Community of Service, Love and Fellowship

Table of Contents

Designs for the New Community: Community of Life: Knowing and Believing as means of Appropriating Life, Community of Service, Love and Fellowship

INTRODUCTION

In the first century, a new community was formed who were the followers of Christ within the Jewish culture. But they were not accepted within the synagogue and they were exploited by the majority. Johannine community is sectarian, an isolated convertible in struggling opposition against an influential Synagogue. The impact of the Synagogues’ response to the Johannine Christians must have shaped the polemic of the community. In this paper we are going to discuss about the Johannine understanding of knowing and believing. And the understanding of service, Love and fellowship.

1. ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITY

The disciples who follow Jesus in John 1:35-51 include names known in the other gospel and the titles given to Jesus there are found in the other gospels. It would seem, then, that at least in its origins Johannine Christianity was not too distant from the dominant style of Christianity in the movement centered on Jesus. In John 4, however, Samaritans are being converted and Temple worship in Jerusalem is declared as losing significance (Jn 4:21-24). Here John has departed significantly from the description of the ministry in the other gospels and is closer to the developments described in Acts 6-8. There Hellenistic Jewish Christians separate administratively from the Hebrew Christian majority in Jerusalem who are faithful to the Temple observances; and Hellenist preaching proclaims that God does not dwell in the Temple. These Hellenist Christians, not Peter or the Twelve, are the ones who convert Samaria. The Johannine community consisted not only of the type of Hebrew Christians whose heritage is preserved in many other New Testament writings, but also of groups similar to the Hellenists, more radical in their attitudes toward Judaism. There were also Samaritan converts. This mixture may have hastened innovative developments in Johannine Christology and made Johannine Christians particularly troublesome in the eyes of Jews who did not believe in Jesus.¹

2. KNOWING AND BELIEVING

The frequent use of the verb “to believe” ([translate:pisteuein]) in various contexts reveals the high value John places on “believing” in his gospel. The following constructions contain all 98 instances of [translate:pisteuein]. In the gospel, [translate:pisteuein] is used 36 times with the preposition [translate:eis] (into) followed by accusative or objective case, 18 times with dative case, 13 times with a [translate:hoti] (that) clause, 30 times with [translate:pisteuein] used absolutely, and once with a neuter accusative (11:26).²

Along with the word [translate:pisteuein], the gospel of John uses other words and expressions to refer figuratively to the concept of believing. The Johannine literary style of “double meaning” in his use of words and expressions referring to faith may be justified in this instance. The phrase “coming to Jesus” is synonymous with “believing in Jesus,” as we already mentioned above (cf. 6:35,37,44). To believe in Jesus appears to be implied by the phrases “to receive / welcome Jesus” (1:12; 5:43; 13:20), “to accept our testimony” (3:11; cf. 3:32), and “to receive / accept my words” (12:48; 17: 8).

The gospel of John also makes use of other phrases and words to refer figuratively to the idea of believing in addition to the word [translate:pisteuein]. It may be justified in this situation for John to use words and expressions that have “double meaning” when referring to faith in his writing. As we already mentioned above, the phrase “coming to Jesus” is synonymous with “believing in Jesus” (cf. 6:35,37,44). “To receive / welcome Jesus” (1:12; 5:43; 13:20), “to accept our testimony” (3:11; cf. 3:32), and “to receive / accept my words” all seem to imply belief in Jesus (12:48; 17: 8).³

3. COMMUNITY OF SERVICE

Religious groups have often had trouble getting along with each other whether they belong to the same tradition or a different one. Modern-day Bible scholars study the Johannine community for help in understanding interreligious squabbles. What was “the Johannine community”? It was a network of churches located in Asia Minor responsible for the production of four New Testament writings: the Gospel of John and the three letters known as 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John. Together, those books reveal how a particular Christian community dealt with religious tensions during the last few decades of the first century C.E.

The Johannine community may have included Christians who migrated to Asia Minor from Palestine after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. There is also material in the Gospel of John that would have been written or used by earlier Palestinian Christians when arguing religion with other Jews of Judea, including ones who had been followers of John the Baptist, sometimes understood as Jesus’s predecessor in ministry. Some scholars think that tensions between members of the Johannine community and their Jewish neighbors became acute when a curse against Christians was added to synagogue liturgies. Thus, when the Gospel of John refers to people being put out of the synagogue for confessing Jesus to be the Messiah (John 9:22, John 12:42, John 16:2) the point could be that such expulsions were occurring in the time and place when the Gospel was written rather than during the lifetime of Jesus himself, although it is possible that expulsions could have happened in both places and times.

But there are other theories too. Some scholars claim that the relations between Jewish and Christian communities were actually quite close at this time, such that tensions might have resulted from members of the Johannine community choosing to return to the synagogues. Perhaps the schism mentioned in 1John 2:18-25 involved the departure of community members who returned to the religious certainty of the synagogue rather than remaining in the more fledgling community with Gentile believers in Jesus. Some critics also suggest that Jewish- Christian tensions can be overemphasized, since the Johannine community experienced problems in other arenas as well. Surely community members would have felt challenged when the Roman imperial cult insisted that everyone worship the emperor Domitian as “Lord and God” during his reign from 81 to 96 C.E for the community’s response to that expectation, see John 20:28 and1 John 5:21. In addition, some Gentile Christian teachers apparently encouraged assimilation with the world, seeking to avoid suffering by teaching that Jesus himself did not suffer but had instead been only a spiritual being, not a flesh-and-blood human (compare 1John 4:1-3, John 19:34-35). Finally, there were hierarchical struggles with other Christian communities, as is evidenced by their rejection by a church leader named Diotrephes, who “loved to be first” (3John 1:9-10).

Whatever tensions the Johannine community might have faced, the Gospel of John presents Jesus as praying for unity among his followers (John 17) and as insisting that they love one another (John 13:34-35). This “new commandment” in the Gospel becomes an old commandment in the Johannine letters (1John 3:11-4:12; 2John 1:5), indicating that concern for internal cohesion was a particularly prominent mark of this community from its founding to the end of the first century, when the Gospel was finalized.⁴

4. COMMUNITY OF LOVE

The Gospel of John emphasis the necessity of the individual appropriation of faith in God through Jesus Christ. However, the individualistic tenor of the Gospel is balanced by its stress on one’s obligation within the community of faith. The community of which the believer becomes a part is characterized by love. Its unity is modeled on the relationship between the Father and the Son, and is thus characterized by an intimacy of love, as well as a common purpose in serving as the vehicle of bringing God’s revelation and salvation to the world.⁵

The Johannine Christians tend to think of themselves as a communion. There is a strong sense of family within this communion, and the address as “brother” is common because the members are all children of God. The maxim ‘love one another’ is the chief commandment (13:34; 15:12). God really is a God of love who so loved the world that He was willing to give of Himself, in His Son (3:16), and not merely send someone else. And such an understanding of God and of Jesus demands that the Johannine Christian, who is the child of God, behave in a way worthy of his.

4.1 LOVE FOR GOD AND FOR ONE ANOTHER

Another note of the discipleship is love for God and for one another. Jesus provided the supreme example of self-abnegating service to others and commanded his disciples to do the same (Jn 13:12-17). The new commandment to love one another (Jn 13:34-35) demands a quality of mutual love that becomes possible only in a community that recognizes the love of God in Jesus and imitates it in practice. Given that one purpose of the intra communal love command is to draw the world to know God, this kind of love is anything but sectarian (Jn 13:35; 17:21, 23).⁶

5. COMMUNITY OF FELLOWSHIP

Fellowship is a special word to show a unique relationship among believers. In John, the apostle emphasizes the significance of this fellowship of the divine household who have eternal life. Fellowship and life eternal are two sides of the same coin. They cannot be separated. Regardless of the result that whether or not fellowship is the only purpose, this concept takes a key role in understanding of the whole discussion on the purpose of this epistle. The possible translations of the Greek word [translate:koinonia] are “fellowship,” “participation,” or “impartation.” The basic concept of this Greek word group, which is different from the contemporary understanding, is having something in common with someone. John challenges readers to join in the common belief that they have heard, seen, even touched and dwelt amidst. Both the gospel and the epistle start with this witness theme in the prologues. In the epistle, the beginning of fellowship is the moment of accepting the proclaimed witness, which the apostles have seen and heard. The gospel had been private, owned by a few limited eyewitnesses, the disciples and followers of Jesus. By sharing what they owned to other people, the private became the common. This is the beginning of fellowship in the epistle. This is the process of “giving and having fellowship” started by making the gospel common,⁷ The love of Christ unites the church as a group of people who want to share this experience and invite others into this [translate:koinonia]. The pastoral concerns portrayed in the Fourth Gospel lead the pastor to the diaconal work of the churches today: faith, love, knowledge, caring, sharing, joy, and suffering. The [translate:diakonia] must be used by the pastor to express the developing sense of the universal [translate:koinonia].⁸

5.1 TWO DIMENSIONAL FELLOWSHIPS

The unique point of fellowship in Johannine community is that it has two dimensions. It has both a vertical and a horizontal dimension. Fellowship exists between man and man horizontally. Also, vertically it has a relationship “with God the Father and with his Son”. In the gospel, John uses miraculous signs to prove the divine sonship of Jesus Christ. In the first epistle, John illustrates some signs for proving the divine sonship of believers.

5.1.1 FELLOWSHIP CONTAINS A SIGN OF ETERNAL LIFE

The first sign for divine sonship is eternal life. As the result of receiving the word of life they are to share the eternal life with Christ who has eternal life in him. In this sense, life and fellowship are not to be separated purpose themes but should be the twofold purpose for this epistle. There are many signs of life in the epistle. All the other products mentioned in relation to this fellowship functions like miraculous signs in the Gospel of John. The application of sign to each individual is different in both books. In the gospel, it is a subjective response. Each individual needs to respond to the miraculous signs either positively or negatively. In the epistle, it is an objective response. Signs are not waiting for each individual’s response. Signs that are brought out from each individual’s life are to be proved by other people positively or negatively.

5.1.2 FELLOWSHIP ESTABLISHES A NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

The second sign for believer’s divine sonship is “born of God,” as well as “children of God.” To be a divine son, one must be born of God. This spiritual relationship comes from God through the agency of the Word and the Spirit. Those who are born of God join the family of God corporately with legal birth rights. All the family members share every family matter in common, even the likeness of God, which provides another characteristic of fellowship. Family rights and responsibilities are bestowed on them and become family tradition. Through this spiritual begetting, fellowship literally occurs between family members. It also creates separation from the outsiders of the divine family. The phrase “of God” tells their divine origin and offers separation from the world. Another phrase in John “of us” shows clearly the boundary of family fellowship. “Born of God” is a clear dividing edge for the divine family from their opponents. Corporate joy is the product of this divine fellowship. John says, “We write this to make our joy complete.”⁹

REFLECTION

This paper deals with the Johannine community life and their understanding and the believe towards the proper life. Focused on the service, love and fellowship. We live in a context where belief plays a major role same like a Johannine community in India also people are excluded and discriminated in the basis of their believes. John emphasis on love is much relevant to our context where people are hating each other with the fundamental ideologies, John gospel talks about the fellowship of the same faith. But in our context where different faith people live together, hence the understanding of john’s gospel needs to be reread from the Indian perspective.

CONCLUSION

A design for the new community, therefore, is a community of service, love and fellowship. There is union and unity in the community. Also, knowing and believing that one must worship in spirit and truth to the living God. A community where there is no more hatred, differences, enmity, fraudulent and other evil practices. But it will be a community led by the shepherd who is Jesus and the community as a sheepfold. Jesus Christ is the vine and the community is the branches. It is a community of the minority and not the powerful majority who induced oppression and suffering to the weaker section. John encourages Christians not to lose heart in the wake of increasing threads and persecution, because Jesus will come again to take them to the rain of God where they will see His glory forever. The evil-doers have no more room in this new community.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brooke, E A. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Johannine Epistles. New York: Scribner’s, 1912.
Casurella, A. “Fellowship,” in Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Development, ed. R. P. Martin and P. H. Davids. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1997.
Kysar, Robert John. Augsburg Commentaries. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1986.
Mathai, Varghese. Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Tiruvalla: Christava Sahitya Samithy, 2002. Naickanparampil, Michael. Faith and Life in St. John: The Spiritual Orientation of the Fourth Gospel. Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2011.
Rainbow, A Paul. Johannine Theology. InterVarsity Press: USA, 2014.
Thompson, M.M. “Gospel of John,” in A Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospel, edited by Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight. USA: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

WEBLIOGRAPHY

Anderson Paul. “Johannine Community”, n.p. (cited 5 Oct 2021). Online: https://www.bibleodyssey.org:443/en/people/related-articles/johannine-community. (Accessed on 13.08.2022).

Footnotes

John Robert Kysar, Augsburg Commentaries (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1986), 14-21.
Michael Naickanparampil, Faith and Life in St, John: The Spiritual Orientation of the Fourth Gospel (Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2022), 62-67.
Michael Naickanparampil, Faith and Life in St. John: The Spiritual Orientation of the Fourth Gospel (Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2011), 62-67.
Paul Anderson, “Johannine Community”, n.p. (cited 5 Oct 2021). Online: https://www.bibleodyssey.org:443/en/people/related-articles/johannine-community. (Accessed on 13.08.2022).
M.M. Thompson, “Gospel of John,” in A Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospel, edited by Joel B.Green, Scot McKnight (USA: InterVarsity Press, 1992), 371.
Paul A. Rainbow, Johannine Theology (InterVarsity Press: USA, 2014), 284.
A. Casurella, “Fellowship,” in Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Development, ed. R. P. Martin and P. H.Davids (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1997), 373-374.
Varghese Mathai, Jesus, the Good Shepherd (Tiruvalla: Christava Sahitya Samithy, 2002), 116.
A. E Brooke, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Johannine Epistles (New York: Scribner’s, 1912), 365-366.

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