Koinonia as Solidarity for the Marginalized

Dear Friends of God,

Seeing that many have undertaken the task of writing about current events and the place of the church within those events, I also decided—as a fellow-elder and servant of the Lord Jesus Christ—to write this letter to you, honorable friends of God, so that we might have increasing certainty on our path to follow the Lord Jesus, and be even further committed to what we have been taught from the Scriptures, and from other faithful followers of our Lord.¹*Editorial Note: This is an incredible–and ironic–example of a Pauline run-on sentence 🙂 ~CK

My encouragement in this letter is twofold: 

1. To remember rightly, and
2. To practice a renewed sense of solidarity.

Remembering is an important concept in the Scriptures, where God—along with God’s instruction (Torah) and God’s action (Praxis)—is the primary object of human recollection. One example of right remembering is Nehemiah. While living in Persia, Nehemiah hears the news of how his people in Jerusalem are managing in the wake of Babylonian devastation:

“The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, one of my brothers, Hanani, came with certain men from Judah, and I asked them about the Jews who escaped, those who had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. They replied, “The remnant there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.” (Nehemiah 1:1-3 NRSVue)

Upon hearing the distressing report, Nehemiah prays and practices right remembering (Nehemiah 1:4-11). Nehemiah makes a request to God, but only does so after acknowledging God’s faithfulness and the unfaithfulness of his ancestors. Nehemiah went so far as to make himself complicit in the sin of his people: “Both I and my family have sinned. We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded Moses your servant” (Nehemiah 1:6b-7). After his initial prayer, Nehemiah commits himself to positive action. He leads the effort to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, but more importantly to help revive the spirit of his people.

My sisters and brothers, we also must remember rightly. We must remember God’s love. God not only loves us but loves the entire world (John 3:16), inviting us to offer the same radical love to others—even to enemies. Many of us are trying to love in the way God calls us to, but too many who claim the name ‘Christian’ engage in divisive, hateful, xenophobic, racist, homophobic, and misogynistic rhetoric and activities. Too many celebrate snark, scorn, and overall disrespect. Justifying vitriol because Jesus once toppled tables and used a whip to drive out animals and people from the temple (John 2:15) simply will not do. There is no comparison. We cannot claim to love God and practice hate (1 John 2:9-11).

Remembering is an important concept in the Scriptures, where God—along with God’s instruction (Torah) and God’s action (Praxis)—is the primary object of human recollection. Share on X

We must also remember that God has forgiven us so we can forgive those who have sinned against us. We remember that God has sustained us so we can help others to negotiate the trials and struggles of life. We remember that God equips us—we have all that we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3)—so we can contribute to the health and well-being of others. We also remember that God has called us and continues to call us. One of the many things that God calls us to is a renewed sense of koinonia.

We typically translate the Greek word ‘koinonia’ found in the New Testament as “fellowship,” but that is a weak translation because our typical understanding of fellowship is anemic, equating it to coffee and snacks. Many church buildings even have fellowship halls designated for mingling and superficial socializing. To our ancient forebears, koinonia indicated a strong bond. The term carried the sense of sharing, partnership, and alliance. The word could describe a business agreement, joint ownership of property or even a marriage relationship. I have started to translate koinonia as “solidarity” because that term evokes a sense of shared values, common mission, and unified partnership, especially among people who have been marginalized in some way or another and might wonder who will help them. We who follow Jesus need to renew our commitment to koinonia. 

Many of us are trying to love in the way God calls us to, but too many who claim the name ‘Christian’ engage in divisive, hateful, xenophobic, racist, homophobic, and misogynistic rhetoric and activities. Share on X

There are several actions the Church could implement that might help us in our renewal to koinonia. Here, I offer four:

1. Renewal starts with repentance. Repentance is not merely cognitive. We often oversimplify the translation of the Greek term ‘metanoia’ (“repentance”) to “changing the mind,” but repentance is conversion. It means reorientation. We join with people like Nehemiah to confess our sin—even if our complicity is second or third hand. We must be willing to repent, to turn, and believe the Good News of Jesus—not just once in our lives but often.

2. In addition to repentance is a renewed commitment to “walk in the light” as the author of 1 John puts it:

If we say that we have ‘koinonia’ with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have ‘koinonia’ with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:6-7)

At the risk of sounding self-righteous or judgmental, I must insist that walking in the light means something more substantial than blasting our ideological opponents on social media. In fact, walking in the light might mean taking a break from social media and instead engaging in a community-building activity. Serving others is an excellent way to revive our understanding of koinonia with the Lord and with other people.

3. We must embrace humility. Contrary to popular opinion, humility is not weakness nor passivity. Humility requires strength to yield to God and seek the best for others (Philippians 1:1-5). Because I have written elsewhere about humility, I will not belabor the point here. But humility is Christlike (Matthew 11:29). It is past time to stop fawning over mega (megachurch, mega dollars, megalomaniacs, etc.) and embrace the mustard-seed nature of the kingdom of God (small and slow, yet pervasive. See Mark 4:30-32 for example). 

4. We must not despair. Remember also the prophet Elijah who ran from power-hungry monarchs thinking he was the only one left who was zealous for God (1 Kings 19:10). God told the beleaguered prophet “Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him” (1 Kings 19:18). There is always a faithful remnant.

Finally, sisters and brothers, let us be part of the faithful remnant who will remember God’s word and God’s work, and who will join in solidarity—in koinonia—with God and each other, not lashing out in fear, but standing firm in love.

May the love of our Creator, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the ‘koinonia’ (“solidarity”) of the Spirit be with you all.  

~Rev. Dr. Dennis Edwards (aka Rev. Dr. DRE)

///

*Editorial Note: Letters to the Church is Missio Alliance’s newest long-form series. The latest letter to our growing collection will go live each Friday throughout the rest of 2025. We invite you to prayerfully listen to the Spirit as you read, asking God what you might say to the Church in your own voice. ~CK

“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what God is saying to the churches.” (Revelation 2:29)

Koinonia means 'solidarity,' because that term evokes a sense of shared values, common mission, and unified partnership, especially among people who have been marginalized and might wonder who will help them. Share on X