Corpus-Paul

["John Dickson" <jdickson AT bigpond.com>]

Some thoughts on KOINWNIA for Debbie.
KOINWNIA is an important Pauline term, occurring some twenty times in the
undisputed epistles and four times in 1 Timothy. When it is used with an
object in the genitive or dative the meaning appears to be ‘sharing in/with’
(1 Cor 1:9; 1 Cor 10:16; 2 Cor 6:14; 2 Cor 13:13; Phil 3:10; Phle 1:6). When
used with the preposition EIS and the object in the accusative, as in Phil
1:5, the meaning is better rendered ‘partnership for the sake of’ (the
gospel) or even ‘contribution toward’. This usage appears to have decidedly
‘missionary’ overtones. In fact, I am of the opinion that Paul's use of the
term in this way (particularly in Phil 1:5) is a significant window into his
conception of congregational involvement in the apostolic mission (but
that's another story). So in 2 Corinthians 9:13 Paul speaks of the
Corinthians’ prospective generous participation in the Jerusalem collection
as, APLOTHTI THS KOINWNIAS EIS AUTOUS KAI EIS PANTAS. Again, in Romans 15:26
Paul advises his hearers that Macedonia and Achaia were pleased  KOINWNIAN
TINA POIHSASQAI EIS TOUS PTWCOUS. In both instances, the word clearly
connotes a ‘contribution to/for’. G. Peterman, however, has correctly
objected to giving KOINWNIA too concrete a meaning even when used with eij"
and the object in the accusative. He insists that in 2 Cor 9:13 and Rom
15:26 KOINWNIA should still retain its abstract meaning of ‘partnership’
rather than ‘gift’ or ‘contribution’.
Also, some bibliographic suggestions:
Luter, A. B. 1996. Partnership in the Gospel: the role of women in the
church at Philippi. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 39 (3):
411-420.
O'Brien, P. T. 1978. The Fellowship Theme in Philippians. The Reformed
Theological Review 37 (1):9-18.
Panikulam, G. 1979. Koinonia in the New Testament: A Dynamic Expression of
Christian Life. Vol. 85, AnBib. Rome: Biblical Institute Press.
Peterman, G. W. 1994. Romans 15.26: Make a contribution or establish
fellowship. New Testament Studies 40:457-463.
Sampley, J. P. 1980. Pauline Partnership in Christ. Philadelphia: Fortress.

-----Original Message-----
From: Debbie Gaunt <debbie.gaunt AT dial.pipex.com>
To: Corpus-paul <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Date: Thursday, April 22, 1999 7:26
Subject: koinwnia


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!

Regards,

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

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