Order in the Church

1 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

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As the church gathers for edification, it is important that there is order so that the congregation hears the clear word of God and applies it to their lives. Order then, demonstrates intentionality, allows for accuracy of teaching, and displays God's design for authority.

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1 Corinthians 14:26–40 NASB95

What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret; but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church. Was it from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it come to you only? If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment. But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.

INTRO: Have you ever been called for jury duty? The court process is one of the most structured practices that most Americans have ever witnessed. There are opening arguments, witnesses, evidence, rebuttals, etc. Both sides have opportunity to present their case with as much precision and clarity as possible so that the jury can make a decision that will be respected.

Now, imagine that order were not present. Imagine there was no judge and no structure that forced one side to be quiet while the other spoke. Do you think that would be productive? No, that would be like two angry mobs clashing. At the end of the day, there would be much said and maybe a lot of emotion displayed. But, no clarity of truth.

Order is important in our life. And that is true in the church as well. We’ve spoken about the order when it comes to the pastor / elders and deacons. And that plays into our conversation a bit. But mostly, the order that we are looking at today is in reference to how we go about using our time as a gathered body in worship.

This section of chapter 14 has bookends in v. 26 and 40 that emphasize order. Look at these with me. (READ v.26, 40)

We spoke a bit last week about how prophesying builds up the church. But, in order to ensure that our time in gathered worship is edifying it is important that we have order.

You may already understand this necessity, but I want to ensure you see that this is not just about administrative efficiency.

Now, you may not know this, but each week Pastor James is responsible for putting together the order of our time in worship. He schedules songs, time for prayer, announcements, encouraging videos, etc. all in a time slot that allows ample time for me to preach through the selected Scripture.

Our Sunday worship times are a good bit more ordered than the 1st century church’s. (we’ve had a couple millennia to practice) This order is important, and the best part of studying this section of scripture is that you and I can not only acknowledge this order, but perhaps be better prepared to respond to the Holy Spirit because of our time together today.

So, if you picked up a bulletin on your way in, I want to invite you to ready the enclosed sermon guide as we study together 1 Corinthians 14:26-40, a sermon I’ve titled “Order in the Church”.

The first truth I want to show you is that

Order Demonstrates Intentionality in the Church (26-28)

Let’s read 26-28 again (READ)

Here, Paul acknowledges that many different components of worship are appropriate. It is good that we sing songs, that we have times of prayer, that we give testimony and teaching. And it’s important that we worship using the gifts that God has so richly blessed the church with.

Yet, it is important that we evaluate what is being offered and bring forth only that which will build up the church.

Let me point back to the text that precedes this - v.22-23 (READ)

We briefly looked at this last week, but I want to show you something: If speaking in tongues is not exercised with structure- that is, one person at a time with one to interpret, then it will neither build up believers nor will it demonstrate to unbelievers God’s power.

Instead, it will sound something like a bunch of yapping dogs. So, then, Paul instructs the church to place parameters on the exercising of this gift during public worship services.

This can be applied to songs- if you sing a song, but it does not draw the congregation to worship our Lord, it need not be a part of our corporate worship.

If you stand and pray and your prayer is more about how elegant your speech is or if your prayer is insincere, then it need not be a part of gathered worship.

If you have an announcement or event you want to advertise, but that event does not build up the church, it should be omitted from the schedule.

Each element of a gathered worship service is intentional in order to build up the church. Without that order, our times together would be unfruitful. In fact, if we just came without any sort of plan or way or organizing our time, it would likely be so chaotic that we’d all leave here confused and discouraged.

Now, I admit that this can be taken too far if we simply put a clock to each piece of our worship. But, I believe that because we are intentional about the order and structure of our gathered worship, we are able to exalt God and make the most of our time by pointing to Him in every component of our service.

Order demonstrates the intentionality of the church.

Discuss: What would it look like if there were no structure to our gathered worship times?

Next, Paul moves from addressing tongues and other gifts back to prophesying. Here, we see that

Order Ensures Accuracy in Teaching (29-33)

In the 1st century church, there would be a number of folks who were recognized as being gifted in prophecy, and thus would speak God’s Word, teaching doctrine, explaining revelation of God’s character, etc.

These could be men who came from other churches or elders within their own church. The point is that there were multiple voices who proclaimed God’s Word, but they did it in an orderly fashion. Listen to Paul’s description of how this was supposed to look. (READ 20-33)

Now, there are a couple good reasons for this order. Let’s examine them.

Teaching was from one person at a time.

Now, this might sound like a ‘duh’ thing to have to say, but I want you to imagine how confusing it would be if while I was speaking about Spiritual Gifts, James came up and started talking about how we ought to faithful in giving to support the ministries of the church, and then a visiting pastor stood up and started talking about the battle of the last days described in the book of Revelation...

Order ensures that we can focus on one thing at a time!

The one who taught was responsible for his words and accountable to other elders and teachers to ensure they were speaking God’s Word and not just their opinion or an emotional plea.

Folks, I can think of a number of pastors who, if they had true accountability in the content of their preaching, would not be out there leading a bunch of folks astray with a false gospel. The church needs this kind of order. The last thing I would want to do is to preach anything less than Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Having order- elders and qualified teachers to hold me accountable is necessary to ensure that we are doctrinally faithful.

In the early church, these multiple teachers would need to be consistent between them. If one taught something that contradicted another’s teaching, something was awry. This would cause confusion in the church.

As Warren Wiersbe says, “Confusion comes from Satan, not from God”

I am very protective of who can come and preach. This is because I want to ensure that you are not being led astray. This is especially true for days that I am not here in person to hear what is being said.

Paul tells us that “the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets”(32) And just let me tell you, if someone were to stand before you and preach a false gospel while I am here, I pray to be bold enough to correct that in the moment.

Discuss: What is the value of the having gifted teachers examine and judge the teaching of others who teach?

We need order in the church so that we can be intentional in building up the church and to ensure accuracy in the teaching. Finally, Paul shows us that

Order Displays Authority in the Church (34-38)

I want to read these verses again. (READ 34-35)

Some of y’all read ahead and have been looking forward to this section… I think I’ve had no less than a dozen people ask me if I was really going to preach through this. Well, let’s work through what is being taught.

And as I do, ladies I need you to take a breath and recognize that Paul is not calling for women to have their lips duck-taped. He’s already expressed that women are engaged vocally in worship in 11:5 both in prayer and speaking God’s Word.

As always, we want to try and understand what CONTEXT is so we can know what is being addressed and how it applies to us.

Like I said, Paul isn’t telling women they have no place. Rather, I believe Paul is addressing a couple issues that were taking place in Corinth. We don’t have them spelled out, but we can deduce that these issues boiled down to disruptions and discipleship.

Disruptions are a hazard in any environment. Not all are avoidable and not all are the same. What Paul is addressing are unnecessary or avoidable disruptions.

In the Jewish synagogues, many women were not invited into the main teachings, so they were off to themselves. Thus, they had become accustomed to sitting in a group chit-chatting among themselves while the men discussed the Torah. But, in the New Testament Church, they were encouraged to not be a distraction or disruption but to drink in that which was being taught in the churches.

This boils down to a healthy respect for the authority of the church- we are to build one another up. If our gathered worship times are filled with any group who disregards the intentional order of worship, then they will likely distract others as well, which instead of building up the church, will minimize the teaching and rob the attention from Jesus.

Another issue is discipleship.

Men have been called by God by virtue of creation and command, to be the primary disciple-maker in their homes. Husbands are to lead their wives into a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ in order to present her holy unto God. Fathers are to take every opportunity to raise their children in the admonition of the Lord. We will give an account for this.

Some scholars have suggested that in Corinth, that as teaching was being delivered, there would be certain women who would try to add on to the teaching or interrogate the speaker. This meant that either they were trying to assume a role of a teaching elder, which God prohibits because of His design, or that they were really trying to understand, but were robbing their husbands of the opportunity to lead them.

Based upon the context, I think that there were women who were not allowing their husbands to be the spiritual leader. Perhaps they were enamored by the teacher or they didn’t think their husband had the answers. Either way, this is an insult to the authority of God over His design.

Yet when there is proper order- a time and space for men to lead their families, for questions to be addressed, for growth to occur, it not only builds the individual believers, it builds the family and the church. This is God’s design. Let me read v. 36-38 again so you see this (READ)

Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are recipients of God’s Word through the mouths of His apostles and prophets. In so doing, he makes a strong statement that if the church refused to acknowledge Paul’s teaching, they also refused to acknowledge God’s authority, which means they would fall into the category of those whom Jesus warned

Matthew 10:33 NASB95

“But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

Order in the church demonstrates intentionality, ensures accuracy in teaching, and displays the authority of God and His institution.

Discuss: What do you notice about God’s design for order in the church that you’ve overlooked in the past?

And so, we must ask the question, “So What?”

What are you and I do do with this teaching. Let me give you a few quick points of application as we close:

As God has gifted you, find a place to be involved in the intentional order of gathered worship.

Can you sing? Play an instrument? Can you pray? Are you an administrator? Has God called you to preach?

Ask questions.

Wives, allow your husband to lead you. Children, ask your dad questions about God - about the messages being preached. Seek to learn. Men- seek to learn and lead.

Be Respectful.

This time of worship is ordered so that the church can be built up and God will be magnified. If we all engage in this order, we can express our worship in a meaningful way.

Speaking of order, we end each service with a prayer and a song. We do this in order to give an opportunity for you to respond to the teaching. Has God spoken to you? Has He convinced you of your need to engage in worship differently than before? Has He called you to turn from your sins. I’d love to pray with you and I’ll be right down front as we sing.

[PRAY]