the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
Click here to learn more!
Bible Dictionaries
Communion
Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words
"a having in common (koinos), partnership, fellowship" (see COMMUNICATE), denotes (a) the share which one has in anything, a participation, fellowship recognized and enjoyed; thus it is used of the common experiences and interests of Christian men, Acts 2:42; Galatians 2:9; of participation in the knowledge of the Son of God, 1 Corinthians 1:9; of sharing the realization of the effects of the Blood (i.e., the Death) of Christ and the Body of Christ, as set forth by the emblems in the Lord's Supper, 1 Corinthians 10:16; of participation in what is derived from the Holy Spirit, 2 Corinthians 13:14 (RV, "communion"); Philippians 2:1; of participation in the sufferings of Christ, Philippians 3:10; of sharing in the resurrection life possessed in Christ, and so of fellowship with the Father and the Son, 1 John 1:3,6,7; negatively, of the impossibility of "communion" between light and darkness, 2 Corinthians 6:14; (b) fellowship manifested in acts, the practical effects of fellowship with God, wrought by the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers as the outcome of faith, Philemon 1:6 , and finding expression in joint ministration to the needy, Romans 15:26; 2 Corinthians 8:4; 9:13; Hebrews 13:16 , and in the furtherance of the Gospel by gifts, Philippians 1:5 . See COMMUNICATION , CONTRIBUTION , DISTRIBUTION , FELLOWSHIP.
"having in common," is rendered "have communion with (the altar)," --the altar standing by metonymy for that which is associated with it -- in 1 Corinthians 10:18 , RV (for AV, "are partakers of"), and in 1 Corinthians 10:20 , for AV, "have fellowship with (demons)." See COMPANION.
These files are public domain.
Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Communion'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​ved/​c/communion.html. 1940.