Corpus-Paul

[Jim West <jwest AT highland.net>]

At 10:18 PM 4/21/99 +0100, you wrote:
>Hi,
>
>I'm looking at aspects of community in Paul, especially his use of the term 
>koinwnia.   It's not clear to me whether he means fellowship with other 
>people in Christ, or whether he means fellowship in Christ which is 
>incidently shared with other people.   It's a fine distinction, but the 
>first 
>points to something rather more communitarian than the latter.   I tend to 
>go for the former, since Paul doesn't have a lot to say about the 
>individual, 
>but can anyone point me to a useful discussion on this, please?    And I 
>would be very interested in the opinions of this venerable assembly!


Debbie,
Paul uses the word 13 times.  Once in Romans, 3 times in 1 Cor, 4 times in 2
Cor, 1 time in Gal, 3 times in Phil, and once in Philemon.

It is very interesting that the word does not occur at all in the
deutero-paulines; and it also does not occur in the thessalonian
correspondence.  Paul uses it in Romans in the sense of "partnership" but in
the Corinthian correspondence it seems to carry the connotation of
"fellowship", i.e., struggling together to live the faith.  Or, as one wag
put it (quite well I think-) two fellows in a ship--- rowing toegether to
get somewhere.

Best,

Jim


>
>Regards,
>
>Debbie
>-- 
>Urban Theology Unit, Sheffield,UK
>http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/debbie.gaunt/
>icq 9428714 (Debs)
>
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+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jim West, ThD
Petros Baptist Church- Pastor
Quartz Hill School of Theology- Adjunct Prof. of Bible

fax- 978-231-5986
email- jwest AT highland.net
web page-  http://web.infoave.net/~jwest