Worship in the Church

Our key verse will be taken from I Corinthians 14:40 which says, “Let all things be done decently and in order.”  Our focus will be on the fact that the Lord is a God of order and not of confusion. The godliness of right living and our relationships with others will be reflected in our worship.

Before we go any further, let us look at a few scriptures. 1 Corinthians 11:20-22 & 33-34 says, “When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. For in eating everyone taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? what shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.”  And 1 Corinthians 14:26-33 says, “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. 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. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God. Let the prophets speak two or three and let the other judge. If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

The Apostle Paul was responsible for establishing the church at Corinth. His first trip to Corinth was about twenty years after the Holy Ghost fell for the first time on the Day of Pentecost that we read about in Acts chapter two. He met with strong opposition from the Jews that lived there. Even so, God gave him a vision and spoke to him in Acts 18:9-10 which says, “Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:  For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.” Paul worked in Corinth for eighteen months and established the largest, strongest, and most influential church in all of Greece in the Apostolic day.

Let us take a brief look at the city of Corinth to get an idea of what Paul was dealing with. It was the fourth largest city in the then known world. It had a population of about five hundred thousand. Quite a significant amount for that era. It contained Roman citizens, Jews, and slaves from all over the world. After it was burned in 146 B.C., Julius Ceasar rebuilt it in 246 B.C. as a Roman Governmental Center; so, it was a Greek city, being run by a Roman administration. It was also a major commercial center in the world at that time. It controlled two sea ports and had become a booming, growing, business hub that brought with it prosperity, wealth, and luxury. The city of Corinth was a high cultural center, but the morals of the people had sunk to an all time low. There was corruption, vices, debauchery, gambling, and every sort of gross immorality that one could devise. It housed the Temple of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Sensuality and Love, which overshadowed the city. The temple housed thousands of prostitutes, called “temple virgins” or “priestesses.”  People came from all over the world to the ‘religious’ rituals and sexual activities that were hosted there. They used a term called, “Corinthianize” which simply meant that to live like a Corinthian was to live a ‘playboy’ style life of sexual promiscuity. These were the challenges that Paul faced upon his arrival in Corinth.

For these reasons and so many more, there can be various hinderances to worship in the church. Anyone can praise God, but true worship demands holiness and a right spirit. Let us again go to the word of God. The Old and New Testaments give us great insight on both praise and worship. We read in Micah 6:6-8, “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

Amos 5:21-23 tells us, “I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.” Malachi 1:10 states, “Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.” 1 Timothy 2:8 says, “I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” And Matthew 15:8-9 states, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

Problems can exist in the church that will hinder worship. Paul was in Ephesus when he received a report of problems in the Corinthian church. This was very distressing to Paul since these were his spiritual babies in Christ. Apparently, they had not received, not understood, or had not heeded previous instructions sent to them by Paul. We cannot be sure; however, Paul may have made a short visit to Corinth and was not well received. Paul then received a letter from them with many questions. Therefore, we see his letter called, 1^st Corinthians, being sent to them by Timothy to address their questions. Let us look at some of the problems they were experiencing.

Divisiveness was one issue. Members were divided over various leaders and teachings. 1 Corinthians 1:11&3:3 says, “For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” Immorality was another problem. There were issues of sexual immorality that required disciplinary action. Things of the world bleeding into the church. 1 Corinthians 5:1-7 says, “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.”

Litigation was another hinderance in the church to worship. Members were taking each other to court, which Paul condemned. 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 tells us, “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who is least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goes to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.”

False Teachings were found among the church as well. There were false teachers undermining Paul’s authority and spreading incorrect doctrines, particularly about the resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15 and 2 Corinthians 10:10-12 talks of this. “For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. Let such a one think this, that such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present. For we dare not make ourselves of the number or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they that measure themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” And Class Divisions was another contention in the church. There were disparities in how members treated each other during communal meals, leading to class divisions. 1 Corinthians 11:20-22 says, “When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. For in eating everyone taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? what shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.” These issues reflect the challenges faced by the early Christian community in Corinth and unfortunately some we still see today.

This sounds like a full time job for any pastor. Paul puts out a call to repentance. There are three things that he admonished the church in Corinth to do. Repent, deal with the problems they were having in the church, stop ignoring them, and grow and mature in the Spirit. Sin brings certain judgement and therefore cannot be ignored by Christians. We must deal with them head on. In 2 Corinthians 5:10 Paul states, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

Once issues are dealt with, we can move forward and have unhindered worship in the church, which is what God desires from us. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians explain more to us about how to conduct church services than all the books in the New Testament. 1 Corinthians 14:26 says, “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.” We do not come to church to be entertained but we come to worship God. Everyone should be able to take part in worship freely. We must come to God’s house to be a blessing to our brothers and sisters and to bless God with our praise and worship. It should not be asked, “what can my church do for me, but what can I do for, or contribute to my church.” May God give us the right motives and attitudes when we come into the house of worship, so that it can be about Him and not about us.

We should have reverence toward worship. It should be a sacred space, no matter the geographical location you are in. The church is a place to reverence God, not a place to play, party, and picnic. God commanded reverence twice from his people in the Old Testament. In Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 we read, “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore, let thy words be few.” And Habakkuk 2:20 says, “But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.”

To the Corinthians the Lord’s Supper had become a big time to picnic at the church, eating and indulging. Communion should be a solemn occasion, but it had become a time to ‘pig out’ for them. It represents the death of Christ and how his body was broken and given as the ultimate sacrifice for us, and how he shed his blood for the remission of our sins. It is not a light and frivolous time. They were eating and drinking without understanding or respecting the true meaning of the event. They were unworthily partaking in communion and thus, they were becoming deathly ill and did not understand why. Paul tried to expound to them why, while endeavoring to correct their ignorance.

We should have pure and uninhibited expressions in worship. We are told by the Psalmist in Psalm 98:4-6, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing unto the Lord with the harp, with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.” The scriptures are replete with verses about how we should worship and praise the Lord. However, we can be serious and reverent while still being joyful and happy in church. We have received our own personal Pentecost, and this is a cause to rejoice. Along with all our worship, we can have the gifts of the Spirit in operation in the church as well, if we are surrendered to the Lord. Our worship service should allow for and expect supernatural intervention by the Spirit of God at any time. We are there to communicate with the Lord and hear from him.

We also need to remember that holiness is a major part of our worship. 1 Chronicles 16:29 says, “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” 1 Timothy 2:8 states, “I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” We must dress modestly to worship properly. That should go without saying, especially in a Pentecostal service setting. We must have proper conduct to worship in a right manner. We should endeavor to live free from the condemnation of sin to please God in our worship. Paul said to the Corinthian church in 2 Corinthians 6:17, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” You cannot compromise with the sinful world around you in dress, action, speech, and conduct, violating the principles of holiness and still expect to feel free in your worship toward the Lord when you walk into the church house. Your worship will be hindered and in vain, until you repent before the Lord.

Our worship should also be in a spirit of giving. The principle of giving is giving of your absolute best to God no matter the cost to you personally. It is an act of sacrifice. David stated, “I will not offer to God that which has cost me nothing.” A particularly important part of our worship should be our giving of our tithes, offering, time, and energies to his kingdom. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

Taking all of this into consideration, let us look at what we stated would be our focus of this message, and that is the order of worship. Our text 1 Corinthians 14:40 & 33 stated, “Let all things be done decently and in order. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”  Our demonstrative expression in worship should not equate to confusion and disorderly conduct in the church. Paul was trying to ‘set in order’ their services, to do away with their confusion. If more than one person tries to give a message in tongues at the same time, there will be confusion. If two different special songs are sung at the same time, there will be confusion. It makes perfect sense. We can only listen to one thing at a time; we are not God. There is a time and a place for singing, praying, preaching, special singing, gifts of the Spirit being made manifest, and anything else that we have on the schedule or feel is necessary in our service unto God in any given service. They just need to be done decently and in order as the scripture mandates. This takes preparation, forethought, and maturity.

Keeping all of these in focus, there can be victory in worship. Titus, a fellow minister, had been sent to Corinth by Paul at one point, but his long delay in contacting Paul about the church gave him much to worry about and be concerned over. Finally, when Titus met Paul in Macedonia, the news he brought of how the church was doing was good. The church was responding to Paul’s letters by repenting and continuing to mature in the Lord. This gave Paul a reason to rejoice. That is when Paul sent Titus and Luke back with his second letter to the same church in Corinth. There was evidence of growth!

Paul described the condition of the church in Corinth in Hebrews 5:12-14 which says, “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teaches you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”  We must continue to grow in the Lord. Set aside our pettiness, immaturity, and shortcomings and give them to the Lord. True repentance is when we become sorry with a Godly sorrow and begin to change our ways. Only being sorry we got caught is not profitable. This we read in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10, “Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” In2 Corinthians 13:5 Paul stated, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” We must keep our hearts pure so our worship to God will be pure as well.

As we move into a more mature walk with the Lord, we begin to give grace to others even as He has given us grace. To give grace liberally is rewarding not only to the recipients but to the giver as well. The Macedonian church had little and needed help themselves, but because they manifest God’s grace and gave liberally to others, God blessed them abundantly. Paul was trying to convey this to the Corinthians as well and he began to see this manifest in them as they began to grow in the Lord.

As we each mature and grow in the Lord individually and begin to acknowledge that it is by his Grace and not by our works that we are saved, we will begin to manifest a deeper, and more reverent worship to God and see others begin to experience the same liberty and freedom in their worship. God desires and deserves our best, and this is made manifested when we come to him with a pure heart of worship.