Increasing Biblical Knowledge

The Greek word "koinonia" is translated in a variety of ways including "sharing", "communion", "participation", "partnership" and "fellowship". Fellowship refers to an intimate relationship with one another and to a close-knit community like we strive for here at Central.

The Bible teaches us that fellowship is the union between Jesus and Christians (I Corinthians 1:9;
I John 1:3,4,7; Ephesians 5: 25-27). This need for fellowship with God is why we stress daily prayer, Bible reading and worship. It also talks about the deep relationship Christians have with each other (Acts 2:46, 47; I Corinthians 10:16) and that this human fellowship depends on fellowship with the Holy Spirit (Philippians 1:2).

The word used in English today for "church" comes from the Greek word "Kuriakos", meaning "the Lord's." It came to be used in a phrase like "kuriakon doma", "the Lord's house," the building where local Christians met. However, in the New Testament, the word for "church" is the Greek work "ekklesia", which means "assembly." The work "ekklesia" appears 92 times in Acts and in the New Testament letters, where it describes a community of Christians who have been called and set apart by God. In the New Testament the word "church" never refers to a building or to an institution.

GENERAL BIBLE TEACHING
Numerous images are used to describe the church in the New Testament.
1. The church as the body of Christ: Christians are members of Christ's body on earth and are meant to grow towards maturity. "And He [Christ] is the head of the body, the church." Colossians 1:18. See also 1 Corinthians 12:12-31; Ephesians 1:22; 4:1-16.
2. The church as the family of the Father: Christians have God as their Father and fellow-Christians are brothers and sisters in God's family. "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name." Ephesians 3:14. See also John 13:33, 34; Ephesians 5:1,2; I John 5:1,2.
3. The church as the temple of the Holy Spirit: Christians are described as living stones in God's holy temple. "As you come to him, the living Stone… you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house." I Peter 2:4,5. See also Ephesians 2:21,22.