The Early Church Gathering - Part 3
What was Paul actually saying about the use of gifts in the gatherings of the church?
This is the third essay in a three-part series (a fourth was added later on). This series is somewhere between a paraphrase and a Socratic Dialogue written in Paul’s voice, which is intended to help clarify and bring to life what he was saying in 1 Corinthians 11:17-14:40. These three “essays” are meant to be experienced in consecutive order, which is important for both context and flow of Paul’s argument. This third “essay” focuses on 1 Corinthians 14.
The Early Church Gathering - Part 1
The Early Church Gathering - Part 2
“So, in everything you do, be primarily driven by love for one another, which is how Jesus wants you to express your worship of Him. Sincerely and genuinely use your gifts in the gathering for the purpose of building one another up, especially the gifts that edify others, like prophetic insights from the Scriptures. Because the person who shows up expecting to engage directly with God for their own benefit misses the entire point of the gathering, since that does not strengthen anyone else. Your gatherings are not intended to be spiritual experiences with Jesus [as if every week you’re standing outside His bedroom window, serenading Him, in an attempt to woo Him out into the open], they are there for you to lovingly build up one another’s understanding of His patterns and principles, so you can build your lives on His processes and practices together.
I’m not giving you rules, I’m teaching you principles. You are approaching the discussion portion of your gathering in the same selfish way you approached the meal, and it’s causing similar issues. If you want to engage in personal praise or thanksgiving to God, then do that in your own homes. Don’t overindulge in these sorts of self-edifying moments when you are gathered together. Otherwise, only a few benefit and the rest “go hungry”. The one who speaks with clear teaching, explaining themselves well, should be given more time and emphasis, since they are building up everyone in the room.
My dear family, what would be the point of me making a trip to visit you and then only speaking my heart directly to Jesus? (I can share my heart with Jesus right where I am.) How would it be of any benefit to you unless I plainly and clearly teach you something new or clarify more deeply some things you are already working hard to understand? If an unpracticed person picks up a guitar and tries to play a familiar song, can anyone recognize the tune and hum along? If a soldier that’s never bugled attempts to sound the alarm won’t it cause confusion among the ranks? It’s the same for your gatherings. If you show up at the gathering to commune with Jesus, or to engage in religious acts or ceremonial sacraments, how is everyone supposed to be built up in a way that helps them shape their entire lives around Jesus’ plan? (You don’t need a gathering for that stuff.) It’s like you’re yodeling into a deep canyon. You might enjoy hearing the sound of your own voice echoing back at you, but it comes across as self-indulgence to anyone else within earshot. There are countless languages and dialects throughout the earth, and they all have meaning to those who are fluent in them, but if someone doesn’t understand what’s being said, then they are left out, and are treated like a foreigner or an outsider, not like part of the family. It’s the same in your gatherings. It’s fine to recognize that Jesus’s Spirit is present with you as you gather together, but don’t make it about your own spiritual experiences. Do everything you can to build everyone else up, using plain, clear teaching and discussing your understanding of the things I’ve taught you. This is how the Spirit manifests Himself among you.
So, if someone does indulge in a bit of ceremonial behavior, or uses “spiritual” words or phrases, or engages in a personal moment of praise or thanksgiving to Jesus, then pause to discuss and clarify what just happened. Otherwise how is anyone else benefitted or strengthened in their understanding? Occasionally some of you get so caught up in the moment that even the person speaking misses out on the significance of what they are saying. So how can we correct this? Well, when you are gathered, as you share your heart’s reflections and work together to process your lives through the gospel, make sure it is done in such a way that both your minds and hearts are engaged. If you attempt to be spiritual without being practical, you will just end up in ritual, and any unbelievers who are there at the gathering won’t be able to understand or agree with what you are saying because they will be lost as to what you mean. I am certain that you mean well and are sincerely being thankful to the Lord, but no one else is actually being built up.
If you attempt to be spiritual without being practical, you will just end up in ritual.
Just so you know (and I’m getting very personal here), I actually pour out my heart directly to Jesus more than any of you, but the reason you weren’t already aware of this is that I generally save it for other times, not when I am gathered with one of the churches. When I am in a gathering with the churches, I would rather speak just a few words with my mind engaged, and then pause to discuss them and make sure everyone is tracking, than speak ten-thousand spiritual words or sing ten-thousand praise songs to Jesus.
All of you need to grow up in your ability to reason flexibly from the gospel. Of course you should retain your childlike innocence with regards to participating in evil deeds, but in your thinking and understanding you need to become mature… and you are not there yet.
Maybe you recall that in the Law of Moses it says: “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people and even then, they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” So things that are difficult to understand shouldn’t be avoided, but they should be approached in an orderly way and discussed until they become clear, so that any unbelievers gathered with you can understand what is being discussed, since they are less likely to ask questions. But clear, plain speaking that brings understanding is what actually brings maturity and shows non-believers how Jesus’ family interacts and cares for one another. If in your gatherings, everyone primarily engages in personal moments of praise to God, or religious ceremonial acts, won’t any unbelievers there with you assume you’re just one more oddball religious group? But if everyone speaks clearly and plainly, explaining some new insight or understanding about the things you are learning together, while patiently waiting for one another and prioritizing the weaker among you, then those unbelievers will understand intuitively what being in Jesus’ family is all about and they may very well end up as a part of your community, coming to love Jesus, because they see how well you all love one another.
If in your gatherings, everyone primarily engages in personal moments of praise to God, or religious ceremonial acts, won’t any unbelievers there with you assume you’re just one more oddball religious group? But if everyone speaks clearly and plainly, explaining some new insight or understanding about the things you are learning together, while patiently waiting for one another and prioritizing the weaker among you, then those unbelievers will understand intuitively what being in Jesus’ family is all about and they may very well end up as a part of your community, coming to love Jesus, because they see how well you all love one another.
So then, when you gather together, let someone bring a song, someone a lesson, someone a new idea or concept, and then stop and discuss each one of them. But perhaps one or two folks slip back into using a religious approach to things, then pause and clarify what just happened, and limit those to just a couple of occurrences, don’t let them dominate the discussion time. If there’s no one present who can skillfully clarify or explain those things, then don’t allow them at all. Just ask those folks to save it for another time. Let a few of you bring some teaching, but then stop and discuss what was said, so that there is clear community dialogue, and everyone is built up. If someone receives a new insight then the one speaking should yield the floor and give priority to the one with the new insight. Make sure to keep things orderly, with everyone speaking in turn, not interrupting each other. Our God is a god of order, not chaos and confusion.
As is the case in all the gatherings across the movement of Jesus’ global family, wives should not be publicly evaluating or critiquing the prophetic teaching that their husbands have shared, as this could cause others to disregard what is being said, or sow disunity in the community. If they have questions, they should speak with their husbands at home afterward, allowing their husbands to explain themselves better or reconsider their teaching and clarify it at the next gathering.
Take great care to understand that what I’m saying to you is coming directly from Jesus’ instructions to me. Did Jesus skip over me and inform you of His plan? No. He gave me this stewardship to make known His grand strategy and implement it among all the churches. If any of you want to be credible as teachers in the gathering, if any of you desire to be considered spiritual, then affirm the things I’ve taught you and reaffirmed in this letter, since I am bringing you the commands of Jesus. Those of you who aren’t ready to submit to this teaching, who still believe you are correct in your own existing religious practices need to take a back seat and not attempt to speak up authoritatively in the gathering. Those who are not ready to comply with the teaching I’ve delivered, should not be recognized as teachers in the gathering.
So I say to you again, my dear brothers and sisters, sincerely desire to understand and teach these things, but don’t make a rule that no one can engage in speaking or singing from their hearts, since there will always be those at various levels of maturity in your community gatherings, but if it happens, make sure that everything is done in an orderly way, and talked through thoroughly, without chaos or confusion.”
So everything you do should be for the purpose of building up everyone present in the family gathering. To that end… Limit the occurrences of personal moments of praise & thanksgiving to God, religious ceremonial stuff, and “spiritual” words or phrases for two reasons: While your efforts are sincerely offered to Jesus, these are mostly self-edifying practices which do not build up others in the gathering. Instead, use plain speech, clear thinking, and productive dialogue (with an orderly respect for one another and an intentional inclusion of those who are weaker). This is how everyone is built up. Religious ceremony and “spiritual” language is offputting to any nonbelievers present, who will have no idea what you are doing, and will walk away shaking their heads, believing you are just one more oddball religious group. You don’t need ceremony or sacrament, because what Jesus already accomplished is 100% authentic and if you love one another the way He sacrificially loved, then that is the only sacrament He desires.
The Early Church Tradition in Contemporary Practice - An unexpected Part 4
Scott Canion is based out of the NYC area and is part of the METRO equipping team, a network of global leaders who are establishing churches that are families, patterning themselves after Acts.