More than one thousand years passed from the days of the Apostle Paul to the legendary night when Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses to the doors of Wittenberg Castle in Germany. Reformation had been brewing for little over a century when John Wycliffe first proposed that the common man should have access to the Word of God in his own language. The Catholic Church had long been reading and teaching Scripture in a Latin tongue that few could speak. For this reason, Wycliffe accused them of holding a "literary monopoly" on the Bible. ⁶

Defending Catholic authority, Henry Knighton preached that "Christ had entrusted [the gospel] to clerics and doctors of the church, so that they might administer it conveniently to the laity, and to lesser people." ⁷ Simply put, Knighton was declaring that the "common man" had no right to the Word of God. But he was foolishly in error.

Nearly every word of the New Testament was originally written in Koine Greek (from koinonia), or rather, the language of the common man. Scholars have gone so far as to say that certain variations of Koine Greek were considered to be the "language of the streets." ⁸ In the most basic terms, your New Testament was written for the everyday man to understand. But why?

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion (koinonia) of the Holy Ghost, [be] with you all. Amen." II Corinthians 13:14

God has reached down into the life of common, even illiterate men to declare the good news of salvation and to share His desire for our fellowship.

"If [there be] therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship (koinonia) of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies," Philippians 2:1

"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together." Romans 8:17

The King eternal has brought us into a partnership. A fellowship and communion with the Holy Spirit. We are "joint-heirs with Christ." Thus, if we fall, He grieves.

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Ephesians 4:29-30

We "grieve" the Holy Spirit when our fellowship with one another fails to be edifying or gracious. The truth is, we've all seen the failure of the Body to reconcile. We've all seen the Body lash out at its very members as though they were no longer necessary. And this absence of fellowship (joint-ness) is what stirs the Holy Spirit to operate in quite the opposite fashion. When man doesn't hold up his end of the relationship, God does.

"Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus; And not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more." II Corinthians 7:6-7

"Blessed [be] God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." II Corinthians 1:3-4

Like a breeze passing through on a warm summer's day or the touch of love after a long week, our God is by nature a God of comfort. Where you endure heartache, He is there. Where you face hardship, He is there. The King sets Himself forth as the example of consolation that allows us to learn what must be done when we are in fellowship with one another.

"Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:" Romans 15:5

If God is a God of consolation, then we must know and be sure that He is here to lessen our grief and lessen our sorrows.

"Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given [us] everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work." II Thessalonians 2:16-17

"For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, [it is] for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, [it is] for your consolation and salvation." II Corinthians 1:5-6

"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong." II Corinthians 12:10

Every one of us have days that could use a warm embrace. Every one of us have days when we need comfort. And every one of us have days when we could use a friend. Setting aside all clichés that might otherwise dampen this message, the Lord God Almighty has established a "joint" relationship with you. When you need hope, He is your everlasting consolation. When you suffer, He is your comfort. When you are weak, He is your strength. You were created to have fellowship and communion (koinonia) with the Living God.