922); HConzelmann, The Theology of Saint Luke  (London 1969; the first Germaedition of Die Mitte der Zeit   appeared in 1954); G. Friedrich, artEuaggelizomai, Euaggelion,  TDNT, vol. 2, pp. 707-736; A. Gelin, Le

pauvres de Yahve   (Paris 1953); L. Jacquet, Les Psaumes et le Coeur dl'Homme,  vol. 1 (Gembloux 1975); I.H. Marshall, The Cospel of Luke. ACommentary on the Creek Text  (Grand Rapids 1978); R.P. Martin, Mark

Evangelist and Theologian   (Exeter 1972); L. Sabourin, The Bible anChrist, the Unity of the Two Testaments  (Alba House, New York 1980); JVincent, "Didactic Kerygma in the Synoptic Gospels," ScJTh 10 (1957

262-273.L. Sabouri

KOINONIA IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

Several spiritual authors of the past have been looking for a synthesisconcept capable of unifying the various components of Christian perfec

tion and of the means to attain it. Our Lord himself told the rich youngman, according to Matthew: "If you wish to be perfect, go sell what youpossess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; andcome, follow me (19:21). This was, however, a particular vocation mean

for this wealthy person. The will of God manifested in the Law and theProphets finds its definitive expression in the commandment of the love

f G d d i hb (M 22 40) S l bibli l h l i h

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It is my pleasure to depend almost entirely in this article on the bookof George Panikulam (see also p. 118), which examines the various

theological uses of the term koinonia   in the New Testament and drawsfrom this a remarkable synthesis. The term koinonia   is best translated"fellowship" in English, but "communion" is also acceptable, particularly

in some contexts. The Eucharistie "communion" does express thesacramental aspect of koinonia. My exposition will consist mainly in commenting on the graphical synthesis of the follow ing page, and the texts indicated there. The diagram is essentially that of Panikulam (p. 7), but

have added the references and substituted for his "Jesus Christ" themonogram IHS, which of course stands (in Latin) for "Jesus, Savior o

Men".

The sub-title of Panikulam's study presents koinonia  as "a dynamic expression of Christian life". Perhaps " the  dynamic expression" could have

been written, but the way had to be left open for others to propose othesyntheses. It would also be possible to say that koinonia   is the synthesiof Christian perfection. For in contrast with other central notions mentioned above "fellowship" is distinctive of Christianity, at least in the wain which the New Testament understands it. As the diagram indicates, the

movement of koinonia   is first of all vertical, going to Christ who is the

center, then to the Father who is at the summit. The horizontal armrepresents the koinonia   of the Christians among themselves, in Christthis was the foundation of the Pauline call of 2 Cor 8:4 in favor of thebrotherly service (diakonia) and of the communitarian experience of the

early Christians, which Luke evokes in Acts 2:42. This union of the Christians does not derive from a natural congregating of a purely socia

nature, it results from the common response to the call to koinonia  madby Cod the Father, whose initiative it is (1 Cor 1:9). It is not an exaggera

tion to say that koinonia,  in its vertical and horizontal dimension, formthe heart itself of the community of the New Covenant. The Holy Spiritas we shall see, plays also a distinctive role in the building up of the Christian koinonia, so   that this synthesis of Christian life has a Trinitaria

foundation.

We shall now proceed to examine separately each of the indicatedtexts. A detailed exegesis will be found in Panikulam's book. We shahere only propose a few observations to help the reader's own reflectin

on the different aspects of the NT koinonia.

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Father

m

of Brethren 

Acts 2:42

Koinonia 

2 Cor 8:4 IHS

sufferingsk

3:10Ph

eucharistk

10:161Cor

Spiritk

13:132Cor

2:1Ph   Cl

collectionk

8:42Cor

Gospelk

faithk

6Phl

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Gn 26:3; Ex 34:6; Num 23:19; Hos 2:21f; Ps 36:6;40:11;88:13;105:8f;143:1and also Lk 1:72-75. To this initial call corresponds the assurance of thefinal call of Cod to communion with his Son in the Kingdom: "Faithful his who calls you, and he will do it" (1 Th 5:24). God's fidelity to the promises will lead to its conclusion the movement which the first call had in

itiated. See 1 Th 1:4;3:12;4:7, where Paul insists on the calling receivedGod's fidelity manifests itself particularly in the help he provides agains

temptations (1 Cor 10:13; 1 Th 3:3). In Paul's perspective the Christiavocation is a free,gift of God, which man has to receive in faith, and witdivine grace he has to conform his life to this calling: "I plead with youthen, as a prisoner o f the Lord, to live a life worthy o f the calling you havreceived" (Eph 4:1). Modelling his thought on the call Christ addressed t

the Twelve during his lifetime, Ignatius of Loyola proposes in his SpirituaExercises to meditate on the Call of the Eternal King, Jesus Christ. For Pauit is rather God who calls to his own kingdom and glory (1 Th 2:12), but

later epistle attributed to Peter says of the believer that Christ has callethem through [or to] his own splendor and might" (2 P 1:3). Such is thimportance of the calling in Christian life that the term itself whicdesignates the community of believers, the ekklësia,  derives from word, kalein,  which precisely, as every one can see, means "to call".

Koinonia in the Sufferings 

Ph 3:10 "To know him and the power of the resurrection and the

fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death."

As Christ himself attained glory through his abasement, suffering, andeath, thus the Christian, justified through faith in Christ, will certainl

share his paschal glory in the same way as he already shares his sufferingand death. These are past events present to the believer and capable o

transforming him, in view o f the resurrection. Paul had written elsewherthat the Christians are "always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, s

that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies" (2 Cor 4:10)

This correspondence between the sufferings of the true believers andglory (also Rm 8:18), Peter expressed it just as clearly, when he wrote: "Ayou share (koinoneite  )  Christ's sufferings rejoice, that you may alsrejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed" (1 P 4:13).

Koinonia in the Gospel 

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therefore indicated to understand that Paul gives thanks for the koinonimanifested in view of (spreading) the Gospel (see 2 Cor 2:12). The tex

can accordingly be used as apostolic mandate for the lay apostolateLater Paul mentions Timothy as one who "has served with me for thspread of the Gospel" (2:22), and also two Christian women who "hav

labored side by side with me in (the field of) the Gospel together witClement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the boo

of life" (Ph 4:3).

Koinonia of Faith 

Phlm 6 "And I pray that the fellowship of your faith may help bring to thknowledge of all the good that is ours in Christ."

In this letter to him Paul invites Philemon to treat kindly Onesimus, runaway slave converted by Paul, who sends him back to his masteShowing himself merciful Philemon will demonstrate that the sharing o

the same faith, the spiritual bond uniting him with Onesimus, manifestthe presence of the new life which is from Christ. Paul had writteelsewhere: "Therefore, as opportunity offers, let us do good to all menand especially to the members of the household of the faith" (Ga 6:10By faith the believer gives himself over to God, the author o f salvation, t

receive the salvation which is offered to him. Faith is the human responsto revelation, and to the preaching of the Gospel. It is in other wordman's response to the invitation received to enter into communion wit

Christ.

Koinonia in the Spirit 

Ph 2:1 "If there is any incentive of love, any fellowship in the Spirit

(koinonia pneumatos),  compassion and pity . . . be in full accorand of one mind."

2 Cor 13:13 "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God, and thfellowship in the Holy Spirit be with you all."

Even though pneuma   in the first text has no article and is not modifieby "holy", the Holy Spirit is surely meant there also. In both texts pneumis in the genitive, but the meaning must be "in" the Holy Spirit, or "by" th

Holy Spirit. The Christian koinonia   is a gift of the Spirit, because it is in thHoly Spirit that it is lived in fulness by the believers, whom the Spir

i h P l h l l i d "I b l d lif

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Koinonia in the Eucharist 

1 Cor 10:16 'The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communionto the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not acommunion to the body of Christr

There is no need to explain this text at length; it is clear and wellknown. Our koinonia   with Christ is of course sustained by this commu-nion to his body and blood in the Eucharist. It is with Christ, Paul explains,that we have to enter into communion, and not w ith the demons, that is,

the idols, by being involved in the sacrifices offered to them. AlreadyDeuteronomy would say of the unfaithful Israelites that they sacrificed tothe demons (32:17), and a psalmist relates that they sacrificed their sonsand their daughters to the demons (Ps 106:37; cf Bar 4:7). The Eucharist is

the chosen way to preserve and develop koinonia   with the Father, withChrist, and with the brothers and sisters, because the whole Trinity is pre-

sent in the Eucharist, and the Eucharistie meal expresses and effects theunity of the believers.

Koinonia in the Service 

2 Cor 8:4 The people of Macedonia "have begged for the favor of sharing

in the service to render to the saints."The translation proposed gives the more probable meaning of a rather

terse sentence in Greek, in which "fellowship (koinonia  )  of the ministry

or service (diakonia)"   is for our purpose the significant phrase. The favorrequested was to participate in the collection in favor of the Jerusalem

church (see Rm 15:23-26). This collection would illustrate the fulfilmentof the prophecy of Is 60-62 on the future relation between Israel and thenations. In particular, Paul saw in it the manifestation of this koinonia

among the brethren of the faith, united with Christ through their com-mon calling to fellowship with him. The vertical koinonia  with God sup-poses to be sincere a truly effective koinonia  with the brethren. In other

words, as John explains, how can any one say he loves God if he has noconcern for others (1 Jn 4:20f).

Koinonia with the Brethren 

Acts 2:42 "They devoted themselves assiduously to the teaching of theapostles and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the

"

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fellowship with God and with the brethren. While the diakoniaprecedingly mentioned united the different churches into one koinonia,

the community of goods expressed the deep unity of the Jerusalem com-munity (Acts 4:32-35). This experience, perhaps too idealistic, apparentlydid not last long, but the spirit behind it has survived in the Church, under

other forms, for example monastic life, a way of observing to the letteseveral demands of Jesus (Mk 10:21; Lk 18:22).

Koinonia with the Father  

1 Jn 1:3 "Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ."

The first Johannine epistle, very pastoral in tone, is addressed tochurches whose unity the Gnostic heresy particularly threatened. It was

meant to enlighten the believers in their struggle to keep the true faith.Besides, it sets the foundations for the spiritual life of the Christians, andthis makes the epistle relevant for all ages. John introduces from thebeginning the koinonia   theme, and adds to it a very important develop-ment, in agreement with his theology: fellowship with the Father. John'sinterest in the theme appears in his repeated and solemn use of the termkoinonia  from the very beginning of his letter: 'That which we have seenand heard we proclaim also to you, that you may have fellowship  with

us; and our fellowship   is with the Father and with his Son JesusChrist. . . If we say we have fellowship   with him while we walk indarkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk inthe light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, andthe blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1:3-6 RSV).

In a context which the theme of reconciliation and unity dominatesPaul had stated in a Trinitarian formula: "Because through him (Christ) we

both have access in one Spirit to the Father" (Eph 2:18). There is no men-tion of the Spirit in John's formulation of the grace of koinonia   (1 Jn 1:3).

The perfect formula, in our view, would be the following: "And ourfellowship is with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit."Bibliographical Note: G. Panikulam, Koinonia in the New Testament. ADynamic Expression of Christian Life,  Analecta Biblica 85 ^Rorrie 1979);J.G. Davies, Members One of Another. Aspects of Koinonia   (London1958); A.R. George, Communion with God in the New Testament   (Lon-

don 1953); J. Hamer, The Church is a Fellowship   (London 1964); H.Seesemann, Der Begriff Koinonia im Neuen Testament   (Giessen 1933);

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