Meaningful Public Worship

We are told that the Ethiopian Christians during the Communist regime multiplied greatly, in spite of being restricted. In fact, the restriction seems to be the seed that made them grow. Public gathering was prohibited, so they went, as we say, underground. They had cell groups and they met in secret. Their neighbors and friends gathered with them, and the church grew in great numbers.

That was the way it was in the early church, in some respect, because when the Romans began to persecute the church, the believers went underground, and they multiplied greatly. They outlived and out-died the Romans. That’s how it was in the time of the Reformation in 1500, too. The more the Reformers were persecuted, the more the movement grew. Throughout the history of the church, the statement “The blood of the martyrs became the seed of the church” has stood true.

Underground gathering and individualism are not normal for the church. The Greek word ekklesia means “a called-out body.” The church is not an individual matter. It is expected that the called-out body will meet for edification and worship. The place is not as important as the act and the attitude.

The writer of the book of Hebrews says it well because the church comes together for edification, exhortation, and comfort, as we learned in chapter 35. In Hebrews 10:23-25 we have a very important and definite counsel: 

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one other to provoke unto love and to good works. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

You see, it is not so much the place as the reason. The gathering of the body is important.

Christians normally do not live in isolation. Now we have learned of a few believers in other countries who have said, “As far as I know, I’m the only Christian in my village.” So they live in isolation. They depend upon us and our radio broadcast with other Christian broadcasters for their fellowship.

In I Corinthians 14:23-33, Paul teaches us how to conduct the worship of the gathered body.

23 If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in [those that are] unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?

24 But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or [one] unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:

25 And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on [his] face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.

26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

27 If any man speak in an [unknown] tongue, [let it be] by two, or at the most [by] three, and [that] by course; and let one interpret.

28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

30 If [anything] be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.

31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.

32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

33 For God is not [the author] of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

Paul has several REQUIREMENTS that need to be met to have the experience of MEANINGFUL PUBLIC WORSHIP.

The first requirement is:

23 If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in [those that are] unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?

24 But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or [one] unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:

25 And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on [his] face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.

When we began our Scripture, we noticed that the apostle Paul was having considerable problems with the way the worship service was carried on. He said, “If all speak with tongues, why then the unlearned and the unbeliever is not admonished or helped” All speaking in tongues nullifies communication. To communicate requires a common language. I learned that long ago. One of the principles of teaching is that the teacher and the learner must have a common language so they can communicate. Tongues deny this, Paul argues. When the congregation has confusion of tongues, nobody gets anything.

The speaker must speak in a language that is understood. When Jesus was here, He spoke in simple language, and the common people flocked around Him from all over the area. So for there to be communication, a language must be used that the hearers can understand.

To prophesy is to speak to edification, the apostle repeats. If all prophesy, then a common language builds up, and it informs the members of the church. I try to use carefully phrased ideas in my messages so you’ll be able to hear what I am saying and get something you can relate to your own personal life.

When I was teaching in seminary, I always told my preacher boys, “Don’t advertise your education. Speak in simple language to the people who listen to you. Everyone can understand simple language.” To prophesy means to speak to edification. Each listener then can relate what is spoken to his or her own condition.

The purpose of prophecy is to lead the listener to worship God. And that needs to be done in a language that is common to all. So that’s the point we make. There is a need for communication and that communication requires a common language.

The second requirement is:

26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

27 If any man speak in an [unknown] tongue, [let it be] by two, or at the most [by] three, and [that] by course; and let one interpret.

28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

Paul has a number of different exercises in the congregation. Let me quote verse 26 again: “When ye come together, everyone of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation.” Do you see that all of that results in confusion? Each one is trying to get his point across, all at the same time. Can you imagine what kind of a bedlam that would be? Boredom, no one is listening. Paul instructed that all things should be done for edifying. If everybody was speaking his own way with all these different ideas being promoted, how would anyone get any benefit from it? That would not be worship; that would be competition. So the apostle says let all things be done to edify.

Then Paul goes on to illustrate further for us that there should be order in the speaking in tongues—only one or two or at the most three. Then if there is no translator, the person who attempts to speak in a language that is not understood should keep silent. Let him speak to himself and to God. There is no place for competition in worship. There is to be a translator. When that person who wants to speak in a tongue has no translator, he should speak to himself. As the apostle Paul earlier instructed us, such a person is not speaking with his mind. His mind doesn’t comprehend what he is saying.

Now as I said before, I don’t want to be unkind to anybody, but it would seem to me rather serious to be talking something that you do not know what you are saying.

Well, I remember my first trip to Nigeria. I was there on the first Sunday of the year of 1976. The brethren of the congregation where we were worshiping asked me to have the morning sermon after I got there. The associate pastor had warned me that this might happen. So I was not altogether unprepared. The service went on and on and on until ten minutes to one when they finally gave me the pulpit for the morning sermon. They had other necessary activities for the first Sunday of the year. As I went to the pulpit, my pastor friend said, “Pay no mind to the clock.” Ten minutes to one, Sunday morning. I know of one congregation, not in Africa, that didn’t like their pastor because they said he preached so long Sunday morning they had to stand in line at the restaurant when they got out. Well, that’s too bad. So the second requirement is to accommodate the message to the audience.

The third requirement is:

29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

30 If [anything] be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.

31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.

32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

33 For God is not [the author] of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

Now we pick up the other side of the question. We were talking about tongues; now we talk about prophecy. “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.” We call that a multiple ministry. Few denominations today, if any, exercise themselves that way. We have one pastor or one preacher, particularly in a Sunday morning service or worship service. We have one who preaches. Apparently, in the Corinthian church, they had more than one who could minister, who could prophesy. And if something was revealed to the one sitting by, then the one who was speaking should hold his peace and let that other person speak.

Well, I have had that experience already. While listening to a preacher, my mind caught hold of some idea that he said, and I began to explore that. I practically lost my connection with him because my mind was going in another direction. I never asked for the floor, of course. But imagine what would happen if that kind of worship service were conducted. It could be inspiring.

All may prophesy that all may learn and be instructed. In a sense, we have that kind of situation in some Sunday school classes. But some Sunday school classes are a repeat of the worship service. The teacher gets up and lectures for the whole period, and nobody has any interaction. Other Sunday school classes are conducted in an interactive way.

I remember my good friend Panos Giorgos in Greece. He asked, “How do you conduct your service?” I said, “We have a Sunday school and in the Sunday school class we are able to interact with each other as the Sunday school teacher leads us in the discussion of a subject.” “Oh,” he said, “my mother would just love that.” They were members of the Greek Orthodox Church, where the theologian had a message like in many denominations. Nobody had an opportunity for any kind of interaction.

But in Sunday school classes where there is this opportunity for interaction, one prophet can prophesy and others can’t interrupt and the congregation is built up. However, rivalry is excluded because the apostle says the spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets. In other words, there should never be any rivalry in the congregation in public worship. God is the author of peace, not of confusion.

WhenI was in my graduate program in Chicago, I learned to know Moses Gitlin, a dear Jewish brother. He invited me to come to the Lithuanian Baptist church and have the service one Sunday evening. We did, my wife and family. It was a glorious experience. There we were right in the heart of Chicago, but we were in Lithuania because the entire service was conducted in the Lithuanian language, except for my message. I was impressed with the way they did the forepart of the service. When they had the prayer time, people in different parts of the congregation led in prayer, loud enough so everyone could hear. When they came to the close of the prayer, everybody said, “Amen.” I liked that. It was nice. I have never practiced it in the congregations where I have ministered, but it seemed that there was spiritual interrelation.

Once when Mrs. Yoder and I were in Nigeria, we met a man there from New Zealand. We all went to church on Sunday morning. You should have heard him when he got back to the guesthouse. He said, “A three-hour service! I don’t see how they stand it.” But you know, the good Lord was there, and He was meeting with that congregation. Now I believe the way for me to conclude this discussion is to quote from Chafin’s commentary on this portion:

If Paul were writing the average congregation today, his advice would have to work on the other side of the street. Rather than an unstructured spontaneity that creates bedlam, he would be confronted with a well-regulated order of worship that often creates boredom. The smallest of churches often prints or mimeographs for its members a program of everything that is going to happen during the hour and the sequence in which it will take place, and once it has been printed it becomes a sacred thing to those who planned it. And the likelihood of the Spirit’s leading anyone to say or do something that was not anticipated on Tuesday when the stencil was cut is very remote.

While the church does not need the disorder that comes from not planning, it does need to recognize the importance of using both human intellect and emotion in our expressions of gratitude to God for His love. It is a shame to waste all our tears on the plots of soap operas, all our shouting for a basketball game, and all our enthusiasm for the latest toy and then come into the presence of the Creator and sustainer of life without expressing our deep feelings of awe, of reverence, of unworthiness, and of thankfulness. I say, Amen!

Let me help you to profit more from public worship. Reflect on these requirements the apostle Paul laid out for the Corinthian Church for Meaningful Public Worship.

in a language all can understand.

If there is no interpreter, then let that person who speaks in a language be still.

by giving deference to one another.

Don’t create a bedlam because everyone has a psalm, a revelation, or a doctrine and so forth.

of a prophet to speak

to the edification of the members.

As they interact, each one can have some part in building up the congregation.