In Conclusion

Posted on by korgrocker

“Or do you think God’s word originated with you Corinthians? Are you the only ones to whom it was given? If you claim to be a prophet or think you are spiritual, you should recognise that what I am saying is a command from the Lord himself. But if you do not recognise this, you yourself will not be recognised. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues. But be sure that everything is done properly and in order.”
1 Corinthians 14:36-40 NLT

In these verses today, Paul is wrapping things up, and he gives weight to what he has written by the phrase “what I am saying is a command from the Lord himself”. Chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians is all about speaking in tongues, messages of prophecy, and how these gifts should be used in a public context. Rather tongue in cheek, Paul suggested to the Corinthians that, actually, when it came to spiritual matters, they were not the centre of the universe. In those days, there were other churches dotted around the Middle East who were also bringing messages in tongues or prophetic utterances, and they were probably facing the same challenges but without getting things so wrong as the Corinthians did. But the main message to the Corinthians was about worshipping in a Christ-honouring way, and preferring one another in the process. 

The previous parts of Paul’s letter have addressed several ways in which the Corinthians have got things wrong. There were the church divisions in chapter 1. The factionalism emerging in Chapter 3. The importance of supporting those who minister amongst them in Chapter 4. Sexual immorality and pride in Chapter 5. Lawsuits amongst fellow believers and the wrong attitude to sins, particularly sexual, in Chapter 6. Thoughts on marriage in Chapter 7. Food sacrificed to idols in Chapter 8 followed by more instructions concerning supporting those who work in their midst but who don’t receive any reward in Chapter 9. Idolatry in Chapter 10. A first look at public worship and how to share the Lord’s Supper in Chapter 11. Then we read what Paul had to say about the Holy Spirit gifts in Chapters 12 and 14, interspersed with those wonderful words describing love in Chapter 13. Paul took the Corinthians on quite a journey, but the picture that has emerged is of a church in disarray, one that has got so much wrong, and with much correction needed. 

So why did Paul have to include the statement that the Lord Himself endorsed his instructions? Probably because there were some in the Corinthian church who didn’t like what Paul had been writing. Perhaps as his letter was read out for all to hear, they were squirming a bit in their seats, and some internal rebellion was welling up inside them. Perhaps these people were thinking, “Who does he think he is – after all, he’s just a man like us”. Sound familiar? I think we have all been there at one time or another. Being teachable is an important quality found in believers, particularly those who are more mature in the faith. But if Jesus Himself were adding His approval to Paul’s message, there would be no argument. 

But as we bring our thoughts forward from two thousand years ago in Greece to churches in the UK and other Western countries, what can we learn? What sort of letters would Paul write to us and our churches today? This in itself is a topic that would fill more than a few chapters. There is such a plethora of different church liturgies and expectations. There are more than 29,000 church buildings to be cared for. We have so much technology. Bibles are a common feature on most people’s bookshelves, or on their smartphones, whether they read them or not, eliminating excuses such as “we never knew”. And, of course, why do we have to make things so complicated? At times, I return to the final verses of Acts 2, which start, “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). Of course, our enemy the devil will want to make things complicated, because he fears the stripped-down simplicity of the Gospel and what it means for believers. Some denominations enjoy bobbing up and down in a pew, following a liturgy by rote, but this is something never found in the Bible. I wonder if Paul would have anything to say about it!

Dear Father God. You never made believing in Jesus a complicated affair. It is our human tendencies that complicate matters. But we reach out to You this morning, grateful for Your grace and patience, as we stumble through life’s journeys towards our promised eternal home. Amen.

Orderly Worship

Posted on by korgrocker

“Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarise. 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. No more than two or three should speak in tongues. They must speak one at a time, and someone must interpret what they say. But if no one is present who can interpret, they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to God privately.”
1 Corinthians 14:26-28 NLT

Paul set out the liturgy for an orderly meeting in these verses from 1 Corinthians 14, and today, many churches adhere to it. He didn’t specify the order in which these things should happen, but the simplicity of a Pauline worship service is refreshing in comparison to the liturgies applied in established denominations. I’m writing this blog on the first day of Advent, and the Anglican order of service includes a typical Holy Communion structure, beginning with an introductory rite, a processional hymn, the lighting of the first Advent candle, and readings from scripture such as Isaiah 2:1-5 and a gospel reading like Matthew 24:36-44 or Mark 13:24-37. The service also features psalms, prayers, a sermon, and communion. All good stuff, I’m sure, but what happened to the simplicity that marked Paul’s instructions? In the Pentecostal church I attend, the service starts with an opening prayer and some initial thoughts from the person leading the meeting. This is followed by a time of worship, during which several songs or hymns are sung, after which there is an opportunity for additional prayers and prophetic messages. A sermon will follow, including readings from the Bible, then a final song and a closing prayer. But at any time, there are opportunities to vary the order of service to focus on the Holy Spirit. A Spirit-led meeting is essential. That may be possible with a fixed liturgy, but it is perhaps a bit more difficult.

In some social gatherings today, there is what is called an “Open Mic” night, where those present take turns to sing or play a musical instrument, for the entertainment of all. Not everyone joins in, but it is an ordered time, usually convened by the host or another person in authority. This seems to be much of what Paul is advocating, with people taking turns to bring a song or hymn, possibly taken from the Psalms, another bringing a message in tongues, as long as there is someone there to interpret what is being said, a prophetic message that Paul called a “special revelation”, and a time of teaching, the sermon. Perhaps the Corinthians already had something similar in place, but without the order that Paul proposed.

But the thread running through all that Paul proposed had two important and intertwined aims. These were, first and foremost, an order of events honouring God in a place where the Holy Spirit could move, coupled with the need to edify the body of Christ, the church. The order of Paul’s service was not a dusty and lifeless liturgy that had lost its Holy Spirit spark many years before, a religious event lacking spontaneity and relevance. Instead, it was infused with the expectation that the believers were about to meet God, in a time full of love and a desire to build up fellow believers through events and opportunities all led by the Holy Spirit. 

The believers wanted Jesus.

At the end of Acts 2, we find a few verses that describe how the first converts to Christianity spent their time together. Acts 2:42, “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer”. And Acts 2 ends with “ … the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved“. There was something about the simplicity of those early days. The believers didn’t want a liturgy. They wanted Jesus. In Acts 2:42, we read, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts“. We should note two things here: the believers engaged in corporate prayer and worship as they met together in the Temple, and they shared Jesus with each other in the more intimate settings of a home group. Perhaps today, we should seek a return to the early Church model, and once again put Jesus before all other considerations.

Dear Father God. Please help us return to our first love, those days when we discovered Jesus for ourselves. We’re so grateful for all He did for us at Calvary, and we praise and worship You today. Amen.

Knowing God

Posted on by korgrocker

“Jesus answered, “If I want glory for myself, it doesn’t count. But it is my Father who will glorify me. You say, ‘He is our God,’ but you don’t even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But I do know him and obey him. Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.””
John 8:54-56 NLT

Jesus told the Pharisees and other religious leaders in the crowd listening to Him that they don’t even know God. The religious people in Jesus’ day probably knew a lot about God but had never come to know Him personally. They had this sense of pride in their knowledge of their Bible. They could recite huge tracts of Scripture. They knew all the rules and regulations, and the Laws of Moses, like the backs of their hands. They lived their lives in a way that was, to them, above reproach. God to them was measurable and containable, kept in a box bounded by their knowledge. And the other less tangible parts of a relationship with God were rationalised within the limits of their knowledge about Him. 

But when it comes to knowing God, the same accusation could be levelled at many religious people today. They think that they are “good” people because they keep the laws of the land, give money to charities, go to church on a Sunday every now and then, and don’t curse and drink to excess. They don’t beat and abuse their spouses and work hard at their professions. “Surely God likes me and would never reject me when it comes to matters of eternal life”, or so they think. 

But Jesus was very clear during His time here on earth, that there was only one way to please Father God, and that was by believing in Him. We of course know John 3:16, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” Later Jesus said to Thomas, one of His disciples, “ … I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:6-7). 

But believing in Jesus does not mean believing the facts about Jesus. It is believing that He came to this world to die for sinners, past, present and future, in His death taking on the punishment for our sin, and instead giving us His righteousness. In the process we come to love Him personally because the enormity of what He did for us at Calvary sinks deep within our souls. The understanding that Jesus, the Son of God, loved me so much that He was willing to die in my place, and that through Him I will receive the gift of eternal life, has turned my life around from being a detached and uninvolved “believer” into someone who knows God as a loving Father. My life is now not about being a “good” person, but about living a life pleasing to the One who loves me. Yes, the fruit of that will be goodness, but that comes from, not for, a relationship with God.

The Pharisees knew much about God. But they were unable to do what Paul did. About the Pharisaical obedience to the Law, he wrote in Philippians 3:7-9, “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith”. The Pharisees before Jesus that day in the Temple had an opportunity to believe in Him, but missed it. We must make sure that we don’t miss it either, by taking subtle steps towards replacing our relationship with God with a liturgy that takes less effort.

Dear Father God. We love You because You first loved us. We worship at Your feet today. Amen.