Orderly Worship

Series on I Corinthians

VI Meeting in Worship

G Agenda in Worship. Text: 14:26-40

Title: Orderly Worship

Introduction

In our last study of the first part of I Corinthians 14 we discovered that Paul was laying down rules for worship. The need for such rules came from the abuses which were occurring in the Corinthian church. their preoccupation with the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit to the first century church, gifts such as speaking in tongues and prophecy was leading to confusion. It is a serious matter. In verse 33 Paul says, God is not the author of confusion, then who is? Three guesses, and the first two don’t count. Listen to Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9:7 and 8, O Lord, righteousness belongs unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. Hear also what God says through Jeremiah in Jeremiah 7:17-19, Don’t you see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces? Confusion is the product of this present evil age, and satan is the god of this age. Paul’s first concern is that they should consider the importance of understanding in worship. True praise and true feelings for God are not found in being carried away in a cacophony of ecstasy, but in understanding with the mind. Thus the Apostle lays down a rule which he repeats often in this chapter, Let all things be done for edification. Worship must build up the saints. in our text for today Paul lays down another rule. It relates to our agenda in worship. If our aim is edification our agenda must be fitting and orderly. In church this morning you found a bulletin with an order of worship. Whether it is simple or complex repetitive or spontaneous this order is called a liturgy. Elements in this order go back to the early church and even further to the synagogue worship in the time of Jesus. They are important elements, Biblical elements. Although Presbyterians are famous for doing things decently and in order, actually almost all Christians follow some liturgy. Almost no one comes to worship with nothing planned. But obviously not everyone agrees on what the order should be or if it should always be the same. There are a lot of tough issues touched by Paul in our text, but the point of it all must not be missed. Worship must be orderly, and Paul lays down at least three rules here to guide us in orderly worship. They are the rule of spirit and truth, the rule of subjection and the rule of scripture.

I The Rule of Spirit and Truth

As might be expected in the first century church the worship was more dependent upon the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Bible was not available for the most part and special revelations were imparted through other means. One of the primary ways was through interpreted tongues and prophecy. Even in this situation where these gifts were most necessary Paul encourages and regulates them in verses 26-31, What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two-or at the most three-should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God. Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. Still when he carefully regulates them, he assumes that these inspired utterances are completely under the control of the speakers. They can be quiet, limit the number of speakers, stop in the middle, defer to one another, and take turns. In other words their is nothing about worship in the Holy Spirit that should make it disorderly. Once i was invited to lead in prayer in a Pentecostal church. The moment i began praying i realized that 200 people were not listening, but they were doing their own thing. I tried to raise my voice above the cries of, “Yes Jesus, Praise God,” and other gibberish. It was truly cacophony. Now surely God could hear all those prayers, but what was the point of asking someone to lead in prayer. This is exactly what Paul is forbidding here. You see, he is striking a perfect balance. In John 4:24 our Lord, when confronted by a Samaritan woman who says we worship on a different mountain than you Jews, replies, The time is coming and now is when true worshippers must worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Jesus could have said just “Spirit “ because the issue was whether you had to worship the Lord in a special place, but instead he says Spirit and truth. Paul’s concern in I Corinthians 14 is to make sure there is order, and the purpose of this order is truth, understanding, encouragement, and instruction. I for one will not be intimidated, and i hope you will not be intimidated by people who suggest your worship is not spiritual because you insist on understanding. Just being emotional or exciting or being carried away does not make worship spiritual and the Holy Spirit works through the Word.

II The Rule of Subjection

In verses 32-36 Paul speaks of the spirits of the prophets being subject to the control of the prophets, but he also speaks of women remaining silent here, The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. 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. Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? This is a difficult order and very unpopular in our present cultural context. However, if we understand what Paul is getting at, perhaps we can appreciate his candor. One lady defined submission in marriage as “the wife ducking out of the way so that God can hit the husband.” Note first of all that this is not limited to Corinth. Paul begins by saying as in all the congregations. This was universally acknowledged. Now i would certainly expect the opposite of what Paul says here. In other words, if women have been given these gifts of the Holy Spirit we might expect Paul to suggest that the Holy Spirit was overruling any gender distinctions. But, he says the opposite. So we must ask ourselves how important is subjection to God in worship. Peter T. Forsythe was right when he said, “The first duty of every soul is to find not its freedom but its Master.” That women are to be subject to their husbands in the Lord is clearly taught in Scripture, but we are also taught that children are to obey their parents, students their teachers, employees their managers, congregations their elders, and citizens their governments, and believers are to be subject to one another through repentance and forgiveness. All of this submission is subsumed under the fifth commandment which says, Honor your father and mother that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. I suggest to you that the first five commandments are all talking about how to love and worship God. They tell us to: worship him only, in the way he has said, revering his name, on the sabbath, and with submission expressed through our relationships in the home, the church and the world. The women in Corinth were speaking authoritatively, debating, arguing, and questioning. They were violating God’s order. I would apply this Scripture in the present day in a way that allows submissive participation but forbids authoritative teaching or discussion in public worship. There once was a lady in Lansdale, PA, who came to our worship. She had been graduated from the same college as i was. Several times she would interrupt in the middle of the sermon to state a comment or ask a question. I would patiently endure her interruptions and reply. I was appreciative when the congregation and elders got fed up and silenced her. Her comments and questions were not the issue. Her disregard for order and others was.

III The Rule of Scripture

Although Paul mentions this last in verses 37-40, it is certainly the most important and is meant to be a controlling rule, If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored. Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. All the parts of worship should be Scriptural. Chapter 21 of our Confession of Faith in the hymnal is helpful and i suggest you read it, but i would acquaint you today with the Directory of Worship of the Presbyterian Church in America which is based on the Bible and the Confession of Faith. At this thanksgiving time it demonstrates the importance of giving thanks from the heart to God in worship. The sight must be focused on God’s glory. Chapter 47: “47-1 Since the Holy Scriptures are the only infallible rule of faith and practice, the principles of public worship must be derived from the Bible, and from no other source. 47-2 A service of public worship is not merely a gathering of God’s children with each other, but before all else, a meeting of the triune God with His chosen people. God is present in public worship not only by virtue of the Divine omnipresence but, much more intimately, as the faithful covenant Savior. The Lord Jesus Christ said: “Where two or three are gathered together in My name there I am in the midst of them” 47-3 The end of public worship is the glory of God. His people should engage in all its several parts with an eye single to His glory. Public worship has as its aim the building of Christ’s Church by the perfecting of the saints and the addition to its membership of such as are being saved — all to the glory of God. Through public worship on the Lord’s day Christians should learn to serve God all the days of the week in their every activity, remembering, whether they eat or drink, or whatever they do, to do all to the glory of God. 47-5 Public worship must be performed in spirit and in truth. Externalism and hypocrisy stand condemned. The forms of public worship have value only when they serve to express the inner reverence of the worshipper and his sincere devotion to the true and living God. And only those whose hearts have been renewed by the Holy Spirit are capable of such reverence and devotion. 47-6 The Lord Jesus Christ has prescribed no fixed forms for public worship but, in the interest of life and power in worship, has given His Church a large measure of liberty in this matter. It may not be forgotten, however, that there is true liberty only where the rules of God’s Word are observed and the Spirit of the Lord is, that all things must be done decently and in order, and that God’s people should serve Him with reverence and in the beauty of holiness. From its beginning to its end a service of public worship should be characterized by that simplicity which is an evidence of sincerity and by that beauty and dignity which are a manifestation of holiness. 47-9 The Bible teaches that the following are proper elements of worship service: reading of Holy Scripture, singing of psalms and hymns, the offering of prayer, the preaching of the Word, the presentation of offerings, confessing the faith and observing the Sacraments; and on special occasions taking oaths.” When we worship God according to the Scripture we are following the Apostles. We have no apostles today to speak as Paul spoke to the Corinthians, but we do have their directions in the Word of God.

Conclusion

As i pointed out previously, the whole point of this is to make our worship pleasing to God, who after all is the one to whom it is directed, and to edify the Church. This is especially true because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Paul begins the fifteenth chapter with a summary of the gospel. The bottom line in all our worship as far as men are concerned is the clarity of this gospel. If we do not make the message clear, then God is not glorified, no matter what else we do.