True Fellowship

Paul’s language in Philippians 3:10 is translated in the ESV as “share his sufferings.” The Greek is κοινωνίαν τῶν παθημάτων. “Koinonia” here is the community and association. This newly formed community is tattooed with suffering. They share in the messianic pain. They are built up through the sufferings of one another. In mourning with those who mourn they are forming an authentic koinonia in truth and are being co-shaped after the image of Jesus, the Messiah.

{Textual annotations from sermon on Philippians 3:10-11}

My Distinctives…

Try typing the word “distinctives” in a word document and you will see that annoying red line underneath it telling you that your average grammatical skills are diminishing with each red line. Theologically, the word comes in handy. We are always talking about the “distinctives” of group A, B, or C. So, after being insulted for years, I finally did a quick research on the word. And what did  I discover? I discovered that people who use the word “distinctives” are evangelicals who are “stupid and don’t know how to use proper grammar.” Yeah, a little offended! But then as I continued my research, I found out that “distinctive” is not just an adjective, but it can also be used as a noun; and guess what the plural of it is: DISTINCTIVES! I feel vindicated and justified! My distinctives are not wrong after all.