A CALL TO ORDERLY WORSHIP
Over
the past two years, we were hindered from worshipping together in our Churches
due to the Pandemic. We have been isolated yet have grown comfortable attending
Church from our couches. God never meant us to be that way. Christianity is not
a solitary religion but a community of broken but redeemed people. They come
together to worship and share their lives with others for the glory of God. The
Church has always been a community.
Ekklesia is a Greek word
defined as "a called-out assembly or congregation." Ekklesia
is commonly translated as "church" in the New Testament. What are we
called out from, and what are we called out to do? I Peter 2:9-10, "But
you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a
holy nation, God's very own possession.
As a result, you can show others
the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his
wonderful light. "Once, you had no identity as a people; now, you are God's
people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God's mercy."
We once had no identity; we were lost;
we lived in darkness and just lived for ourselves. But thank God, out of His
great love and mercy, God transferred us from the Kingdom of darkness into the
Kingdom of Light of His Son Jesus Christ. God restored our dignity and gave us
a new identity. We are now His royal priesthood, a holy nation, and his very
own possession. For what purpose? So that
we can show the goodness of God to others, as He has shown us His goodness.
That was why the Corinthian Church existed, and that is why you and I and Hope
Church exists. We also recognize whenever people come together; there may be
potential for disorder and chaos because we all carry our strong wills and
temperaments.
For the past several weeks, we have
been studying some of the Corinthian Church's problems and what lessons we can
learn. Today we will look at how the Apostle Paul called for Orderly Worship in
the Corinthian Church and its impact on our Worship services.
In general, people like order and
not chaos. Not many enjoy disorderly behavior in meetings, public places,
school boards, etc. In some cases, unruly behavior is punished. Why do we feel
that way? Why do we appreciate order and frown upon disorder? Because our God
is a God of order. Therefore, He desires order in our lives, not chaos and
confusion.
On the other hand, the Devil is the
author of confusion and lies. He is known as the deceiver. The premise for our
study is I Corinthians 14:33, "For God is not a God of disorder but of
peace, as in all the meetings of God's holy people." Let us keep this in
mind as we work through this passage. God through Paul gives the Church "A
Call To Orderly Worship."
I.
Worship in the Early Church.
Before we talk about what Paul was
trying to rectify in the Corinthian Church, how do we define Biblical Worship?
It is not just singing a few songs of praise and thanksgiving on a Sunday
morning or whenever we get together as believers. It is more than singing
songs. It is offering all of ourselves both individually and as a community to
love, honor, and do God's will. One
of my seminary professors, David Curry, defined Biblical Worship this way.
"Biblical Worship is raised up, when the whole word of God guides,
the whole person, together with the whole people of God, into the
full presence of the Father, in full union with the Son, through
the full power of the Holy Spirit to further the fulfillment of the
whole mission of God."[1]
We see this pattern of Worship in
operation in the Early Church. Acts 2:42-47
The
believers met together in the temple daily for Worship, the Apostle's Teaching,
Prayer, and Fellowship. They responded to God by serving one another and the
community at large.
We see the Apostle Paul and
subsequent church planters following this model. According to Paul, everything
we do, even more so when we come to Worship, should be done in an orderly way.
II.
A Call To Orderly Worship
What comes to your mind when you
see this gavel? It represents order. A judge uses it in the court to start the
orderly proceedings and control the unruly behavior. By reading Paul's first
letter to the Corinthians, we understand that the Corinthians were a disorderly
congregation.
In Chapter 11, he addressed their
disorderly behavior during Communion or the Lord's Supper. In Chapter 14:26-40,
he addressed unruly worship practices. As it were, Paul took out a Spiritual
gavel in a loving way and instructed the believers during public Worship.
Vs.26, "Well, my brothers
and sisters, let's summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another
will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will
speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that
is done must strengthen all of you." Remember, the Corinthian Church was a
mixed congregation in several aspects.
Probably they were meeting in
several houses, including the households of Chloe and Stephanas. (1:10-16) In
their worship meetings, four components were present: singing songs, teaching
God's word, speaking in tongues, and prophecy.
When it came to speaking in tongues
and prophecy, it appears that several people were out of step with the Holy
Spirit. They spoke in tongues without an interpreter and prophesied randomly
without allowing others to prophesy. It was one chaotic and disorderly service.
Paul laid out a structure to restore
order in the worship service. He allowed no more than two or three to speak in
tongues taking turns one at a time. They were to wait for someone to interpret.
If no one was to interpret what was said, they must be silent in the church
meeting and speak in tongues to God privately. Remember, the tongues are meant
for personal edification.
Similar guidelines were given to
those who prophesied. Two or three were allowed to prophesy, and others were to
evaluate whether those prophecies were of the Lord or not.
He admonished those who prophesied to
be self-controlled and not get carried away in a disorderly manner. He reminded
them, saying, Vs. 32, "Remember that people who prophesy are in
control of their spirit and can take turns." Why was Paul insistent that those
who speak in tongues and give prophecy must exercise restraint and follow a
specific order?
Vs. 33, "For
God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God's
holy people." By this, we understand God is a God of order. How do we
define order? Order implies a neat
and logical organization of items, tasks, or people.
When
a room is in order, it has been tidied, and everything is properly in place. We
see order and precision in everything God does. For example, God's universe is
orderly. He created everything in an orderly sequence in a six-day span that
set the world into motion (Gen 1:1-31). God created all that was necessary for
man to live before He created humankind.
He
created the sun, moon, and stars to regulate time and seasons (Genesis 1:14–18;
Psalm 104:19), and the heavenly bodies operate with precise predictability. Look
at the human body, is there order in it? When every organ in our body functions
to its optimum, we live in good health. But if one organ goes haywire, the body
cannot defend itself or thrive.
If
this is how it works in the universe and our body, it works the same way in the
body of Christ the Church. We are members, and Christ is the head of the Church. Because God is a God of order, He deals
with us in orderly ways and expects us to live orderly. On the other hand, the
Devil comes to rob, steal and destroy. He disrupts order by sowing seeds of
contempt.
The
Corinthian Church was divided over several seemingly unimportant matters.
Paul's goal in writing this letter was to rectify disorder because disorder
breeds contempt, and contempt breaks down unity. I see order and respect for
one another in Hope Church. Let's not give up on this good trait. When we
maintain order, it pleases God and strengthens all of us.
III.
Did Paul hate women?
Vs. 34-35, "Women should be
silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They
should be submissive, just as the law says. If they have any questions, they
should ask their husbands at home, for it is improper for women to speak in
church meetings."
The questions frequently asked does
the Apostle Paul forbid women to speak, pray or prophesy in Church? Did Paul
hate women? How do we understand these verses? To understand, we will look at
the verses, the letter's context, and Paul's relationship with women. These
verses do not address all women, nor say women should never speak or prophesy
in Church.
Paul made it clear in Gal 3:28,
"there is no difference between male or female, we all are one in Christ.
So, any discrimination is ruled out. In I Cor 11:5, Women were allowed to pray
and prophecy, covering their heads. So, we don't see Paul forbidding women to
speak at all.
Paul often addressed the
congregation, saying, "Brothers and sisters." Several women
ministered alongside Paul, and some were House church leaders like Priscilla
and Chloe. (Acts 18). In his final greetings in Romans 16, he mentioned nine
women who helped him in ministry. What
was going on when Paul said, "women should be silent during the church
meetings? In the Corinthian culture, women were not allowed to confront men in
public. Some of the women who had become Christians thought their Christian
freedom gave them the right to question the men in public Worship. That caused
divisions in the Church.
In addition, women may have raised
questions in the worship services that could have been answered at home without
disrupting the services. Paul was asking the women not to flaunt their
Christian freedom during Worship. The Big idea of
this passage is that both men and women can participate and contribute in
Church worship and other meetings. They both are equally responsible for
promoting and maintaining order and strengthening the Church. Amen!
