We now understand that having koinonia is essential for the true New Covenant life and for fulfilling The Great Commission. In the New Testament when someone believed in Christ, they were made disciples, not just converts, and their discipleship began with being “added to the church.” This was far more than just being added to the membership roll. Every part of the New Testament body of Christ is called to be a functioning part of the body to which they are connected. They have a role to play in the life of the body.

         It is...

     Why is koinonia so important when we are talking about The Great Commission? One reason we have failed to fulfill The Great Commission has been our tendency of making converts rather than disciples. The Great Commission is to make disciples. If disciples are not being made, then we are failing in our commission.

     What a disciple is has been clearly defined by the Lord. True discipleship is rarely found among Christians today. One reason for this is that true discipleship is not possible without koinonia. As we read last week in I John 1:7, “If we...

     There are two Greek words most commonly translated “church” in the New Testament. Koinonia, which we began to address last week, speaks of the special bonding of the saints in relationship. The other is ecclesia, which speaks of church order, structure, and government. We must have both of these to become the church we are called to be and to experience fellowship as God intended.

     First, we can have the best people together in the best settings with the best plan and the best intentions with the best effort and not achieve koinonia. What makes koinonia...

     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...

     The Christian disciplines, such as daily reading of the Scriptures, prayer, worship, witnessing, etc., are all crucial for a healthy, balanced Christian life. While we should never neglect these disciplines, they alone are not enough. In the Scriptures, we find that experiences, encounters with the Lord and even angels, changed people more radically and propelled them toward their destiny far more than any amount of study could have done.

     Many foolish ones do not do anything but wait for such encounters. We cannot neglect study and the other basic disciplines, because they prepare us for the...