In pursuing his Christian ministry, the Apostle Paul had a keen sense of teamwork, teamwork with God and with his brothers and sisters. This awareness is expressed using compound Greek words beginning with the prepositional prefix, sol-. With an object in the dative case, sol means “together” or “with”. This same prepositional prefix has carried over into English, appearing in words like “symbiotic”, “symphony”, “synergy” (Greek sun-, represented by sym- or syn-). What follows is a brief summary of the words that Paul used to express this sharing of the ministry. He will discover that such an exchange continues among the Christians of the 21st century.
Paul calls us “co-citizens” and “co-heirs” and says that we will “co-reign.” Because we are linked to Christ, we share in his city, his inheritance, and his government. But we also share the expectation of these future blessings with each other. Because of this, we “co-join”.
Meanwhile, the fight continues and “we suffer together”. To endure such suffering, we “co-comfort” each other, and live and die together.
But despite everything, we are “collaborators”. Paul says that he and his associates are “laborers together with God,” an amazing testimony to both God’s condescension, willing to stoop so low to work with people like us, and the corresponding elevation of Christians.
Paul’s letters give us an astonishing number of men and women whom Paul calls his “fellow workers”: Timothy, “all,” the Corinthian Christians, Titus, Priscilla and Aquila, Urban, Epaphroditus, Clement and others, Mark and Aristarchus, Just Jesus, Philemon, Demas and Lucas. Paul calls a brother “my yoke partner,” a term synonymous with co-worker (although it could be the man’s name).
Others, Pablo describes as if they were members of a team with him in an athletic contest: competing, striving or fighting together. Paul calls two brothers his “co-slaves.” Two he names as his “co-soldiers”. Because Paul considers himself a worker, a slave, a soldier, and an athlete for Christ, those who share the load with him also share these descriptions. This includes those of us who are working in the kingdom in modern times.
As a frequent prisoner of Christ, Paul appreciated those who served him in prison, even if they themselves were free to come and go. Four he describes as “co-prisoners.” It could be that at least some of these willingly served Paul so consistently that their imprisonment was self-imposed.
All of these first century Christians, as well as Christians alive today, are “partners” or “partners” in the work of the kingdom. We share, we fellowship, we participate, and we keep company with other believers. Paul uses various compound terms to describe Christian unity. He says that we must be united, by mutual agreement, literally “co-souls”. We are “shaped together” and “fitted together.” We cooperate and help each other. We are “built together” and made “co-members of the same body.”
All this union, we must remember, is not a natural state, far from it! Left to ourselves, we human beings are separated at every seam, be it race, ethnicity, gender, or class. It is only Christ who unites us. Only in him can it be said that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, barbarian nor Scythian, male nor female; all are one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28; 1 Cor. 12:13; Col. 3:11).
Paul expresses the Christian’s union with Christ using the prepositional phrase, together with Christ. He reinforces this by using phrasal verbs in which sun- added to the beginning of the verb. This occurs in several of the key passages of Paul’s writings.
in Gal. 2:20, Paul uses “co-crucified” to describe how joining Christ’s death changes the believer. Compare Matt. 27:44, Mark 15:32, and John 19:32, where the same verb describes the literal crucifixion of the thieves who died with Jesus. Paul says that by his union with the death of Christ, he has died to the law, to live for God (v. 19). In the next verse he adds that it is no longer he who lives, but Christ lives in him. It is true that he still lives “in the flesh”, but it is a life of trust in the Son of God, who loved him and gave himself up for him. He notes that this happens for the individual, not just for believers as a group. Christ died, not for humanity, but for you and me and everyone else as individuals, and only as individuals can we respond to him.
This concept of “co-crucified” is repeated in Rom. 6:6. Paul says, “Knowing this, that the old man was crucified.” Although Christ is not mentioned, the connection is definitely between the believer and Christ: He was the crucified one.
The consequence of this death of the old man is a burial, since before Paul says that we were buried together with him” by baptism into death (v. 4). As a result of this union with the crucifixion of Christ and his burial, we also share the new life of His resurrection: “we believe that we shall also live with him” (suzēsomen, v. 8.12; co-made alive, 2:13; see also 3:1).
Because we belong to Christ, we belong to each other. Our union with Him unites us with all the other people who are also united with Him in a great and eternal communion.