大使命 9
Koinonia團契
讓我們繼續談到帶門徒的大使命，並與屬靈權柄是建造在愛以上相連結，我們知道我們是否被呼召來幫助某個門徒的方式，在於神放在我們裡面對他們的愛。倘若我對一個並沒有感到特別的愛，我不會嘗試門訓他們。我會認為神已經呼召別人來幫助他們，同樣的原則也應用在國家上。
我不會因為受邀而去到一個國家，唯有在神給我對那國家特別的愛之後，或有信息要給他們我才會去。當我開始感到被一個國家吸引，我會開始研讀它的文化、歷史等。但我還不會立刻去，直到我感覺主有賜給我可以幫助他們的信息，並留下可以長存的果子。
當我初信主時，我深深被神吸引，我常會去到任何我認為可以教導我更認識祂的聚會。在我信主的頭兩年，我每週可能至少參加五場聚會。當有特別的教師或講員來到我們這裡，單單參與我可以學到東西的聚會，都比聖誕節對我更具吸引力，我很少敗興而歸。這些經歷帶領我去到一個家庭教會，因為我最初是在家庭教會重生與受聖靈的洗，所以我對去到另一個家庭教會特別感興趣。那場聚會豐富到使我持續在那聚會，這是我第一次經歷到肢體之間的團契（koinonia）。
Koinonia是希臘文，在新約常翻成『團契』或『領聖餐』，但這兩個意思都無法貼切描述Koinonia的真正意思。它指著緊緊連結成一體，到一個地步完全不可能分開。真實的教會生活原本就是要緊緊結合，但若不是建造在基督之上，就只會成為綑綁。若建造在基督是頭之上，在地上再也找不到其他類似的關係或結盟。
我第一次經歷如此緊密團契的家庭教會，是位在維吉尼亞州首府的里契蒙市（Richmond），它與華盛頓首府的家庭教會團體有些連結。當我更多認識此團體，我聽到基督身體應有面貌的最偉大異象，這是我從來沒有聽過的。此異象也在這些家庭教會中呈現出來；此團體的每個成員都行在屬靈的恩賜中並有自己的服事，很貼近實現以弗所書四章的五重職事使命，這是我從未目睹過的。
在這些家庭教會的團契好過我曾經歷過的任何一個團契，甚至勝過在軍中的袍澤關係。不單是我們彼此的關係非常緊密，更重要的是當我們聚在一起時，主與我們同在。先不論教導、服事或團契有多好，每一場聚集我們都與主相遇，我們深知祂就在我們當中。我們就這樣緊緊連結在一起，超越任何事物所能及。
這就是豐富、滿足又令人興奮的教會生活，我們都迫不及待再次的相聚，這就是聖經的團契關係。我在那些家庭教會只持續了二年，後來就被差出去。但直到如今，當我看見任何來自那些家庭教會的人，我都感到一種與他們的特別連結。
當我從里契蒙市搬到北卡的首府洛利市（Raleigh），我立刻尋找當地的家庭教會，結果還不少。再一次，我發現與這些人緊緊連結，很類似我在里契蒙市和華盛頓首府的經歷，對我而言，有一段時間甚至感到更加緊密。後來我陸續成為不少教會和團契的會友，也拜訪過無數的教會並傳講信息。許多教會確實有美好的合一與團契，但我認為真正的教會生活─koinonia，神原本計畫的教會生活卻不多見。
正如哥林多前書10-11章告訴我們，如此的肢體相交（koinonia）對一個健康、茁壯的基督徒生命非常重要，它必須被重建，好讓教會進到它的完全目的。我們去教會，絕不是一週去幾次，坐在那裡，看著每個人的背後。這些聚會對教導、異象傳遞、集體敬拜等非常有用，但沒有將教會生活建造在小團體裡，我們便無法得著肢體間的相交（koinonia）。我們會在未來幾週繼續談到此重要議題。
(摘自喬納 word for the week, Week 9, 2014)
Koinonia - The Great Commission, Part 9
Week 9, 2014
Rick Joyner
Continuing with the commission to make disciples and connecting it with how spiritual authority is founded upon love, one way we will know who we are called to help disciple is by a love that God gives us for them. If I don’t feel a special love for a person, I won’t try to disciple them. I will consider that God has called someone else to help them. The same is true of nations.
I do not go to a nation just because I receive an invitation. I only go after God has given me a special love for that nation, as well as something to give them. When I start feeling drawn to a nation, I begin to study its culture, history, etc. Still, I do not go until I feel the Lord has given me a message that can help them and leave fruit that will remain.
When I was a new Christian, I was so fascinated by God that I was constantly going to any meeting that I thought would teach me more about Him. For the first two years that I was a Christian, I probably attended an average of at least five meetings per week. Just anticipating what I might learn when a special teacher or speaker would come to town was better than Christmas to me, and I was rarely disappointed. This led me to a house church. Since I had been born again and baptized in the Spirit in a house church, I was especially interested in visiting another one. That meeting was so rich that I kept coming back. This is where I first experienced koinonia.
Koinonia is the Greek word often translated “fellowship” or “communion” in the New Testament. Neither of these words is really adequate for what koinonia really is. It implies a bonding together into a unit in such a way that separation is not possible. True church life is intended to be a bond that strong, but this will only be bondage if it is not built on Christ. If built on Christ as the Head, it is like no other relationship or association on earth.
This house church where I first experienced koinonia was in Richmond, Virginia. It was loosely connected to a group of house churches in the Washington, D.C. area. As I got to know this group better, I was introduced to the greatest vision of what the body of Christ is supposed to be that I have yet heard. It was also demonstrated in these churches. Every member of this group operated in gifts of the Spirit and a ministry. It was as close to a fulfillment of the Ephesians 4 mandate that I have yet witnessed as well.
The fellowship in these house churches was greater than any kind of fellowship I had experienced before, even better than the special camaraderie experienced in a unit in the military. It was not just because we were getting close to one another as people, but because the Lord was present when we gathered. Regardless of how good the teaching, ministry, or fellowship, every meeting was an encounter with the Lord. We knew He was in our midst. This bonded us together like nothing else could.
This was a rich, fulfilling, and exciting church life. We could not wait to gather together. It was biblical koinonia. My time with those house churches only lasted about two years before I was sent out. Yet to this day when I see anyone from those churches, I feel a special bond with them.
When I moved from Richmond to Raleigh, North Carolina, I immediately sought out the house churches there. There were many. Again, I found a bond with members close to what I had experienced in Richmond and Washington and, for a time, maybe even more so. I have since been a member of a number of churches and fellowships and have visited and spoken in countless others. Many do have a wonderful unity and fellowship, but I think true church life—koinonia, the way God intended church life to be—is very rare.
As we are told in I Corinthians 10-11, this koinonia is vital for a healthy, thriving Christian life. It must be restored for the church to come into its full purpose. We will never attain it by just attending meetings a couple of times a week where we sit and look at the back of each other’s heads. These services can be very useful for teaching, vision casting, corporate worship, etc., but we will never attain koinonia without building the church life on small groups. This is the crucial issue we will cover over the next few weeks.