Daily Bread – December 17, 2022 (The Seventh Day – Genesis 2:1-3) 1 John 1:3 – What we have seen and heard, we proclaim to you so that you may also have communion with us; and indeed our communion is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. The only way anyone can receive this life in Christ Jesus is through the proclamation of the Gospel. The life of God imparted and received through the Gospel results in fellowship with the community of the redeemed – which is the family of God. The fellowship is with both the Father and the Son. This fellowship, or communion, is that of oneness. He imparts His glory to us so we may be one with them, even as they are one with each other (John 17:22-23). The verb ‘apangellein’, translated as “proclaim” or “announce”, belongs to the same family of verbs and nouns as ‘euangelion’ from which “announce good news” or “gospel” is translated. These verbs can be used somewhat interchangeably. The important message, which lays the foundation for what will be ministered throughout the First Epistle of John, is the ‘koinonia.’ The Greek word ‘koinonia’, though difficult to translate, can roughly be understood as being equivalent to the Hebrew ‘yachad’, translated as “oneness”, “unity”, or “community”. The Greek expression here (‘koinonian echein’) may express an even stronger message than ‘communion’ – we may accurately translate this as “joined in communion”. In either case, the communion, or fellowship, that all are being invited into is one of both real external experience with God, and a oneness with God’s people that is produced by the Holy Spirit. The ‘koinonia’ is only possible when one is born of the Spirit. Paul said we are all baptized into one body by one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). Blessings, Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
Daily Bread 12/17/2022
