II. The Holy Spirt and the New Testament Vison of Koinonia
A) "Koinonia" with the Triune God
- Both
Pentecostals and Roman Catholics believe that the koinonia
between Christians is rooted in the life of Father, Son
and Holy Spirit.6
Furthermore, they believe that this trinitarian life is the
highest expression of the unity to which we together aspire:
"that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to
you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship
is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ" (1 Jn
1:3).
-
Both Roman Catholics and Pentecostals agree that the Holy Spirit
is the source of koinonia or communion. The Church has
been gathered in the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Cor 13:13). They differ,
however, in their points of departure and in their emphases.
-
Roman Catholics, on the one hand, stress the God-givenness of
the koinonia and its trinitarian character. Their point
of departure is the baptismal initiation into the trinitarian
koinonia by faith, through Christ in his Spirit. Their
emphasis is also on the Spirit-given means to sustain this koinonia
(e.g. Word, ministry, sacraments, charisms).
-
Pentecostals, on the other hand, stress that the Holy Spirit
convicts people of sin, bringing them through repentance and
personal faith into fellowship with Christ and one another (cf.
1 Cor 1:9). As believers continue to be filled with the Spirit
(cf. Eph 5:18), they should be led to seek greater unity
in the faith with other Christians. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit
of unity (cf. Acts 2:1ff.). Just as the Spirit fell on
Gentiles and showed the Church to be a universal community,
made of both Jews and Gentiles (cf. Acts 10), so also
today God is bestowing his Spirit everywhere on Christians from
different churches, promoting unity around our common Lord.
The common experience of the Holy Spirit challenges us to strive
for greater visible unity as we reflect on the shape God wants
this unity to take.
-
Our dialogue has helped both partners to discover and appreciate
each other's specific emphases. On the one hand, by listening
to the Roman Catholic participants, Pentecostals have been reminded
of the importance of the communitarian dimension of the New
Testament understanding of koinonia. Roman Catholics, on the
other hand, have been reminded of the importance of the personal
dimension of the same koinonia with God which comes from the
Holy Spirit who convicts persons of sin and brings them to faith
in Jesus Christ. We believe that these two emphases are not
mutually exclusive but rather that they are complementary.
B)
Oneness of the Church
-
Roman Catholics and Pentecostals believe that there is only
"one holy catholic apostolic Church" made of all believers
(cf. Eph 4:4-6). They differ, however, in their understanding
of that one Church and of the way one belongs to it. Roman Catholics
consider the establishment of denominations which result from
the lack of love and/or divergence in matters of faith as departures
away from the unity of the one Church, which in fulfillment
of the command of the Lord always remains visibly one and subsists
in the Roman Catholic Church (Lumen gentium, §8).
Pentecostals tend to view denominations as more or less legitimate
manifestations of the one, universal Church. Their legitimacy
depends on the degree of their faithfulness to the fundamental
doctrines of the Scripture. We both agree that the Holy Spirit
is the Spirit of unity in diversity (cf. 1 Cor 12:13ff.)
and not the Spirit of division.
-
By appealing to Jesus' teaching on the wheat and tares (Mt 13:24-30)
some Christians distinguish between an invisible Church (which
is one) and a visible Church (which may be divided). While this
distinction can be of use in distinguishing between sincere
and insincere members of the Church, it can cause misunderstanding,
since both Pentecostals and Roman Catholics affirm that the
Church is both a visible and an invisible reality. Neither should
the distinction between visible and invisible dimensions of
the Church be used to justify and reinforce separation between
Christians.
-
The essential unity of the Church neither implies nor mandates
uniformity. "For just as the body is one and has many members,
and all the members of the body, though many, are one body,
so it is with Christ" (1 Cor 12:12). The diversity is due
to the Spirit. "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the
same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same
Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same
God who inspires them all in every one. To each is given the
manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" (1 Cor
12:4-7). The unity which the Spirit forges is resplendent with
diversity. The basis of this unity is the Lordship of Jesus
Christ. No one can confess this Lordship except in the Holy
Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 12:3). The unity which the Spirit gives
must not be identified simply with likemindedness, sociological
compatibility, or the felt need for togetherness.
C)
"Koinonia" and Gospel Witness
- The
present state of visible separation in Christianity is a contradiction
of the unity into which we are called by Christ. Fidelity to
the concept of koinonia places upon all Christians the
obligation of striving to overcome our divisions, especially
through dialogue. We need to discern alertly, and in an on-going
way, the character and shape of the visible unity demanded by
koinonia.
- Roman
Catholics and Pentecostals lament the scandal of disunity between
Christians. The lack of agreement on how koinonia should
be lived out in the Church, and our resulting divisions, cloud
the world's perception of God's work of reconciliation. Insofar
as koinonia is obscured, the effectiveness of the witness
is impaired. For the sake of giving an effective Gospel witness,
the issue of Christian unity must be kept before us. For our
Lord has prayed for his disciples "that they may all be
one; even as thou Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they
also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou has
sent me" (John 17:21; cf. John 13:34).
ENDNOTES
-
A segment of
Pentecostals known as "Oneness" or "Jesus Name"
Pentecostals are opposed to the trinitarian formulation of
the faith. Their view of God tends toward modalism and the
baptismal formula which they pronounce is "in the name
of Jesus Christ" (Acts 2:38) instead of the traditional
trinitarian appeal to Matthew 28:19. Most Pentecostals, however,
strongly disagree with this position.
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