The Church Built Up (24) - Order in Worship
The Church Built Up • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
Transcript
1 Corinthians is a letter written by the apostle Paul to the Corinthian church. The primary function of this letter is to build up the church. Starting with chapter 11, Paul begins to deal with the gathering of the church for worship. This theme continues through our passage for today.
In the middle of speaking about how the church is to worship, we find a chapter long discussion about love. While it seems out of place, it certainly is not. Love is to be the motivation for all that we do. Jesus sums up the law, which includes elements of worship in the Old Testament, with this statement:
37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Today’s passage, the second half of chapter 14, has this same motivation behind the concept of Order in Worship. Our love for the Lord, the God peace, and our love for our neighbor, our love for the lost and our love each other, compels us to observe order in the times we gather together in worship.
Let’s read verse 26 as we begin...
26 What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.
Paul gives us a list of some of the speech oriented gifts that people can come to a gathering with. What strikes me about this list is that many of these require the person to come prepared. I know I’ve come to church unprepared when I haven’t had responsibilities. I just show up and let everyone else take care of things for me. It sounds like Paul is saying here that we should be prepared as we gather together - prepared to share a word of instruction, revelation, a message in tongues or an interpretation.
I have heard this idea that a move of the Spirit has to be spontaneous. I agree that the Spirit might move someone spontaneously, but the Spirit is also capable of planning ahead. As I read this, it seems to me that Paul is saying each of you, those gathered together, would bring a gift to the meeting rather then just receive a gift during the meeting.
Throughout the week, I usually have several meetings with a team of people or individuals or couples. Prior to those meetings, I take a few moments to prepare for them even if I am not the one leading the meeting. Here are a few questions I usually ask:
What is the purpose of this meeting? What do I hope to accomplish?
Is there something I need to bring to the meeting?
Is there information I need to know ahead of time that would help me in this meeting?
Anyone else do that in your personal life? You may only have a couple of times a week or month that you do this, but I believe everyone does this.
Maybe you have to meet with your doctor to discuss your latest health report, so you google the terms so you have an idea of what to talk about.
Maybe you have to meet with your bank to talk through a loan you need to get. Maybe you’ve applied to a job and you have an interview. Aren’t you going to ask those questions?
This time we gather on Sunday is a corporate meeting together with the God of the universe. I fear that we’ve taken this meeting too lightly. We grow accustomed to showing up and letting others rather than showing up prepared for what might happen. Are we coming with the attitude to help build up the church or with the attitude to just receive?
While we’re on this subject, I’ve heard the phrase “I think the church should...” and fill in the blank with something that “the Church”, meaning someone who is on staff should do. Last time I checked, each one of you is the church. If you come to me and say…I think the church should…I might just to tell you to go for it.
Everything that follows this verse is for the purpose of building up, edifying and strengthening the church, that is the collective body of believers.
27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.
Last week we talked about the three different scriptural definition of speaking in tongues. I won’t give the references today, but are the three ways speaking in tongues happens:
the ability to speak a human language you have not been taught.
the heavenly language prayer spoken by our spirit to God.
A public, congregational speaking in tongues must also include an interpretation.
Paul is clearly referencing the third. How will we know if there will be an interpreter? The Spirit will reveal it to us. If this is your gift, you must be confident that the Lord has provided an interpreter before you publically speak in a tongue in our gathering together. If you are not confident, the Bible says to keep quiet.
I want you to make note of this phrase to keep quiet in the church…it will come up again. Let’s keep reading
29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.
I didn’t mention this with the tongues section, but Paul places a limit on the number of times a prophetic word is spoken and a message in tongues is given. This tells us that both of these gifts in particular might be part of the gathering that happens, but it should not dominate and fill our entire time together. In verse 26 we had a list of several other gifts - hymns, word of instruction, revelation…and yet Paul does not place a limit on those.
As I’ve said throughout our time in this letter, the context of what is happening matters. The church needed instruction on these two gifts. The church was placing an inordinate amount of attention on the spiritual gifts of tongues and prophecy.
Then he explains that there should be an orderly manner in which the prophetic words are spoken. It’s like the lesson we all should have learned in kindergarten - take turns.
Next we have a passage that is probably one of the most abused...
34 Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
Before I get to what Paul is saying, I first want to address what he is not saying by reading an earlier verse.
5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved.
Here Paul’s statement includes the ability and manner in which a woman would pray or prophesy in the gathering. I believe the context of verse 34 is found in 35.
34 Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
Remember, context matters…While we don’t have definitive proof that this is what was happening, the issue here appears to be centered around wives having side conversations with their husbands during the worship gathering. Conversations that seemed to perhaps challenging a word or prophecy and were doing so in a way that was disruptive to the meeting along with being shameful to authority that the men have in the assembly.
Like we read a few verses ago, the one with the gift of tongues must also remain silent or quiet depending on the circumstance. In the same way, there is a proper way to inquire about what is happening.
36 Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. 38 But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored.
These comments on worship are to be seen as coming direct from the Lord. Paul is leaning on the authority he has been given as an apostle of the Lord in what he says here
39 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
What a fitting summary for the last few chapters. Paul again emphasizes the gift of prophesy, but also communicates the validity of speaking in tongues as a gift to be used in the church.
To end, our focus in worship is that it is to be done in a fitting and orderly manner. Fitting for our time and context. Orderly in that there is control over the gifts